Storage Places

[Weedygarden]

We all seem to have a little different space, but what I've had to do is keep a "working supply" in the pantry then the bulk stores elsewhere. For items under the bed: I date them, push them in from one side and pull out from the other side. In the pantry, I only have the jars 3 deep so I work from right to left as far as pulling from the shelf. As I restock, I add the new in to the right side. For spices, I've been putting the extra in clean coffee cans and in the top shelves in the kitchen which I usually have empty because I can't even see up there let alone reach them. That might not answer your dilemma, but maybe it will give you ideas.

It is the efficiency of metal cans that I want to improve mostly, but packets of other things as well, as shown in the third image of a recent post of mine.

 

[Aerindel]

Funny this thread became active again just now...

I've decided its been way too long since I went through the freezers so tonight I put on some gloves and emptied out all the freezers, sorted and repacked them. Took out all the too old and freezer burnt meat (maybe 15lbs in total) and threw in a pot to make into dog food.

Its a bad sign with you find a piece of deer that you know you shot five years ago lost in the bottom of the freezer.

 

[LadyLocust]

It is the efficiency of metal cans that I want to improve mostly, but packets of other things as well, as shown in the third image of a recent post of mine.

I guess I thought those looked pretty good

 

[Weedygarden]

I guess I thought those looked pretty good

Me, too, but it is not mine. It is what I found online. It is close to what I would like to have.

 

[LadyLocust]

Me, too, but it is not mine. It is what I found online. It is close to what I would like to have.

Ah ha! I don't have/use most of that stuff so guess my mind went a different direction. Most of my stuff is in jars even mixes (just make my own). Let me look at something.

 

[Weedygarden]

Ah ha! I don't have/use most of that stuff so guess my mind went a different direction. Most of my stuff is in jars even mixes (just make my own). Let me look at something.

I have lots of stuff in jars as well. I like to transfer stuff that is in packaging that bugs and rodents can get into to jars, because I've had that happen.

 

[LadyLocust]

($37) This one is plastic. This should be an amazon link. Okay - link isn't working: search fifo can tracker on the big A.
Cardboard: How to Make a Can Organizer Out of Cardboard
Metal: Robot or human? (This one is walmart)
These are what I could find. It appears the cardboard ones from canorganizer.com is out of business so ???

 

[Weedygarden]

($37) This one is plastic. This should be an amazon link. Okay - link isn't working: search fifo can tracker on the big A.
Cardboard: How to Make a Can Organizer Out of Cardboard
Metal: Robot or human? (This one is walmart)
These are what I could find. It appears the cardboard ones from canorganizer.com is out of business so ???

Thank you. I have this one: . I have had it fall apart a few times, requiring me to reassemble it and reload it. After a few times, I gave up on it. It needs to be held together with solid sides, glue and maybe screws. These are just stacked pieces. Kind of frustrating to use. Move it a little and everything is in pieces.
I should make the cardboard ones, but would really like the same idea out of wood for sturdiness. If I had a CNC, I would create some files and cut out what I want, including holes for nails or screws. So many of them waste so much space.
Really, someone with a CNC could have a great business designing and making these. I just ordered something out of wood from Etsy, obviously cut on a CNC, that will hold ziploc bags of the 4 basic sizes. I'm waiting for it to get here.

 

[Amish Heart]

I usually stack cans 5 high on a gorilla shelf. Husband ordered another 8 packs of 6 cans each of Ranch Beans that came in, so this morning I was pushing cans forward and putting the new ones in the back. It is a pain.

 

[Weedygarden]

I usually stack cans 5 high on a gorilla shelf. Husband ordered another 8 packs of 6 cans each of Ranch Beans that came in, so this morning I was pushing cans forward and putting the new ones in the back. It is a pain.

I find that they fall over so easily when stacked. Then to keep moving them forward is a pain, especially when the back of the shelf is against the wall. I am not trying to just complain, just seeing that finding the ideal situation is not easy. If it was sturdy and you could load in one place and have the first in come out first, it would be best. And, then to be efficient in the space it uses. I think the vertical ones are probably best for that, if you have the space to have them.

 

[Weedygarden]

I found the ones in cardboard, but is this price reasonable? And notice how much space is wasted vertically. Rotating Can Rack Pantry Organizer Kitchen Storage Pantry | Etsy

 

[Amish Heart]

I've seen the cardboard ones advertised, too, but they don't look so sturdy. Also sometimes I buy a flat expiring in 2024, but the next week in 2023...depends on the store. So if they're already stacked in a walk rack, how to backtrack? I use the cardboard flats that store 12 cans. Just stack them according to date. Or close to the date. Just redid the canned carrot stockpile because my dates were a bit out of whack. My peanut butter area is a little messy, too. We use more crunchy than smooth, so thinking of organizing that in two sections instead of the one. I wonder how many cans can be stored in the wood wall racks at a time?

 

[Amish Heart]

Hey, Weedy Happy New Year! I still have 28 min to go, but not you

 

[Amish Heart]

Oops. Nope. You have an hour longer. Ha Ha

 

[Grimm]

I am using the fifo can organizer for my canned goods. It only holds the standard cans like veggies but if you have a lot they work.

 

[Magus]

I stack canned goods in milk crates making sure there is a balanced variety in each one, then I stack them in the corners and throw a sheet over them, each crate contains enough for ten days for one person. Ammo goes in ammo cans, they go behind furniture and under the bed, medical supplies go in the medical box, a large sized Kobalt high impact tool box. medicine goes in the tote next to my bed, tools are in every room in the house. guns go in storage tubes with silicon dioxide and oxygen eaters after being coated in 20wt. synthetic, and the tubes go.... yeah right.
Electrical stuff is everywhere, I'm going to have to dump some cash into that soon, damn roof leaked while I was hid out, next time I store it in totes instead of boxes. in the back of the Blazer I keep a few basic tools and emergency parts and an empty can of gas and a racing jack and a steel plate. I need to put my pack shovel in there too! I never off road anymore but I can cut a head off with it if needed. go read the FM on using a trench tool as a weapon.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

We don't find any of the fifo can dispensers any good as they take up too much room and stock very little for us anyway.

Instead we bought 5 shelf gorilla type garage shelving and stack 3 flats of tinned whatever in the cardboard cartons they come in in the stores in each row of the shelf in 3 rows across according to dates. We also have a spare section for 3 cartons of overflow. The top ones are the oldest and as we use them we slide across and bring up the cartons from the lower shelves.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I like the idea of FIFO storage shelves but I feel that they create a lot of empty space. I currently have 4 24'X2' shelves that are stacked solid with cans floor to ceiling and I would not want to waste any of that space. I guess if I had it to do over again I would make some of my shelving units like the walk in refrigerators in the grocery stores where they load them from behind and all the shelves are sloped in 1 direction.

FYI 20 years ago I built my shelves using 2X4 framing and 3/4" plywood decking, the spacing between the shelves is 16", I used 5 gallon food storage buckets to set the spacing and it just worked out to 16" no more logic than that. When I built the shelves I built 2 32' rows with a 2' wide walkway between them. This year I have added 5 of the 48"X72"X18" 5 shelve wire shelving units, 2 of them are holding canning jars, 1 is holding canning equipment, 1 is holding kitchen paper(s) and Aluminum foil, and 1 is holding food storage overflow....

 

[joel]

 

[Tootsie]

Restaurant Equipment.Bid is a growing business that sells all kinds of equipment from restaurants and business clearing out. I’ve seen industrial #10 can racks, and shelving from grocery stores too. Might be worth following. Nation wide. I’ve gotten some things, so they’re good. It’s all online till you go pick up, so you can’t inspect, but could be the source you need. It’s a weekly or frequent email that can be neat to scroll through.
Sometimes you pick up at the business that went under, and apparently there are ‘distribution centers’ or locations where stuff accumulates. Seems to be a center near Romulus, NY that has the auctions regularly now for major grocery stores that update fixtures.

 

[Amish Heart]

That FIFO Amazon rack would cost more per can than the can cost on most vegetables I buy. It holds 54 cans is all. I would need lots of them.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I know how many of an item will fit on a shelf front to back. Items are to be used front to back and then on to the next row, left to right. I place a sticky note or tape on the row currently in use.

I then add new stuff to the left of the sticky note without having to move anything over. By doing this in sections of four rows to each section, I don't have to move much of anything. Just move the sticky note or add another one as needed to keep track of dates.

I am like LL most of my stuff is in jars.

 

[Weedygarden]

Thank you, Joel.
Notice that this is loaded from the top. It means that more space is wasted on the top. This would mean that one of these could be on a shelf, but not a group of them stacked. Imagine if this kind of dispenser could be front loaded, front dispensed.

Maybe I am expecting too much, but if any of you struggle with the same problem I have, you will understand. There could be a can dispenser that is 8 foot tall, maybe 4 foot wide, and perhaps 2 feet deep. These dimensions would use standard lumber and then there would be little to no waste there.

I am going to get out some graph paper and try to draw what I think is best. I do know that in order for the cans to keep moving forward that there has to be something of an angle, and not level, which means a little wasted space. I will design it using standard dimensional lumber, 2 x, 4x, and plywood cut maybe 2 foot wide for shelves and sides, and a full sheet in the back.

Another question: am I the only one who keeps several cans of food such as soups, canned fruits and veggies, evaporated milk, canned chicken, tuna, salmon and other such items? I buy extras every time I go shopping, and especially to Costco. It adds up and then management gets to be too much. Imagine for your short term food storage for 3 months if there is no fresh food available in stores and electricity is out meaning that fridge and freezer are out. Then, add the dehydrated and freeze dried foods in #10 cans which could be at least one other tall shelf set up to dispense.

Hey, Weedy Happy New Year! I still have 28 min to go, but not you

Happy New Year! I never stay up until midnight. I was in bed before 11:00 and got woke up briefly at midnight by those who were up celerating.

I am using the fifo can organizer for my canned goods. It only holds the standard cans like veggies but if you have a lot they work.

How is this assembled? With this one that I have that kept falling apart, I am now looking for sturdy, sturdy, sturdy, which is why I am talking about wooden dispensers.

Thank you to everyone who is giving input. I really think this is not just for me, although I have been searching for a while. I have looked at these for well over a decade and realize that there are or were some out there that were pricey. They may still be available, but where? Really, these could also be made of metal and assembled by homeowner preppers.

And some engineer out there who is handy could have a great side business designing and making the parts and directions in his or her workshop.

 

[Weedygarden]

Thrive Life had #10 can systems, but they are out of stock. Notice that the corner supports seem to be made from angle iron or some angle metal.

https://www.thrivelife.com/catalog/category/view/s/shelving/id/4/
How much offset would we need to get the cans to roll forward? An inch per foot would be enough, wouldn't it? What about an inch per 2 feet?

 

[LadyLocust]

@Weedygarden I saw the Etsy ones - guess I think $30 for a piece of cardboard is unreasonable - no matter how good, it's still cardboard and will break down over time & how many would you need? Maybe I'm being cheap. An out of the box idea, if you were to draw something up for your space (w/ dims) and take it to the HS shop class or even a JC you might get your project done for a reasonable price & custom fit to your space.

 

[JustMe]

Finding room to store stuff has definitely been a challenge. I don't have any of the freeze dried foods. Most of my stuff is home canned in jars with some as store bought cans.
Years ago I turned our linen closet into a pantry and added more shelves to it and that held everything.......until just the last few years and I've added more goods. Built some shelves in the bedroom closet where each shelf has one product on it.....one for chicken meat, one for chicken broth, one for beef, one for pork and/or beans, etc and that is my 'protein' area. This is kind of easy to keep rotated cause I have it in there to work from one side to the other as others have mentioned. I know the old stuff is on one side and only use from there, then when there's enough room and I have more to add to it....the old is pushed over and new stuff added to the other side. Still a bit of a pain to have to move it all, but it does keep it rotating. Then I have some of those heavy duty shelf units. One for fruits, one for veggies, etc these are mostly rotated from back to front, which has been more difficult to keep rotated cause I'm usually in a hurry to get stuff put away and don't want to spend the time to move it all. And for that reason is why I've reorganized to have one shelf unit for one type item......it gives more play room in there to move things around and add to it. Since I don't buy much of store canned fruits & veggies, we just use from it all until the next year canning session so there is less to have to move when I'm ready to fill it up again.

In the struggle for space I've had to move all non-food items outside, that isn't as affected by temperature changes........or atleast I sure hope not. First aid supplies, soaps, cleaning supplies, plastic wrap, foil, etc. If it freezes or gets too hot in the summer or changes up during the changes, it's not going to kill us if a seal is broken. It just may not be as effective.


It just drives me nuts to have to go in all different directions to get what I need and would love to have it all in one big room together that's convenient to the kitchen

 

[Weedygarden]

@Weedygarden I saw the Etsy ones - guess I think $30 for a piece of cardboard is unreasonable - no matter how good, it's still cardboard and will break down over time & how many would you need? Maybe I'm being cheap. An out of the box idea, if you were to draw something up for your space (w/ dims) and take it to the HS shop class or even a JC you might get your project done for a reasonable price & custom fit to your space.

I so agree with you about the price of that one on Etsy. If I were to buy enough of those to hold 3 months worth of canned goods, I'd be more than $1000, and no thank you! I looked at it a few times and actually wonder if it is made of some thinner higher end plywood of some sort.

Looking just now at Thrive Life, they have instructions online of how to assemble their shelves. It is 8 pages in a pdf. You can buy some of the parts they use, but not cheap. I am going to print out this and see how I can adapt it to a design of my own. The corners are angle metal and that would not be hard for me to find. I also think the tracks for getting the angle to allow cans to roll forward could be some sort of metal. There is a metal place that I drive by frequently that sells all kinds of metal. They also have a fabricating shop. No doubt this could be an expensive investment before I'm done. I'd like to figure out how to spend less on the shelving than the food that is on it.

https://www.thrivelife.com/media/wysiwyg/old_materials/Pantry-Organizer-Instructions.pdf

 

[LadyLocust]

Finding room to store stuff has definitely been a challenge. I don't have any of the freeze dried foods. Most of my stuff is home canned in jars with some as store bought cans.
Years ago I turned our linen closet into a pantry and added more shelves to it and that held everything.......until just the last few years and I've added more goods. Built some shelves in the bedroom closet where each shelf has one product on it.....one for chicken meat, one for chicken broth, one for beef, one for pork and/or beans, etc and that is my 'protein' area. This is kind of easy to keep rotated cause I have it in there to work from one side to the other as others have mentioned. I know the old stuff is on one side and only use from there, then when there's enough room and I have more to add to it....the old is pushed over and new stuff added to the other side. Still a bit of a pain to have to move it all, but it does keep it rotating. Then I have some of those heavy duty shelf units. One for fruits, one for veggies, etc these are mostly rotated from back to front, which has been more difficult to keep rotated cause I'm usually in a hurry to get stuff put away and don't want to spend the time to move it all. And for that reason is why I've reorganized to have one shelf unit for one type item......it gives more play room in there to move things around and add to it. Since I don't buy much of store canned fruits & veggies, we just use from it all until the next year canning session so there is less to have to move when I'm ready to fill it up again.

In the struggle for space I've had to move all non-food items outside, that isn't as affected by temperature changes........or atleast I sure hope not. First aid supplies, soaps, cleaning supplies, plastic wrap, foil, etc. If it freezes or gets too hot in the summer or changes up during the changes, it's not going to kill us if a seal is broken. It just may not be as effective.


It just drives me nuts to have to go in all different directions to get what I need and would love to have it all in one big room together that's convenient to the kitchen

I agree! We should all have our very own mini grocery stores - wouldn't that be perfect!

 

[JustMe]

Thrive Life had #10 can systems, but they are out of stock. Notice that the corner supports seem to be made from angle iron or some angle metal.

https://www.thrivelife.com/catalog/category/view/s/shelving/id/4/
How much offset would we need to get the cans to roll forward? An inch per foot would be enough, wouldn't it? What about an inch per 2 feet?

If you can, maybe make a prototype from cardboard or whatever you have and try a few cans in there to see how much of an offset you'd need to keep the cans rolling. Cause I don't think you'd need a whole inch for a few feet. If I'm understanding you correctly, you want the whole unit to be 8ft high?? I would think if only an inch would work for the whole thing. Maybe even a half inch, IDK

 

[Weedygarden]

Finding room to store stuff has definitely been a challenge. I don't have any of the freeze dried foods. Most of my stuff is home canned in jars with some as store bought cans.
Years ago I turned our linen closet into a pantry and added more shelves to it and that held everything.......until just the last few years and I've added more goods. Built some shelves in the bedroom closet where each shelf has one product on it.....one for chicken meat, one for chicken broth, one for beef, one for pork and/or beans, etc and that is my 'protein' area. This is kind of easy to keep rotated cause I have it in there to work from one side to the other as others have mentioned. I know the old stuff is on one side and only use from there, then when there's enough room and I have more to add to it....the old is pushed over and new stuff added to the other side. Still a bit of a pain to have to move it all, but it does keep it rotating. Then I have some of those heavy duty shelf units. One for fruits, one for veggies, etc these are mostly rotated from back to front, which has been more difficult to keep rotated cause I'm usually in a hurry to get stuff put away and don't want to spend the time to move it all. And for that reason is why I've reorganized to have one shelf unit for one type item......it gives more play room in there to move things around and add to it. Since I don't buy much of store canned fruits & veggies, we just use from it all until the next year canning session so there is less to have to move when I'm ready to fill it up again.

In the struggle for space I've had to move all non-food items outside, that isn't as affected by temperature changes........or atleast I sure hope not. First aid supplies, soaps, cleaning supplies, plastic wrap, foil, etc. If it freezes or gets too hot in the summer or changes up during the changes, it's not going to kill us if a seal is broken. It just may not be as effective.


It just drives me nuts to have to go in all different directions to get what I need and would love to have it all in one big room together that's convenient to the kitchen

I wonder how many of us have experienced this? I have a spare bedroom that I have used, but I am going through my stuff in there. The lack of a good system has caused lots of waste.

With just food preps, I have buckets of wheat, rice, beans, corn with gamma seal lids. I have canning jars of various stuff that are in the original boxes (cardboard holders) the jars came in with the names of what is in the cases printed and on sides to see without taking the stacks down. I have cases of #10 cans in 6 pack boxes with labels on them and laid on the side of the box to allow for easier access and better use of space.