What Is Long Term Storage Again?
As a reminder, the long term storage items referred to here are the foods listed on lds.org (https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage/longer-term-food-supply?lang=eng#1) that have very long shelf-lives. It’s not necessary to rotate them (in my opinion) since they last so long. These are the foods to stick under a bed and forget about, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less important to have them.
Before Buying
- How are you going to buy them? We decided to go with #10 cans. There are other options listed on the link above, such as mylar pouches and 5-gallon buckets.
- Where will you store them? We chose #10 cans based on our storage space available. 6 #10 cans fit easily into boxes that fit underneath beds and in closets.
Final Steps Before Buying
- Figure out how many buckets, cans, etc. you will need for each item. This chart should help!
- If you’re canning your own stuff, shop around for the best price on bulk items. A chart I made to help me: Price Comparison. I took the time to compare 5-gallon buckets vs. #10 cans, and from what I can tell, the price difference isn’t significant! I highlighted my findings in orange. So if you were wondering, it doesn’t really matter which way you choose to store your food.
Also, I originally compared 3 stores. I don’t have a Sam’s/Costco/Winco anywhere near me, so that’s why I didn’t include them. One store didn’t have much and was more expensive on everything, so I just deleted that column. Of the two left (cannery and BCS), they were about half and half on best prices. I wouldn’t have predicted that, so it’s definitely good to check around for the best price.
Next step: save up enough money to buy it all!
Update in 2019: Though I spent the time figuring out how much it would cost us to buy things in bulk and put them in 5-gallon buckets, we still ended up buying the #10 cans from the Home Storage Center. I’m still glad I went to the trouble to figure out how much the cost difference would be. Ultimately, I think finding a place to store everything is more important than saving 15% (not including the time difference, and time is money!)
