Do you think this is a good idea?

[marylp]

About how I am organizing my canned items for lonterm storage. This is what I am doing. I have 10, 20 gallon tubs with lids, on the lids I put for example "Kingsize bedding" When I go to the grocery store I always search out the cans with the furthest expiration date, I have found for example cans of tuna good till 2112 or 2013. I make a list of what is going in the tub like 10 cans of pork and beans expire 2011, 7 cans of mixed fruit expire 2010, 12 cans of spam expire 2012 and so on you get the picture. my idea was to fill these tubs with assorted cans BTW I put the expiration year on top of the can with a marker so I can clearly see the year it must be used for. I have learned enough about expiration dates on cans not to be paranoid about them, lets say the can says best by 06/0/2009 and it is already December I will always let a can "finish off" its expiration year. My plan was to leave these tubs forgotten in our spare junk room and it last week for every year bring in the current years cans for example, the last week of Dec 08, will will dig out any can that says 09, do the same that last week of 09 and bring out 2010.Like I said I have a list of what is in there so I check off what I took out and enter anything I may have put in.

Does this seem complicated? Is there and easier way. Any help would be great! Thank you Mary

[Leah]

I do a similar thing. Boxes with a mix of coffee, tuna, Vienna sausages, fruit, powdered milk, etc. Sealed on a shelf with the other junk.

[Crazy4Canning]

Marylp,

 

One thing I would encourage is making a master list of what you have in each tote.

 

Fake naming is great - but somewhere on the tote, make sure you have a number (1,2,3,etc.) that corresponds to a master list so you know what is in each tote. It can be so easy to toss stuff in a tote and forget what you have. When you do NEED it, it can be dismal to find 20 cans of peaches, socks, and a candle but no WAY to open the cans, etc.

 

My husband is a big fan of putting 'like with like'. So, a simple system would be to have cases of beans together, cases of chili would go next to that, all water together, canned meats, etc.

 

On my spreadsheet there is a category/column for date purchased, item description, number in stock, expiry date, etc.

 

Also, for lots of my tote storage, I tape an index card on the end then number the card, so my card has a number in an upper corner, then "Seasonal Decorations" or "Holiday Lights", whatever fake name I choose to give it.

 

This way, when the totes are stacked on a shelf, the ends are facing out, you can stack totes on top of each other, and they are neat, tidy, and easily identified.

 

As you get more organized, you might think further to grouping your food beyond "2 dozen chili beans" and '14 cans of spam' to totes likely for a scenario ... '2 weeks of food for 4 people', etc.

 

A friend of mine is a serviceman and he and his wife have lived in tornado and hurricane country as well as survived some pretty bad storms in the NW. They group their emergency supplies this way. In his brain, he knows that a likely bug-out situation would require about 2 weeks of food. In this way, he only has to grab ONE tote and know there are meals for 2 weeks in ONE tote. He grabs another tote that has plates, cups, dish soap, etc. He grabs another tote for first aid, their bobs, and they are GONE or READY in minutes.

 

If you are planning to 'bug in', I think it can be wise to group food this way, for if you have a storm, etc., all you have to do is grab a tote and just fix and eat. The last thing you want to do during a crisis situation or storm is pull things from a variety of areas and 'think' about feeding people.

 

Another thing to remember is that those totes can be HEAVY. I've often had one slip and crunch a toe or pinch a finger. Remember to fill them no heavier than what you can normally lift. While you might be relying on adrenalin in a crisis situation, there's no reason to blow out a disk or smash a finger while you're at it.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Wanted to add a note: I don't do this with my canning. I have very specific places for canning jars, and a list of what's on each shelf and I keep empties in the BACK, turned OVER. I do keep all the peaches, pears, meats together. Our emergency preps are done differently.