Damp and cooler, but getting hot later.\u00a0\u00a0 It was 94F in the shade by late afternoon yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0 Then it rained, just enough to mess me up.\u00a0 I’m hoping for dry today.\u00a0 Got lots to do.<\/p>\n
So yesterday, of all the things that need doing, I chose to attack the food shelves that had been despoiled by the rats, and the possum, and the exploding peach cans.\u00a0\u00a0 Joy.\u00a0\u00a0 Just moving all the cans to milk crates took a while, and I haven’t cleaned them yet.\u00a0\u00a0 Threw out a couple dozen.\u00a0\u00a0 Mostly\u00a0 peaches, but also some other failures due to rust or acidity.\u00a0 A case of tomato paste.\u00a0 A case of tomato puree.\u00a0\u00a0 A half dozen condensed milks.\u00a0\u00a0 Some random veg.\u00a0\u00a0 There might be more as I clean them and restock the shelves.\u00a0\u00a0 I know I’ll have ‘breakage’ due to my extremely bad storage conditions, so it’s just part of the cost, but it sucks to have it all at once and for it to mess up other cans too.<\/p>\n
I moved 6 months, one meal a day for 2 adults and 2 kids to milk crates.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s my minimum, my version of RBT’s “iron rations.”\u00a0\u00a0 One can meat, one can veg, rice.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course I have more, breakfast and more canned and dry food, but 6 months fits in 12 milk crates.\u00a0\u00a0 Stacks really well too.\u00a0\u00a0 Plus the buckets for the rice, one bucket per month.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 32 cans per crate.\u00a0 Roughly the same for meat.\u00a0 There is a bit more variation in the size of the meat cans.\u00a0\u00a0 So two milk crates and a bucket will feed you a nutritious meal a day for a month.\u00a0 You and your family.\u00a0\u00a0 You won’t get fat, but you won’t starve either.\u00a0\u00a0 Add a bucket of flour or tortilla mix, and a crate of soup cans and you get two meals a day.\u00a0\u00a0 The cans leave a bit of room at the top of the crate that could be filled with oatmeal in bags, or repackaged pancake mix too.<\/p>\n
It’s all very compact for storage and isn’t crazy expensive.<\/p>\n
For box meals, retort pouch meat, and mixes I’m still using shallow tubs with lids but you could pack that into either buckets or milk crates too.\u00a0\u00a0 I just find it easier to treat the tubs as ‘drawers’ and have access to the contents without un-stacking a bunch of stuff.\u00a0\u00a0 And for day to day, I’ve got the cans in FIFO racks.\u00a0 Those racks were FILTHY from the burst cans, and the rodents.\u00a0 I ended up pressure washing them, using a scrub brush and clorox cleaner on the shelves, and then pressure washing again..<\/p>\n
Lessons learned, fruit in cans is not a super long term storage item.\u00a0\u00a0 Fruit in the cheapest Hill Country Farms cans is REALLY not a long term item.\u00a0\u00a0 Rust is\u00a0 the enemy of cans.\u00a0\u00a0 The FIFO racks are very hard to clean and keep clean.\u00a0\u00a0 From now on, I’ll be putting a waste paper basket trash can liner over each bucket in storage.\u00a0\u00a0 The lids get filthy and opening a gamma seal lid is a 20 minute ordeal of cleaning before opening to be sure you don’t drop cr@p in and contaminate your dry food.\u00a0\u00a0 Clear plastic liners over the buckets should help tremendously.\u00a0\u00a0 The shallow tubs worked.\u00a0\u00a0 They protected their contents from cross contamination, and predation, and when a can inside popped, they kept the mess confined to the one tub.<\/p>\n
If I was designing a storage\/pantry system from scratch, I think I would build it around buckets and milk crates.\u00a0\u00a0 Each milk crate holds about 32 cans with some space at the top.\u00a0\u00a0 Mix your veg, beans, and other cans so each crate has a variety of food.\u00a0 Do the same with your canned meat or pouch meat.\u00a0 Fill a bucket with 25 pounds of rice (just shy of 3 cups to the pound, btw, and 200 calories a cup.)\u00a0\u00a0 Stack a few months worth in the closet.\u00a0 Both buckets and crates stack well.\u00a0 Pull two crates and a bucket at the start of the month, and refill them to rotate back into storage before the month is over.\u00a0\u00a0 You could decide to skip the rice and add another crate of veg instead.\u00a0\u00a0 Top off the crates with breakfast food like oatmeal or pancake mix.\u00a0\u00a0 Add a crate of soup for lunch.\u00a0\u00a0 Campbells cans are a bit smaller but not enough to get more in a crate.\u00a0 There is more room for breakfast or condiments though.<\/p>\n
Compact, sturdy, organized, and moveable if needed.\u00a0 Easy to rotate.\u00a0 Plus you can see at a glance how much time\/food you have.\u00a0 Easy to share if you want to.\u00a0 Hand them a bucket and two crates.<\/p>\n
—————————————–<\/p>\n
Busy day today, I don’t know if I’ll get the remaining shelves cleaned and everything put back.\u00a0 I’ve got pickups, an airport run to do, swim meet this evening, and all the normal domestic bliss…\u00a0 I’m pushing my client into next week when the gear arrives.\u00a0 DirecTV can wait a week for their gear.<\/p>\n
Stack some more food. \u00a0 You know you like to eat.\u00a0 And if you don’t, I’m pretty sure you don’t like to starve. \u00a0 Having at least one secure meal a day could make the difference for you and your family.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nick<\/p>\n
4 milk crates, and 2 buckets per month and you are living large.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Damp and cooler, but getting hot later.\u00a0\u00a0 It was 94F in the shade by late afternoon yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0 Then it rained, just enough to mess me up.\u00a0 I’m hoping for dry today.\u00a0 Got lots to do.<\/p>\n
So yesterday, of all the things that need doing, I chose to attack the food shelves that had been despoiled by the rats, and the possum, and the exploding peach cans.\u00a0\u00a0 Joy.\u00a0\u00a0 Just moving all the cans to milk crates took a while,<\/p>\n