I have had food storage for years, but when we moved here I finally had room to put it all in one location. Unfortunately that location has also been the catch-all for everything else. Last week I organized it. Let me tell you. That was a job and a half. I feel like I should get an award or something. When I got done I was covered in sweat and my back was killing me. But looking at my before and after pictures makes every little bit worth it!
Before: I'm a little embarassed to show you this...
After: So neat and clean and orderly. I know just where everything is AND can get to it easily. hmmm...I like it...
If you want to see how I organize my pantry, click here.
UPDATE: I've had so many questions about this post I thought I would answer them here. If you have more questions, please feel free to email me. pumpkinpatchdesigns@hotmail.com
Where do you buy your bulk items? I buy all of my bulk items from my church's Family Home Storage Center. You do not need to be a member of my church to purchase items from these centers. Anyone and everyone is welcome. If you want to know more about it why I do it, click here. If you want to know where to find one, click here. If you want to see what is available and how much it costs, click here.
What items do you buy in bulk? I buy flour, sugar, wheat, rice, powdered milk (for baking...not drinking), oats, and beans in 25 lb. bags. You can can it (put it in cans so that it will keep for years) at the Home Storage Center, but I don't. I find that we go through it so fast that it feels like a waste of cans.
What do you put in the buckets? Everything that I buy in a 25 lb. bag goes into a bucket. I buy food-grade bags from here. They are super nice and mail them to me. I take a bucket, put a food-safe bag inside it and then dump my bulk items into it.
Does it go bad? Nope. I have been doing my food this way for years and have never had any problems. The food is in sealed buckets. There isn't much chance for anything bad to happen to it. I also rotate it regularly, so I am always putting the newest stuff in the back and using the oldest stuff first. (make sense?)
What's in the big cans? I also get these from my church's Home Storage Center. I get dried onions, dried apple slices, hot chocolate, fruit drink mix, and refried beans in the cans. We don't go through these as fast as the other things, so I don't need to store as much and therefore don't need to put it in a bucket. (All of the items that I get in bulk can also be bought in cans if you are interested as well as a ton of other things. If you want to see what is available and how much it costs, click here.)
Where do you get your canned goods? I mostly get them from Aldi. If you want to see how I organize my pantry, click here. The only thing I don't get from Aldi is my canned fruit. I buy that at Wal-Mart because Aldi doesn't carry the kind that is only packed in fruit juice. I don't want my kids to get the extra sugar from the syrup.
Where do you get your cleaning supplies, etc.? I get these at Costco. Can't beat the prices...especially if they have a coupon for it.
So there you have it. Any other questions, feel free to email me at pumpkinpatchdesigns@hotmail.com. Thanks!!
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• Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
• Strut your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
• Favorite Things Friday @ A Few of my Favorite Things
• Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
• Home and Family Friday @ Home is Where my Story Begins
12 comments:
Thanks for hosting!! My transformation is missing before pictures. Silly me! LOVE your storage. I have been working on a large closet we have to use as excess storage for the pantry. I never thought to take pictures of the before! Another...silly me! This looks great and I also read your post about the pantry.
I have to ask, what is in the 5 gallon buckets?
The buckets are full of flour, sugar, rice, oatmeal, powdered milk, wheat. Stuff like that. It's my "bulk" section. :)
Oh man! I need to get going on the whole food storage thing. I've got 72 hour kits, but that's it! Hopefully if there's a disaster it won't last longer than 72 hours! ha ha
Oh Sarah, when I was feeding 9 all the time, my pantry was as full and organized as I could get it! Now there are only 2 of us so quantities are much less, but I still buy some things in bulk. What an energetic clever woman you are!
Oh my goodness.
I love it. Eventually I want this too. It is an amazing transformation and I can understand it if you procrastinated in getting started on this project, it sure did look a little overwhelming in the before pictures.
Good for you.
that's some mega storage! that's awesome to have such great storage. it's my first time linking up here, so thanks!
Thanks for hosting! :)
Wow! I love this. I can't wait to have a house so that I can have something like this. Great job and I have to say this is such a wonderful thing. My hubbie lost his job 2 weeks before Christmas and we had a 3 month old baby. (Yes, I cried for a few days.) It turned out great. But I had food storage and everything was ok and yes, my hubbie got a job really fast so everything worked out.
Wow...you do have a little store in your home. I was going to ask about the buckets but I see you answered that. Great organization. How did you get started with your bulk items...things on sale?
Your basement looks like Costco. You really know how to buy in bulk. Thanks for linking up to Home and Family Friday.
Becca
Your storage room looks awesome! I bet you are just loving it now.
Holy cow - you weren't kidding when you say you buy in bulk! I guess you get through it quickly... nothing ever goes bad??
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