Getting Ready to Buy Long Term Storage

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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

  1. Figure out how many buckets, cans, etc. you will need for each item. This chart should help!
  2. 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!)

beans

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