Storage advice?

[Ferricks]

Hi ccmummy, I'm just coming in on this one as I've been addressing storage lately myself so it's a hot topic in my house.

Use the garage for anything ambient or non - perishable - e.g. toilet rolls, laundry / cleaning stocks, kitchen gadgets etc. that are hardly used. Vacuum storage bags can be used to store food / books / bedding etc also in the garage and this can make room in the house itself for food storage as needed.

A shelf above a doorway (usually a dead space) can hold pasta / cereals inside pretty stacked storage boxes without cluttering up the place. Put over-door or screw on hooks on the inside of wardrobe / cupboard doors from which you can hang bags with pasta / rice / stock cubes / toothpaste / packet food (anything really!). The crawl space under the floor can also take some storage if dry and with a reasonably steady temperature - a huge space if you think how much floor you have!

Buying a little extra every week is absolutely the way to do it. It's also worth looking at ANY kind of grow your own - even a pot of basil on the windowsill will offer fresh herbs and some to dry as well.

'I hope this adds to your info to date, good luck with everything!

[piglet]

What do you think is the source of the rust? Condensation, damp floors/walls, age of tins?
At present I'm using a garage store - I ensure only bottled water sits on the (concrete) floor - tins are on shelves but not too tightly crammed in, to allow for ventilation.

I cannot confirm the accuracy of this information, but....

· Do not store water containers directly on a concrete floor. Chemicals may leach into the bottles and the concrete will weaken the plastic and cause your bottles to leak.

And here is where I read this........

http://blog.totallyready.com/water-stor ... dry/09/26/

piglet

[TonyAge]

What do you think is the source of the rust? Condensation, damp floors/walls, age of tins?
At present I'm using a garage store - I ensure only bottled water sits on the (concrete) floor - tins are on shelves but not too tightly crammed in, to allow for ventilation.

I cannot confirm the accuracy of this information, but....

· Do not store water containers directly on a concrete floor. Chemicals may leach into the bottles and the concrete will weaken the plastic and cause your bottles to leak.

And here is where I read this........

http://blog.totallyready.com/water-stor ... dry/09/26/

piglet

Thanks for the info. Just in case, mine now have a layer of tea chest underneath them.

[survival chic]

This to has been an issue for me aswell - where am i to store my prepping stuff and especially food cans and water and i finally found a solution. There is a old brick shed with galvanised roof beside my house. I need to windows and make up metal galvanised doors to seal and secure the shed. I have cleaned the floor and i will pressure wash the walls and re-mortar the walls as they are crumbling abit. Once clean and secure i will paint the inside and outside and treat the wood. Then build my storage shelving unit. Once complete i can store food cans in plastic containers and wrap water bottles to better secure them. I am worried about the cans getting frozen and contents getting degraded but i was told that i should wrap them in emergency thermal blankets. I will still store toilet paper in the attic. Can anyone see a problem with this solution that i have overlooked?

[piglet]

I am worried about the cans getting frozen and contents getting degraded but i was told that i should wrap them in emergency thermal blankets.

How about heavily insulating the whole shed to prevent constant changes between hot and cold conditions, which can affect many materials?
And also store things in insulated containers, like old freezers.
If I was looking at long term storage which may be exposed to differing weather conditions, I would first look at trying to creat a more stable and constant temperature.