Food storage in a storage unit?

[HazelStone]

Hey all:

 

I lost my job recently and am moving into a friend's house to cut costs and make for a quicker "move out" process when I find a job out of town (this must come to pass; I will be moving to my fiancee's region when we marry this summer).

 

Going from apartment to room in a friend's house (and then a room in another friend's house at first if I get a job out east quickly) means I'll be putting a lot of my apartment stuff in storage. The move will happen in a few weeks, but like a good little prepper, I've got food to last me "a while" squirreled away in various places.

 

There isn't room in that house or its pantry for me to stick all my stuff there, not by a long shot! This would've been a good thing if I'd had to squeak by in this apartment several months, but I won't even work through all the "open" items in the time I have.

 

So what could I safely stow in a storage unit in late winter/early spring? The grains and a few freeze dried fruits and veggies I have would be fine, obviously. But how does canned stuff behave when it gets below freezing? Canned veggies, canned fruits, jars of pasta sauce, peanut butter, canned tuna and chicken, things like that? Or oils? I have a couple largish bottles of veggie oil that I haven't even opened (one "expired" last month. There is an unopened can of Crisco with an expiration date of '07).

 

I know cooler temps are good for storage but in northern Indiana we'll have freezing nights for a while yet. Worst case, I sit on unemployment until I get married and move to a better job market permanently (I'll be visiting a couple times for job searches). Not a lot of spare income for groceries, but not a lot of space for my stored food. And when I move, starting up a basic pantry again gets expensive, fast.

 

So if I put oils and canned stuff in the storage unit, will I just come back to a mess with freezing temps? Am I crazy to try? Or should I just donate most of it to the food pantry (I think some of the veggie cans are "expired" though).

[Canned Nerd]

Exposed to the severe temperature changes, I don't think much of the food will survive and a lot of the cans may burst when frozen (liquid expands) so you would have a mess. If there is absolutely no other place where you could store them where the temperature is stable, I would donate the food to an organization that could use it.

 

 

[Josephine]

Can you rent a climate controlled storage unit?

[Cat]

When you move, will you also be moving this stuff, or will you continue to store it for a while? In other words, how "attached" are you to it?

 

It makes no sense to store it only to throw it away later because it costs too much to move, or you have no room.

 

Do you have friends or family with a spare room or basement? A church family where the church has a spare storage room? An apartment-dwelling friend with a spare room they're not using and could use the extra money you *would have spent* renting a storage unit?

 

Think creatively!!

 

 

 

[PureCajunSunshine]

You said you have a bunch of apartment stuff to store in addition to the foodstuffs? Josephine's idea might be the best!

 

Maybe you could also consider contributing to your friend's household with some of the canned goods? Surely they realize that the contents of your regular food pantry needs a home, too!

 

If this or a climate controlled unit is not an option, the regular storage unit idea might still be doable, seeing how we're so close to the end of winter. If you go this route, I would consider protecting canned and glass goods as much as possible against freezing temps inside the storage unit by stashing them inside well insulated ice chests, or something similar. Get them off the floor, insulate the mass with blankets, newspapers, then and pack them in the middle of the rest of your goods. Pay attention to weather forecasts. If you know the temps will be particularly low and may last for days without letup, maybe you could also consider throwing a homemade warmer bag (rice in a cloth bag and heated in the microwave) or maybe an instant hand and foot warmer heat pack into each of the insulated boxes that contain the most vulnerable goods. Replace the bags every day during bitterly cold spells. If insulated well enough, this trick might make a difference!

 

If there is no electricity inside your storage unit, perhaps you could also consider getting a small propane heater and fire it up for a hour or two to help ward off the the worst of the cold nights. If there is electricity, maybe run a small inexpensive electric heater for a short while on the coldest days and nights. (I would not leave it on unattended all night or day in a storage unit.) Be sure to check your rental contract...I think most storage places might prohibit the use of electric heaters at all.

 

What would concern me most about the effects of freezing temps on canned goods, is any damage that is not so readily obvious... The can does not always have to be bulging and leaking to be damaged! If you have lots of canned goods to inspect for damage, it would be too easy to miss a slight compromise in any part of a can's seam (especially the parts hidden beneath the paper labels).

 

For greater peace of mind, you could also consider getting an inexpensive outdoor thermometer that also registers the coldest (and hottest) the temps have gotten in the middle of your pile, where the most vulnerable goods are. If the temps did not get low enough to damage anything, knowing this might save a bunch of needless inspection headaches.

[PureCajunSunshine]

Freezing temperatures won't hurt the oil. It will not expand. Some store their oil in the freezer to prolong storage life for years!

 

Heat is another matter, and will shorten the shelf life of oil considerably.

 

I have a few containers of old vegetable oil, but decided to keep them for my handy dandy homemade oil lamps. Yes, I've tried them with old oil, and no it does not smell all that bad...and besides, by the time I am resorting to using old oil for light, I'll be so grateful to have it, I probably won't mind the slightly 'off' smell. lol