Where to Store Your Emergency Home Food Storage

It is very important to have an emergency food storage program; however, one of the first steps of having food storage is having a place to put it! There are many places and spaces to keep your food stored. To get started, I would suggest you take a good look around your living space to determine what area best fits your requirements for your food storage. You want to have a place that has the correct temperature and location for your dehydrated food.

Ideal Conditions for Food Storage. You want to find a cool, dry place that has a constant temperature of 40 to 60 degrees F. Stay away from any kind of furnace, freezers, refrigerators, and water heaters because this will cause the temperature to fluctuate. If there is a change in the temperature of the area, the nutritive value of your food can be damaged and shorten the shelf life of the item. The coolest room in the house is always a good place to start - basements (if you are lucky enough to have one), root cellars, temperature controlled garages, spare bedrooms, unfinished rooms, under beds, under stairways, closets, utility rooms and crawl spaces are just a few areas that may be appropriate for your storage. Make sure your room or space is dry at all times. It is important that you select a space that is relatively close to your kitchen so you have easy access to the items and can rotate them on a regular basis.

Location, Location, Location. Obviously, not everyone has a full basement with nothing in it, so you sometimes have to be creative in finding a space for your storage. If you have a stairway in your home, the space under the stairs is usually wasted space. Put in shelves to line the space and you have room for your 5 gallon buckets as well as any canned goods. Make sure you measure your shelves to fit your can and buckets exactly so you don't have any wasted space.

Most garages are not climate controlled, so there is a temperature fluctuation. If that is your situation, you may want to use your garage to store your paper goods, such as paper towels, toilet paper and napkins - or any other non-foodstuff items.

For smaller house or apartment dwellers, space is a rare commodity, so you have to make your own storage areas. Under your bed is a perfect spot. Make sure to put the items you use the most on the outside perimeter of your bed. You can always use your storage to create book shelves by adding a few boards, or an end table by using a large bucket with a round board on top and covered with a table cloth.

Whatever your situation is and what kind of space you have available to you, the most important thing to remember is to pick or create a space and fill it with your emergency food storage. Make the decision to be prepared and then get started!

Terri R. Simmons currently works as an Human Resource Manager for a small company. She is concerned about the state of the economy and wants to share different ideas that may be helpful in preparing for the future. She has many years of experience in using food storage. Find out more about emergency food storage by visiting Food Storage for You










Simple: Just Add Water - Outdoor Gourmet Meals - WiseFoodStorage.com