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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Product Review... with a GIVEAWAY!! ****CONTEST CLOSED****

Abbie and I recently received some Shelf Reliance Cansolidators for our food storage - something we've both been wanting to try out for a while. We each got the "Cansolidator Pantry", which holds up to 40 cans.

As you can see, I needed it! Below is a "before" picture of my food storage shelf. This is part of my three month supply. I've never been very good at stacking cans on top of each other, so it was pretty unorganized.

Thankfully, the shelves were really easy to put together and I was able to have it up and running within 20 minutes of opening the box. And it would have been much faster if my shelf wasn't so narrow... I kind of had to build it in the shelf so it would fit. Tomorrow, Abbie is going to show us lots more pictures of her Cansolidator - then you can see how easy it really is to set up.

See? Looks great! I really like it a lot. I feel like my shelf is being used much more efficiently, and I don't have to worry about stacks of cans falling over every time I go to get something out. As you can see from the picture, I need another one - my green veggies and my cream of chicken soup are overflowing! Mom... are you reading this?

And now....

The nice people over at Shelf Reliance want to give one of these Pantry Cansolidators to one lucky reader of our blog!!

All you have to do to is comment on this post. So tell us...

What do you have the most of in your longer-term storage? Beans? Rice? Powdered milk? Oats? Wheat?

Don't have anything in your longer-term storage yet? That's ok - just tell us! Admitting it is the first step, you know.

As for me, I have lots of rice. Not quite enough yet, but a lot. Which is great, because it's filling and really versatile. What do you have?

The comments are open until Friday the 13th (!!) at midnight EST. We'll announce the winner sometime on Saturday. One comment per person, please.

Finally... want to buy something now from Shelf Reliance? As our reader, you get a special coupon code: SGI20. This will give you 20% of any regularly-priced order sitewide (shelves, emergency kits, food storage, etc).

310 comments:

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Unknown said...

I have a lot of wheat mainly thanks to a family that was moving to a place where they couldn't transport it. And we are grateful.

keri said...

I think it is a toss up between Rice and Wheat

Angela said...

We have a variety, but I'm pretty sure what we have the most of is wheat. Thanks for the fun giveaway!

Shayleen Lunt said...

Lots of wheat! Mostly because we just purchased wheat grinders (electrical and manual) and a bread maker for Christmas...all the reviews are right too...fresh ground wheat is much better than store bought!
Hope I win! I could definitely use this in my kitchen pantry!

The Letterman's said...

Long Term wise, Wheat is currently what I have the most of. I'm slowly building it though so I'm so excited!! I would love to fill my food storage with this type of shelving.
Janae

Courtney said...

Our house is very lacking in storage space, so something like this would be fabulous. I might have to buy one. Under our bed has become our new location for our long-term food storage.

Rachelle said...

You know that it's got to be powdered milk. Thank you WIC. Now I just need to get all that pesky food stuff.

Amy said...

We mostly have wheat. Love your blog!

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

We used to have lots of veggies stored until recently. We had to live off our stockpile for a bit.

I love the looks of that storage system. I always worry about the cans falling over.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, nothing. Sorry! I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I'm going to start collecting in March. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

Beth said...

We have lots of beans!

LizzyP said...

212 comments? Yikes. You girls are so popular.

I have lotsa oats. I can't imagine life without oatmeal, granola bars, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I also have wheat so that I can have yummy bread. I have plenty of dried beans, but not enough rice.

Anne Steenblik said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Just beginning this journey, and we have lots of beans! Thanks so much for your extremely helpful site.

lowenew at gmail dot com

wisthrop said...

We have about 5 big green 25-gallon barrels of wheat. Have no idea how we came across them, but they moved with us from UT to AZ. Talk about your heavy move!!!

nfmgirl said...

I've been wanting one of these organizers, but most of them seem pretty flimsy. This one looks pretty solidly built!

I'm really bad right now about stocking up, because I recently moved from a little condo with a tiny kitchen and no room for storage. I am now hoping to stock my pantry in my new house. I do always try to keep beans on hand, particularly black beans, and rice. I'm not big on canned veggies, so none of those. I also like to keep sundried tomatoes and chili peppers and such. Of course some soup. And I usually keep a can of spaghettios on hand for the occasional craving. :)

If I win, I'll be a stocked up queen!

Amanda said...

I have the most wheat, but that's not saying I have a lot! I would love one of these!

HermitJim said...

I have nothing but the typical single hermit type food in abundance...beans, rice, homemade bread fixin's and CHOCOlate!

Other stuff as well, but those are my favorites!

Noel said...

Please enter me.

Thanks,

Noel

Unknown said...

Long term storage? Hmmm. Not much.
Short term storage (like a year), tomatoes are my #1 thing. I do have tuna, and canned chicken (although I question this as it's not that great, reminds me of (gasp) canned tuna) and other veggies. But tomato is high on my list of things.

Donna said...

I also have mostly wheat as it stores for so darn long and is so versatile

shauna said...

Long term storage is mostly wheat and it needs a whole lot of work. Thanks for setting up this site...it serves as a reminder to keep working on my storage!

sharilee said...

I would have to say it's a toss up between beans and wheat. It's all safely tucked under my sons bed!

ds said...

We have lots of wheat and rice. Next would come sugar, and I wish there was a way to store chocolate chips before I eat them all up. I also have LOTS of canned green beans and peas. i like to have 6 cans of regularly used items in the pantry, stored in a line, so I know when I need to get more. These storage containers look great!

Polly said...

WE have lots of wheat, beans, oats and some canned goods. I would love to have something like this so I can be more organized with the cans.
Thanks for the opportunity to get one@

SOFTLEY FAMILY said...

Wheat. Just found your site. Thanks.

Jessica Parnell Tucker said...

Long tern- Wheat! Year's supply for 5. That means my walk-in closet is full of it. Also, the other basics- beans, powdered milk, sugar, oats. Need more rice.
short term-lots of can goods-refried beans, black beans, veggies, and canned chicken

Anne said...

The only thing we've got so far is oats and not nearly enough yet - we're working on it though!

Amy said...

Yeah! I hope you get to keep yours.
Ames

Ashlee said...

I have lots of wheat and oats- I am trying to build up on beans and other essentials now, then I can starting rounding things out with the other yummies. Right now I only have a can or 2 each of dried apples, carrots, hot cocoa, etc.

RufflesAndFringe said...

I think what I have the most of is wheat. I currently don't have a wheat grinder, but I am saving for one, so that said what is not useless! Thanks for the great giveaway I really want to win!

Anonymous said...

I too love your blog...we have more wheat than anything. I've been looking at the consolidator systems to convert an unused closet in our office into storage for our long term food items. I also, love all of the pictures! :)

Justin and Lindsay Wilkin said...

I have a lot of the following. We just inherited a bunch of wheat and rice, YEAH!

I love the looks of that handy storage gadget, I really hope I win!!! :)

Liz Johnston said...

tomato sauce and flour..

jello said...

I am really glad you showed me this. I have seen the full size rack with 3 to 4 levels of cansolidator shelves. I thought it was too expensive, but now that a single shelf is available, I am more inclined to get one.

Thanks,
Joel

Sharlyn said...

We are still starting out but we have the most of wheat.

Mandy said...

Wheat! I have well over 600 lbs. There's 4 of us - my kids are 4 and 2. That's a lot of wheat.

And oats. I have a lot of that, too.

Come to think of it, it's probably because oats and wheat have been the two cheapest things you could order over the last 3-4 years.

Jacob and Elise said...

Oats. Probably because we don't use them up as quickly as the others! Now that my current fixation with water is more under control, it's time to move on to wheat!

Anonymous said...

We have tons of oats, brown rice and beans. We eat a lot of each product, so we have a lot. These storage shelves look like answered prayers. Can you ever have enough organized storage? Mine is not organized enough.

sos said...

Mostly oatmeal, beans, and rice. Mom would like the shelves too, Hannah.

Kristen said...

we have lots of wheat. My husband thinks maybe we could trade it for other things if need be. skanderson_family@hotmail.com

Raysha said...

I could definitely use this! I just started my long term about 6 months ago. I have mostly beans and wheat.

The T said...

Well, I'm new to food storage too. I just started putting our 72 hour kits together. Thanks for all the great info!

Amy said...

Wheat!

I love your blog! Thanks!

Kim said...

I have the most of rice and flour, but that isn't saying much considering I just started my food storage. I really need to get on it! Your blog has really helped me get inspired, and maybe if I had a consolidator pantry it would motivate me to fill it up. Thanks for all the great advice!

techyone said...

Rice and beans! But alot of canned vegetables too.

Anonymous said...

When I lived in VT I had 4+ years of food storage. Gave that away and moved to Florida. Built up another 4 years worth and had to move to NY where I am starting all over again from scratch. Sigh...At this point I have more rice than anything else. If I had a cansolidator I could fit more cans in my cupboard! :-)

Emilie said...

For some reason I have a lot of tomato sauce and beans. What a great way of organizing!!

nanci said...

The bulk of my long-term storage is wheat, followed by rice and then oats. I also have powdered milk, sugar, white flour, a variety of beans, and pasta. I've found that as my children become adults and establish their own families, (therefore leaving home) that I'm finally able to say I have a years supply of grains (wheat, oats, rice) and milk for those that remain at home!

Ramsey said...

Great shelves, I love it!

Morgan said...

Got a killer deal last year on wheat...it was the first thing we got a complete year's supply of!! Food storage seems easier and much less overwhelming after gotten all of that. :)

I would LOVE one of those consolidators!! We are 1 day's worth of work away from our new pantry being finished and that would be like a "pantry-warming" gift!

Emmie-Lew said...

Love it! Super excited to give this a try.
I have sugar and flour mostly. That's what I use most often!
Thanks for all you do!

Mrs. Ordinary said...

Beans (but I'll have my year of everything by the end of the month)!

Hilary said...

Please, please, please! I have been wanting one of these for food storage for a long time now, haven't been able to convince the hubby how great this would be.

Hilary said...

sorry I forgot the thing that I have the most of in food storage? It would depend which bed you are looking under, ours cereal, DD flour, long term cans rice or potato pearls, tons of cans, and freezer stuff. Now the trick using and rotating it, we'll see how that goes.

Jake and Alisa said...

I have a ton of wheat, not really, but a lot and I love using it in my whole wheat bread recipes and cracked wheat cereal. Yum! I would love to win the shelf organizer.

Anonymous said...

I've got lots of beans and rice. Yum! Thanks for the giveaway.
thegood3 at gmail dot com

Questionable1 said...

My wife thinks I'm odd because I bought so much wheat. She should hang out with you people.

Jinxy and Me said...

I have lots of beans and tomato sauce.

Nik said...

I really need to take an inventory of my food storage! I think I have a ton of beans, but I've been trying to really increase my wheat storage--I've actually been learning how to use it in my day-to-day baking! Yay me!

Aleasha said...

look at all of these comments! way to go abs and hannah! i want once of these too! i dont have enough beans. i just realized this the other day.

Anonymous said...

#10 cans of wheat and beans, but working on adding a variety of soups.

Heather said...

The product I have the most of in my food storage is wheat.

dicity said...

OH. MY. GOSH.

I want one of these. Pick me, pick me.

I have canned beans, canned tomatoes and rice the most.

No tuna for me either, make it canned ham -- yum.

dicity

Unknown said...

We have the most wheat probably a year and a half worth, then sugar, rice and milk.
I want a cansolidator bad. I have one of the big shelf reliance systems and love it!

Cameron Siguenza said...

Wild rice is my largest stocked items. Very healthy and filling.

Beth said...

We have more rice than anything else. We eat rice with a lot of the other items in our food storage: rice and beans, tuna and rice, soups "beefed up" with rice. Nowadays we are choosing brown rice rather more often than white or basmati rice, so I need to increase the proportion of brown rice to basmati/white rice in our storage. (The food storage quest seems never ending!)

Crossing my fingers for the giveaway. Thanks for the chance, and for the great blog.

Michelle said...

We have most of wheat. All the things you can do with wheat are absolutely amazing. These shelves are awesome! Thanks for the giveaway. This site is so great!

Amy Weech said...

I confess, I have no long-term food storage! But I feel like I'm pretty good about stocking up on shorter-term items, so I would LOVE to win the Cansolidator Pantry!

Christine said...

We have a ton of wheat. I go through everything else so quickly.

Unknown said...

I have a whole boatload of rice. My husband will tell you my canned food collection would make the Libby's people stare in awe.

shel704 at aol dot com

Anonymous said...

I have more wheat than anything and I bought some more today at teh cannery, it wasn't close to enough. I just inventoried my food and for some reason I have a bunch of vanilla pudding too. What was I thinking?

pestkaj said...

Twinkies- those babies last for ever

Unknown said...

Rice, but I need to buy it in larger quantities, because I cook a lot of rice. I also have beans (need to cook them more), dry milk (used only for cooking), and I've been buying cases of generic veggies, cooked beans, and canned meats at the beginning of every hurricane season. Then I try not to use canned until mid-September. I also try to make sure we have plenty of cooking fuel and kerosene in Spring.

It was SO nice to have almost everything already, without the mad dash to the stores, when everyone else was panic-shopping for hurricane Ike.

And I did a LOT of cooking with canned and dried foods during the time the power was down (a bit less than 2 weeks).

I checked, and there's a cannery in my area; maybe I can find someone from my side of town to split travel costs with, and can stuff in #10s this year. But I'll always shop for generic and on sale single serving cans too.

Shreela gmail

Lisa said...

I think my pantry looks like the second photo. Except mine isn't that clean and organized!! Help!

As for what I have stored most, I would probably say rice and sugar. At lest I will be able to eat dessert!

Wees said...

Lots of wheat, but trying to work on all of the other important items!

Anonymous said...

....just starting out, have a little wheat, rice & some beans & a few cans
- embers

The Samples Sampler said...

I am newly married and trying to establish some sort of food storage. I have a couple canned goods and that's about it!(Don't judge me! :-)) I found your website to be very helpful as I try to figure out how what to store and how to store it. Thank you!

Sheffer's said...

I have more beans and wheat than anything else, but not on purpose. I was given a bunch of stuff when a neighbor moved. Lucky me!

Lisita said...

I've got more wheat!

Amy Petersen Coaching said...

I love it and I want it. Your site it such a great reminder and wealth of info. Thanks for all of the time you put into it.

Amy

Becca said...

okay so I really want to win. I have lots of cans in all shapes and sizes but no way of organizing them...so pick me:)

Anonymous said...

Love the site and your recipes ROCK! I have my three months supply complete and just now really starting on the long-term. Have 15# rice and just ordered a case of powdered milk! I never thought powdered milk could make me so happy!
ncottington at hotmail dot com

Tammigirl said...

We have the most rice, pasta, and tomato products, but we have plenty of beans, canned vegetables, flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, etc.

Jen said...

I've got TONS of wheat!!

Keri said...

Pasta. Definitely pasta.

Erica said...

I hope to learn a lot from your blog. Thanks for sharing this information with others! We have the most of Wheat. We use it all the time to make bread and tortillas.

Audra said...

Wheat- It stores forever! and we have three different wheat grinders in case we ever need to use it. - Now I just have to figure out what to do with the flour.....

Hannah said...

In my longer term storage we have the most of wheat.

Rachael said...

Wow! that's alot of comments. . . .Everyone wants that can consolidator! It's AWESOME!!!

Zillah said...

beans!

Aaron and Elaine Fralick said...

We are a family of three who have been living off of our food storage since May 2008! So now we only have a little of powdered milk.

being prepared got us through 9 months of No large grocery shopping. Just eggs and cheese and some nice fresh milk every once in a while. Thorough the hard times.

Anonymous said...

I don't currently have a long-term food storage. But my regular food storage is mostly made up of baby foods right now ;)

Gel said...

I love your site! I have mostly rice and beans. Just starting to stock up my wheat. Thanks for all the inspiration.

Laree said...

I'm just starting some long term stuff. So right now I mostly have powdered milk - 5 cans to be exact. We use a lot of it, so one case is a year for us with just regular use, and I'd hate to think how much we'd use if we were acutally eating from our storage for a year!

Anonymous said...

We have more rice and peaches than anything else. (Is that strange?) Thanks for your great blog - I love it!

Amber said...

Wheat is my #1 ingredient, I use it for everything, so I guess it's a good thing!

Rebecca Irvine said...

Love the Cansolidators and could certainly use another one. I think I have mostly wheat and some rice. I have a little of the other items as well, but likely need to build it up more.

We Are A Happy Family said...

We have more wheat but pasta comes in close 2nd.

lybbertgirl said...

Just found your site and LOVE it. I am just starting on my food storage. Your site is giving me inspiration...thanks so much.

Gaby said...

we have lots of wheat,oats,riceand i just canned pop corn for long term. short term we have lots of everything and it would look great in those pantry cansolidators,all nice and organized. love your blog and have shared it with lots of friends who are trying to get there food storage together like me.

Jennifer said...

I more five gallon buckets of wheat than any other long term food. Canned items, a couple hundred cans of soups. Soups of all kinds.
Jen

K-10 said...

I am really excited to win this can organizer. I CAN really use it. Thanks!!! LOL

silverhartgirl said...

I have started recently and stared with rice. that is what i have most of.

Anonymous said...

Hi, just ordered two of these to try them out and have to say I love them and would like several more! I mostly have wheat in the largest quantity like many others...

nape said...

I think we have enough soup and canned vegetables to feed the Fifth Army.

Wonderful giveaway. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Wheat and beans would be what we have the most of. We need more fruit and veggies to make our food storage last 2 years.
Love your blog!!!!

jllmm@live.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for entering me in your giveaway! I could really use one of these! I would have to say that I have mostly canned tomato products in excess :) You never know :)
Thanks again!
zokiemichael(at)sisna(dot)com

Jennifer said...

What a great website! Thanks so much for all the time and effort you put into it!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this would be great for all of those Kroger deals I got last week! Thanks.

chericehodges@gmail.com

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