Under beds. Get rid of the box springs and the bed frames. With those gone you can store plenty of food. How much food will depend on the size of the buckets. The number of cases assumes two layers. If you go with three layers (not recommended for small children), you can store 50% more.
- King beds. Up to 36 buckets or 60 cases of #10 cans.
- Queen beds. Up to 30 buckets or 40 cases of #10 cans.
- Full beds. Up to 24 buckets or 30 cases of #10 cans
- Twin beds. Up to 18 buckets or 20 cases of #10 cans
Attic. While most attics are hot and thus not suited for storing a lot of food, sugar is one of the few food storage items not affected by heat.
Crawl space. If your crawl space is dry and free of rodents, it’s an excellent option for food storage, if not convenient. While rotating food is difficult, it’s not impossible. Even if the crawl space is damp or has some rodent susceptibility, foods in canning jars can still be stored there.
Behind bookcases or books. In most bookcases, there is enough room between the books and the back of the bookcase for canned foods. Sometimes bookcases can be arranged to hide some food between them and the walls.
Closets often have a lot of wasted space. A layer or two of cases of #10 cans can be put on the bottom of the closet and then shoes and laundry baskets can go on top. Lighter weight foods can be placed on high shelves.
Cabinets. Some cabinets also have a lot of wasted space. There is often enough space for a case or two of food. Then place the contents of the cabinet on top of the food cases.
Nightstands and coffee tables. Several cases of cans can be arranged to make furniture. Simply cover them with a tablecloth or sheet. Buckets can be stashed under tables and hidden with tablecloths.
Take a look around your house and see which of these options will work for you. And if you have any ideas that weren’t covered here, share them with us in the comments below.
Links to related posts:
Amounts of Various Foods That Buckets Will Hold and How to Store Them
How High Can Buckets Be Stacked?
Food Storage Temperatures
Love more ideas from the readers. No attic, no basement. No closets. I have even started to store first aid supplies in empty suitcases(thank you, Jennifer, for your book) . They're stuffed now. It used to be a fun game, now I find myself a bit frustrated. We don't have a freeze dryer, but if it can be dehydrated, it is. That food can be stored outside in the cold in glass jars with tight sealing metal lids. But how can we stop now? Now that we can see writing on the wall? You studied Russia, I studied totalitarian communist takeovers/Nazi attempted takeover(and the great depression) and they were not pretty. Too many people were not prepared...eerily similar to today. Never again appears to be approaching quickly.
ReplyDeleteYou can never have too many preps. Until you have to move, especially a sudden unplanned move.
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that. Lots of complaining was heard in moving hundreds of pounds of food. It's in smaller containers now. Lesson learned. At this point, if I'm moving it's because of forest fire or fleeing
DeleteBeing forced out of your home is a serious problem. That is why you need to have a trusted friend who holds some of your prep supplies and you some of theirs. Also, the prudent have an insulated garden shed on their property as to have somewhere to live in a disaster.
ReplyDeleteHave realistic plans for water collection and human waste disposal. Flush toilets into a septic tank in normal times is LIMITED by the designed limits of that septic system. Nothing is more a problem then the toilet backing up and the leech field having a raw sewage pond out there.
Even more limiting is if it's difficult to collect 4-6 gallons of flush water per person. Not enough water for flushing, well....
Knowing your rain drainage and where the well-water source is you should install a pit privy while power tools are rentable. Cover with a concealing shed or such until you need to finish it as the privy. Pit privies are not Urinals. Excess moisture is the bane of the decomposing pit privy.
Urine is an asset for gardeners, best collected and used in irrigation for fertilizer or added to compost to increase quality and heat for fast composting.
If you have to flee then you have a place to go to. Otherwise, you're a refugee, NEVER be a refugee.
Other than that, is the usefulness of a cache. Two main issues historically once you've delt with water and temperature issues.
Finding it again and how to dig it up. More than a few historical methods were behind a false wall. Behind a repaired basement wall.
Even under a heavy but removable object as so to be both protected from casual searches and findable. Well painted for rust protection, old tools can be cached elsewhere for recovery.