Food Storage: What is the best way to have/store a years supply in a small house? We can't use a shed or garage because of heat. The attic is also out because of heat.

We all know how important it is to have a good supply of food on hand.  Not only is it good security in times of trouble, but buying in bulk and stocking up is a great way to save on your monthly grocery bill.  But what if you don't have a lot of space? Where do you put it?

For the first eight years of our marriage, my husband and I lived in a house that was only 600 square feet.  It was pretty cozy, and when you add three kids to the mix, things were downright cramped.  We struggled constantly to find places to put our food storage.  Under my husband's and my bed, we had stacked about 50 boxes of Cheerios and 20 gallons of water (just enough to last us through the first few weeks of the zombie apocalypse). One sad day, someone jumped on the bed, and the bed frame broke.  The mattress and box spring came crashing down onto the boxes and jugs.  It was beyond gross!  The jugs exploded, the boxes were crushed, and we ended up with a soggy whole grain mess all over our bedroom floor.

Lessons learned: 1. Don't jump on the bed, 2. Don't store crushables under the bed, and 3. Don't store wet and dry food in the same place.

So now that we know what not to do, let's talk about what you can do.  Food storage usually takes two forms, long term and short term.  There is short term food storage that you intend to rotate and use up in the next few months.  Long term storage is food for emergency use that you intend to store for the next ten years or more.  When you are looking for creative places to stash your food, it's important to consider which type of food you are storing and when you plan to use it.

Short term storage

If you plan to eat it in the next few months, this food needs to be in or near the kitchen.  It also needs to be somewhere you can grab out a can without upsetting an entire tower of food.  If you pack your kitchen cupboards with stacks of food four cans high, you will have a hard time getting to the bottom of your food stores.  Sadly most cupboards simply don't have enough shelves to hold all the things we want them to.  But the simple solution to this is to just add more shelves.  Many cupboards have adjustable shelves, so there are peg holes already in place to accommodate more shelving.  If you don't already have peg holes, just drill your own.  It isn't that tough, and you can add several additional shelves to each cupboard for only the cost of wood and a couple pegs.

If there isn't enough room in your cupboards, then get more cupboards.  I have added a bookcase or cabinet to every kitchen we have ever had.  Right now my kitchen has four large cupboards along the wall to house canned goods.  They make the room a little smaller, but they store a LOT of food. 

If you don't have room for an entire cupboard, get creative.  Where could you put a shelf?  Behind the door  Beside the fridge?  A short shelf at the end of the island?  I have racks and shelves and bins hanging off every wall in my kitchen and pantry.  Any flat surface in your kitchen (vertical or horizontal) is a potential home for more shelves for more food.  And it doesn't have to look perfect, I mean what's more beautiful than a kitchen filled with food?

Long term storage

This is where the real fun begins.  Since you don't plan to use this food anytime soon, you can put it ANYWHERE! Under every bed (with caution, of course), in the back of every closet, behind the dresser.  Several cases of food may easily slide under your couch.  I like to think of my food storage as edible LEGO'S.  So what do you want to build?  Do you need a coffee table, a bench, or a night stand?  If the cans are all the same height, you can easily stack things on top of them. I've built an entire "box springs" out of number 10 cans.

A few more general rules to remember.  Label things.  Lots of food already has a date on it, but it may be hard to find or hard to read.  So when you are putting your food away, take a few seconds to put a quick date on the box or can.  Putting the month and year is more than adequate.  And really, just putting the year would probably work too. Just about everything will last several years under normal conditions.  Having the year printed in big numbers on the front of a can will help you to be sure you are grabbing last year's beans before you start eating up this year's.  And when your memory starts to fade about just how old those boxes of crisped rice cereal are, you can see the date and quickly decide if it's time to make up a bunch of treats for the neighbors, or if you've still got time to eat them at your leisure.

Bottom line.  Put food anywhere you can safely fit it.  If it's inside your house and staying room temperature, there is no wrong place to store your food.  Except for the bathroom, that would be wrong for so many reasons.  Never put food near soap or anything scented.  No one likes Irish Spring-flavored taco shells, trust me.  You can hide it or disguise it, but it doesn't have to be pretty.  You aren't trying to win a spot  in the parade of homes, you are trying to protect your family by having an adequate supply of food on hand.  Don't be afraid to get creative and do what it takes.  Good luck!

Marcia