I just came home with some good Food deals: ie Pasta 900gms @ $0.88......among other stuff. It really takes up ALOT of room so in a moment of brilliance, I unloaded my Preps into an unused, unplugged fridge in my garage! I wrapped each package of pasta in another empty bread bag (I don't throw anything out!), then wrote the expiry date on the bags and stacked them in an empty cardboad box in the fridge freezer compartment. They'll be fine there for now until it freezes up in January, but by then I'll be better organized and can put all my unfreezable things like sugar, salt, tea, pasta in there - they won't mind being frozen. Fridges are all metal (mouse/insect proof) and insulated, with shelves, so it seems perfect. The same could go for an old unused freezer......
Great idea
I just packed all my preps into cleaned out oil buckets. I don't see the need to get food safe buckets if the food is already packaged. The buckets have lids that are air tight and keep the rodents out. - and they were free!
Just a thought... Depending on what the food is packaged in... be wary of degradation from any residual oil.
I thought about that but I scrubbed the s*@t out of them. I hope they will be fine. I will be rotating/checking on them every few months anyways. They will be stored under my house in the crawl space - the only place I have to stash , so it's cool/cold all the time.
Are they in the commercial packaging or something aftermarket?
Actually all is commercially packed. Cans,pasta,jars,sealed bags ect. Nothing bulk or loose.
A few (more) thoughts...LOL. The cans should be good... any grains put in the freezer for 24 hours to kill or reduce the risk of insect infestation. The cold will kill most if not all. If you have a vacum system you can also reseal over the original packaging. JUst punch a little hole in the commercial packaging so you can get all the air out. Hope that made sense.
hey JAB, do you mean freezing the wheat berries or just flour? They won't turn soft when the thaw will they? I haven't ever done this so please don't think I'm an idiot....thanks
Freezing the wheat berries in their commercial packaging shouldn't give you a condensation problem. There are 2 schools of thought on the benefit to freezing but if it has the possibility of helping I think it is good. I freeze mine for 2 days then let thaw for 24 hours then package. I have had some for 2 years that way and no problems so far. No one is an idiot that asks a question. It shows intelligence as well as a desire to learn. It isn't about ego... it's about prepping.... LOL !!!
Thanks JAB..... and by packaging, do you mean in mylar with oxygen absorbers in buckets with tight lids? Again, thanks.
And BTW do you have a grain mill that you've used that you could recommend?
Sorry, JAB, I just saw your post on Hand Cranked mills.......
I vacuum pack my pastas, rice and grains with one of those food sealer thingy's. Then in Rubbermaid containers. That way I don't have to open a whole 5 gallon pail. I haven't tried my mill yet. It just arrived today. Looks pretty good though.
Freeze beans too - even if you are vacuum sealing...bugs are gross and I don't care what anyone says about them being extra protein - GROSS!
(`'•.¸(`'•.¸ ¸.•'´) ¸.•'´)
*´¨`•.¸¸Anita <>< *.•´¸¸¨`*
(¸.•'´(¸.•'´ `'•.¸)`' •.¸)
¸.•´
( `•.¸
`•.¸ )
¸.•)´
(.•´
Quack, Cluck, Moo, Hee-Haw, Meow and Baaaaaaa from Shalom Engedi Farm
http://adventures-in-country-living.blogspot.com/
Extra crunchy bits for those who like texture.... LMAO