Food Storage Hunt: iPrepared

Catching up on our Food Storage Hunt series?

Abs' food storage
I Dare You to Eat It's food storage
Aleasha's food storage

Today we're lucky to have Wendy from iPrepared to share her food storage space with us.



I realize that having a food-storage room is an ideal situation because many homes and apartments just don't have the space. Several years ago we moved into a home with an unfinished basement. Because we wanted an entire room for storage, we stole space from the planned future family room in order to make one. Someday, we will frame off a wall just in front of the buckets. The entire space is about 10' x 13'.



We opted to use adjustable shelving systems ($89 each at Costco) instead of building our own shelves. That way if we ever move, we'll be able to easily set up a new storage area wherever we have the space. I particularly like the shelf fronts that came with the shelving units. We live in an earthquake prone area, so I've put those fronts on the shelves that hold glass or canned goods that could be damaged if they fall off the shelf.


Our storage area holds a one-year longer-term storage (wheat, sugar, beans, etc.) as well as a three-month supply of foods (that we regularly eat) for our family of 5. The first two shelves on the right hold most of the food items, a supply of paper products, and some small water containers. The shelf at back-left holds first aid supplies, empty canning jars, bathroom supplies, and light bulbs. The space between the rolling shelves and the far-left shelf is full of laundry soaps, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper (not pictured). The far-left (and top shelf of the others) is full of other miscellaneous storage.

Most of our longer-term supply is in buckets and boxes of #10 cans on the bottoms of the shelves. I have some carpet samples on the floor to keep the buckets off of the cement floor. I don't stack the buckets more than three high so that the lids won't crack. You can't see these in the pictures, but I also have two buckets with twistable-gasket lids tucked in the back. One is filled with smaller packages of brown sugar, the other with powdered sugar. My supply of oil is inside a paper box (upper right) to protect it from degrading from the ambient light.



I actually won the rolling-can unit in a contest. I don't think I could have justified paying the price otherwise. I added a steel grid on top so that I could store breakfast cereals and other boxed items there.

There are some additional areas of storage in other parts of our house. Most of the toothpaste, soap and shampoo are kept in the boys' bathroom (which keeps them from walking through the house while dripping wet looking for replacement supplies). I also have a small pantry with a supply of regularly-used items including buckets of flour, rice, and sugar. We have water barrels and emergency kits in the garage.

Thanks Wendy! What a great space! Go check out iPrepared for some great real life application of food storage and emergency preparedness.