Buy in bulk/stock pile tribe - Page 8

[velochic]

Sorry this turned into such a long post.

Originally Posted by akcowgirl

If you a serious and not kidding is there any way we could see you excel spreadsheet.
If you were joking sorry, I am not good on picking up on jokes online.

I do keep it in excel. If I knew a way to share it (temporarily... I never share stuff like this for a very long time) without sharing it with the world, I would. I don't have a blog and I don't participate in places like facebook, so I don't even know where I would put it. It's too long to post here.

To give you an idea of how I organize it, here's one category I copied from my worksheet (it didn't paste very well). The first column is its location. Some are in food grade buckets (which I call "tubs" because it's shorter). Some are on shelves. So, shelf c.3 is the 3rd shelf from the top on the shelving unit I've called "C" in my pantry. The second column is the number of units (so I can change them quickly as I rotate items), then the 3rd column is the item and any additional measurements I want to add. HTH! (Obviously we're a family of rice eaters! )

Grains, Dried Beans and Flours
tubs5(42 oz.) canister quick oats
tubs20lbs. whole wheat flour
tubs 20 lbs. hard red winter wheat berries
tubs55lbs. white unbleached flour
c.35lbs. extra fine flour
c.310lbs. self-rising flour
tubs80lbs. basmati rice
tubs25lbs. long grain rice
tubs10lbs. medium grain rice
c.35lbs. masa harina
c.33lbs. corn meal
tubs30lbs. pinto beans
tubs10lb. great northern beans
b.32lbs. chickpeas
b.310lbs. navy beans
b.35lbs. dried split peas
b.32lbs. black beans
b.32lbs. brown lentils
b.310lbs. red lentils
b.310lbs. popcorn
tubs30lbs. sugar

My other categories are:
Crackers, Chips and Snacks
Baking Goods, Oils & Syrups
Spices
Fresh Onions and Potatoes
Canned fruits
Dairy Products
Sauces & Pastes
Canned Vegetables
Broths, Bases and Bouillons
Meat (canned)
Canned Soups & Beans
Coffee and Tea
Condiments & Miscellaneous
Water & Drink Mixes
Dried Goods

(ETA: this is all the shelf-stable stuff. I keep my freezer inventory in a different spreadsheet.)

[captivatedlife]

question on oat storage

Due to dietary restrictions, we would like to order gluten free oats. Due to money restrictions ( ) we find that oat groats would be the best purchase. They are individually packaged in 2.5 lb plastic packages. Shipping can kill on 1 package but 10-20 packages the shipping is decent. How can I store these? Anyone have ideas - I am completely new to this - so please help!

[velochic]

Originally Posted by captivatedlife

Due to dietary restrictions, we would like to order gluten free oats. Due to money restrictions ( ) we find that oat groats would be the best purchase. They are individually packaged in 2.5 lb plastic packages. Shipping can kill on 1 package but 10-20 packages the shipping is decent. How can I store these? Anyone have ideas - I am completely new to this - so please help!

I don't know if this would work for you, because it requires vacuum storing with a food saver. I would seal the groats using a food saver (or other brand) sealer. Depending on how long you are going to be keeping the food (let's say you have enough to last over a year), I'd add in an oxygen absorber to each package that you will keep that long. These food savers come with an attachment to vacuum seal mason jars, which would be my preferred method of oat storage. (As an aside note in case anyone is wondering... vacuum sealing canning jars does not take the place of actual water-bath or pressure canning.) I freeze my oats to kill any nasties, but I don't know if you have to do this with groats. HTH!

[Hazelnut]

That's impressive! Maybe I should just start there- head to whole foods, ask about buying that amount and about the food strorage. So are they giving the food storage thigns to you? Are they meant for long term storage as well? I'm assuming they would keep any bugs out? Yes I have a thing about bugs. My parents always had a cellar with a lot of extra canned goods, but not grains in bulk. I have a wire storage area in my laundry room that I keep the extra tp, etc. I guess I should just clear some off for this stuff. Do you already know how to can? What a score. I love when good luck like that happens!

Originally Posted by Jyotsna

I came home from Whole Foods today with 25# of Lundberg brown basmati rice, 15# of oatmeal, 10 lbs of whole wheat flour , 15# of legumes, 5# of carrots (we can eat one package per month!). On Monday I'm picking up 100 Ball canning jars, plus books about canning, all from a Freecycle find! Wahoo!

Going into my second full month of formal food storage, I'm starting to feel I have this idea down, of how to buy, how to rotate, how to use and organize the food. I feel very happy that I'm doing well with this.

Btw, Whole Foods was willing to sell me a 25# bag of rice for the same price per pound I already buy it, minus 10%. I could stand at the bulk section and scoop 25#'s of rice into little bags, and pay full price, or I could take out one 25 lb bag. I did that. They also sell rice and oatmeal in 50lbs, and rice in 100lbs. They said they weren't ready to start selling flour that way yet, but I'm just going to keep on bugging them until they do! It's not as inexpensive as buying from a coop, but it's cheaper than the regular bulk purchases that I make.

I approached two stores for more storage canisters (icing seems to be the big thing for those), and Whole Foods said they will have two sizes for me in the morning. I'll be over there to get them before they toss them. Kroger told me that they use the icing buckets to store soup from the cafe at the end of the night.

The rice is still in the van tonight, so I can't bring it in until I get my storage containers.

I'm particularly excited about the 100 Ball canning jars. I can't wait to fill them!

[tree-hugger]

Originally Posted by captivatedlife

Due to dietary restrictions, we would like to order gluten free oats. Due to money restrictions ( ) we find that oat groats would be the best purchase. They are individually packaged in 2.5 lb plastic packages. Shipping can kill on 1 package but 10-20 packages the shipping is decent. How can I store these? Anyone have ideas - I am completely new to this - so please help!

gallon-size glass jars with metal screw-on lids

they are cheap, durable, easy, plastic-free, and bug/vermin-proof

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by tree-hugger

gallon-size glass jars with metal screw-on lids

they are cheap, durable, easy, plastic-free, and bug/vermin-proof

Where do you get those? DO you mean the kind that have juice and stuff in them (first)?

[Hazelnut]

I'm ordering some from frontier this month. I think they're $24 for a pack of four. Container store? Target? Ikea?

[Tilia]

I buy glass jars from Ikea. I use the biggest ones for rice, flour and sugar. Then the medium ones fit the bulk spices from frontier perfectly.

[dancebaraka]

It wouldn't hurt to put out an ISO on your local craigslist or freecycle. I scored several cases of gorgeous vintage half gallon ball jars from some kin when we cleaned out her house. Someone in your area might just have just this thing laying around somewhere. Worth a try....

[KariM]

Originally Posted by AngelBee

Is anyone willing to post a list of what they stock their pantry with? Like what are the staples you keep on hand? And then, what things additional are you stockpiling?

Make sense?

Here's our food storage plan. I took a look at the USDA recommendations and calculated it out for our family of five. What you see is a moderately balanced (at least by USDA standards) food storage plan. In addition to the basics stated here we also store baking supplies and condiments, spices, herbs, vinegars, other seasonings.

438 Pounds Whole Grains
200 pounds Whole Red Wheatberries
200 pounds Whole White Wheatberries
25 pounds Oats
5 pounds Brown Rice
2.5 pounds Quinoa
2.5 pounds Millet
2 pounds Barley
1 pound Popcorn
182 Pounds Refined Grains
100 pounds Jasmine Rice
50 pounds White Flour
25 pounds Bread Flour
7 pounds Cornmeal

2640 Ounce Equivalents Meats
· 896 ounce equivalents – 56 quarts canned chicken (home canned - 1 quart = 16 oz. equivalents)
· 320 ounce equivalents - 64 quarts canned chicken broth (home canned – 1 quart = 5 oz. equivalents)
· 176 ounce equivalents - 44 cans canned tuna (commercially canned - 4 oz. cans = 4 oz. equivalents)
· 1248 ounce equivalents – 52 quarts canned pork sausage (home canned – 1 quart = 24 oz. equivalents)

4142 Ounce Equivalents Beans
2400 ounce equivalents - Dry Beans
· 600 ounce equivalents - 30 pounds dry pinto beans (1 lb dried = 20 oz. equivalents)
· 400 ounce equivalents – 20 pounds dry navy beans (1 lb dried = 20 oz. equivalents)
· 400 ounce equivalents – 20 pounds dry red beans (1 lb dried = 20 oz. equivalents)
· 400 ounce equivalents – 20 pounds dry black beans (1 lb dried = 20 oz. equivalents)
· 400 ounce equivalents - 20 pounds dry lentils (1 lb dried = 20 oz. equivalents)
· 200 ounce equivalents - 10 pounds dry split peas (1 lb dried = 20 oz. equivalents)
656 ounce equivalents - Canned Beans
· 320 ounce equivalents - 40 quarts canned pinto beans (home canned – 1 quart = 8 oz. equivalents)
· 112 ounce equivalents – 14 quarts canned navy beans (home canned in quarts = 8 oz. equivalents)
· 112 ounce equivalents – 14 quarts canned kidney beans (home canned in quarts = 8 oz. equivalents)
· 112 ounce equivalents – 14 quarts canned black beans (home canned in quarts = 8 oz. equivalents)
1086 ounce equivalents - Seeds, Nuts, & Nut Butters
· 160 ounce equivalents - 5 pounds sunflower seeds (1 lb = 32 oz. equivalents)
· 64 ounce equivalents - 2 pounds flax seeds (1 lb = 32 oz. equivalents)
· 32 ounce equivalents - 1 pound sesame seeds (1 lb = 32 oz. equivalents)
· 450 ounce equivalents - 15 jars peanut butter (18 oz. jar = 30 oz. equivalent)
· 60 ounce equivalents - 2 jars almond butter (18 oz. jar = 30 oz. equivalent)
· 160 ounce equivalents - 5 pounds pecans (l lb = 32 oz. equivalents)
· 160 ounce equivalents - 5 pounds walnuts (l lb = 32 oz. equivalents)

1248 Ounce Equivalents Eggs
· 1344 ounce equivalents - 13 of the #10 can dehydrated whole eggs – (#10 can = 96 ounce equivalents)

Dark Green Vegetables – 605 cup equivalents minimum – 606 cup equivalents shown
· 288 cup equivalents - 24 #10 cans Freeze Dried Broccoli (#10 can = 12 cup equivalents)
· 182 cup equivalents - 104 15oz. commercial cans Canned Spinach (15 oz. can = 1.75 cup equivalents)
· 136 cup equivalents - 34 quarts home canned Beet Greens (1 qt = 4 cup equivalents)
Orange Vegetables – 403 cup equivalents minimum – 406 cup equivalents shown
· 168 cup equivalents - 7 #10 cans Dehydrated Carrots (#10 can = 24 cup equivalents)
· 119 cup equivalents - 68 15oz. commercial cans Canned Pumpkin (15 oz. can = 1.75 cup equivalents)
· 119 cup equivalents - 68 15oz. commercially canned Sweet Potatoes (15 oz. can = 1.75 cup equivalents)
Starchy Vegetables – 1007 cup equivalents minimum - 1008 cup equivalents shown
· 399 cup equivalents – 300 11 oz. commercial cans corn (11 oz. can = 1.33 cup equivalents)
· 217 cup equivalents - 124 15oz. commercial cans Canned Green Peas (15 oz. can = 1.75 cup equivalents)
· 104 cup equivalents - 26 quarts home canned Potatoes (1 qt = 4 cup equivalents)
· 288 cup equivalents - 24 #10 cans dehydrated sliced potatoes (#10 can = 12 cup equivalents)
Other Vegetables – 2015 cup equivalents minimum – 2022 cup equivalents shown
· 296 cup equivalents - 74 quarts home canned Pickled Beets (1 qt = 4 cup equivalents)
· 31 cup equivalents - 62 4oz. commercially canned mushrooms (4 oz. can = ½ cup equivalent)
· 168 cup equivalents - 14 #10 cans dehydrated onions (#10 can = 12 cup equivalents)
· 288 cup equivalents - 24 #10 cans dehydrated bell peppers (#10 can = 12 cup equivalents)
· 100 cup equivalents - 50 pints home canned stewed tomatoes – home canned in pints (1 pint = 2 cup equivalents)
· 100 cup equivalents - 50 pints home canned Tomato Sauce (1 pint = 2 cup equivalents)
· 399 cup equivalents – 300 14.5 oz. commercial cans green beans – (14.5 oz. can = 1.33 cup equivalents)
· 640 cup equivalents - 40 lbs sprout seeds – (1 lb seed = 16 cup equivalents)
Fruit Category Storage –
2921 cup equivalents – 3008 cup equivalents shown
250 cup equivalents – 125 cans - 15 oz. cans Pears
252 cup equivalents – 63 quarts - home canned Applesauce in quarts
250 cup equivalents – 125 cans - 15 oz. cans Peaches
500 cup equivalents – 500 cans - 11 oz. cans Mandarin Oranges
500 cup equivalents – 30000 grams Dried Strawberries (60 g = 1 cup equivalent)
250 cup equivalents – 15000 grams Raisins (60 g = 1 cup equivalent)
250 cup equivalents – 50 containers - 10 oz. container Dates (60 g = 1 cup equivalent)
250 cup equivalents – 15000 grams Dried Cranberries (60 g = 1 cup equivalent)
250 cup equivalents – 15000 grams Dried Apples (60 g = 1 cup equivalent)
256 cup equivalents – 32 bottles - 64 oz. bottles of Grape Juice

Oil and Fat Category Storage – 1130 fluid ounce equivalents (1408 fluid ounce equivalents shown)
896 fluid ounce equivalents – 7 gallons Olive Oil
256 fluid ounce equivalents – 2 gallons Vegetable Shortening
256 fluid ounce equivalents – 2 gallons Lard

ETA - I forgot to mention that we do not store any milk, even though that would be included in the USDA recommendations. We instead make sure that our storage choices are high in calcium and we have vitamin D supplements available. Due to dairy allergies it wouldn't be a prudent part of our plan. We also include additional protein rich foods to substitute

[mrsjtc]

glass gallon jars

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

Where do you get those? DO you mean the kind that have juice and stuff in them (first)?

I called around to local restuarants and asked if they received their pickles, olives etc. in gallon sized glass jars. One out of the two I called did and they set them aside for me. I got 6 with lids for free. :-)

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by mrsjtc

I called around to local restuarants and asked if they received their pickles, olives etc. in gallon sized glass jars. One out of the two I called did and they set them aside for me. I got 6 with lids for free. :-)

good idea.. we have a giant gallon jar of saurkraut (DH's idea) in a nice jug that we can store things in!

[crunchy_mama]

Lurking.... I am an amateur, wannabe here. We do real well buying meat in bulk. Sometimes ok on other things- I have a years worth of h and beauty and cleaning items. However, I am trying to up my storage on food items. It seems that we have an issue w/ our diet changing. I don't know how often I have bought something in bulk as we were using it and then things changed. So, I need to keep our storage to basics. Currently we are gf/cf. We eat beans, veggies , fruits (try to stay lower on the salicylates though), meat and nuts/seeds. Reading everyone's lists gives me an idea of what it is that we need to stock up on as before I thought most people just stocked grains and we don't use them- well- we use rice and corn.

On the nuts I have a question- I thought they weren't really good to store indefinitely because of their high fat levels and rancidity- how do people store these? I tend to often buy for a couple months at a time, but that is it.

Oh, and we are putting in an orchard this year w/ fruit and nut trees to contribute to sustainibility, but obviously it will be a few years before that starts to contribute. However, I do have a free supply of pears and currently apples (until the neighbors house is sold). Plenty of walnut trees around, but I have been too lazy to gather them as it is a messy job.

We grow a garden, but it has always been fairly small. This year I hope we can grow it (barring any unforeseen catastrophes).

[akcowgirl]

velochic"
Thank you very much,what you posted actually helps very much, I was having a problem figuring out how to keep things organized, because the stuff is in so many places. I am going to take your idea and run with it if you don't mind.

I picked up a few more buckets this weekend for storage and I am making chicken soup this morning and I am going to can most of it and have the rest for dinner.

[Jyotsna]

Who is blogging about food storage? I'd love to see your blog by the way.
I also blog food storage stuff, recipes, miscellaneous info about my family, ect. I'd love some visitors, and I'd love to see what you are doing.

I feel like I have given birth to a brand new baby, with focusing on food storage. It is permeating everything that I think and do. I spent 1 hour tonight reorganizing the pantry. I really thought it was organized, but I added new food, and realized it needs more thought to it's usefulness. If I was to store it away and never look at it again for 2 years, I wouldn't need to organize that much, but I'm trying to have meals from it.

Well, tonight we had salad with spinach, carrots, mushrooms and grape tomatoes. Then we added cheese, cottage cheese, nuts, and dressing to it. It wasn't exactly a food storage meal, but it was yummy! Normally I'd have used some of my cornmeal from food storage to make corn bread, but we just had some rye crackers, and then made a smoothie afterwards with spinach, banana, pineapple, blueberry, flax seed and water to mix.

The rye crackers recipe came from Beauty That Moves blog. I think she posted it back in November or December. You have to check out that blog, as she sews and bakes bread and other yummies. To find it, look at my blog on the right side and you can arrow key down to the section that shows blogs I follow. I follow more, but forget to add them to the blogger thingy.

[velochic]

Storing Canner & Supplies

I don't have a good system for my canning supplies. I have 3 pressure canners, 1 water bath canner, and 2 pressure cookers. One of the pressure canners is a 23 qt. All-American, and I use that the most for canning. The other two could mostly stay in their boxes, as I only use them for small batches of pints. I have about 20 dozen jars and those are kept in boxes when not in use. The rings are just willy-nilly in a box and most of my lids are still in their boxes. I patently *never* reuse lids for canning if they have been processed already, but I do keep old ones to use for dry goods storage.

I was wondering what kind of storage system you have for these items. I have a shelving unit waiting to go up (when dh gets around to it) and can put the canners on that. What do you do with the rest of it that is more organized?

I can throughout the year. I can whole meals and meats when we have "leftovers", so I need access to this stuff pretty regularly. TIA!

[KariM]

Originally Posted by velochic

I don't have a good system for my canning supplies. I have 3 pressure canners, 1 water bath canner, and 2 pressure cookers. One of the pressure canners is a 23 qt. All-American, and I use that the most for canning. The other two could mostly stay in their boxes, as I only use them for small batches of pints. I have about 20 dozen jars and those are kept in boxes when not in use. The rings are just willy-nilly in a box and most of my lids are still in their boxes. I patently *never* reuse lids for canning if they have been processed already, but I do keep old ones to use for dry goods storage.

I was wondering what kind of storage system you have for these items. I have a shelving unit waiting to go up (when dh gets around to it) and can put the canners on that. What do you do with the rest of it that is more organized?
I can throughout the year. I can whole meals and meats when we have "leftovers", so I need access to this stuff pretty regularly. TIA!

We have shelves in our basement for our canning jars. They store in the cases they came in on the deep shelves. When they're full of canned foods they're upright and when they're clean and empty they are stored upside down. This way when I'm ready to can something I can just carry up a box or two.

Some folks at church store their clean jars with a new lid and a ring on them and turn them upside down. That way they're all ready for the next batch.

We buy our lids in bulk through a mail order company and have them bagged and on shelves in one of our kitchen pantries. We don't store used lids. For dry goods storage we use the white plastic twist-on lids.

The rings we loop through twine (so it's kinda like a necklace) and store some down in the basement near the canning jars and the rest are upstairs in the pantry with the lids.

I usually can in batches of about 14 quarts at a time and rarely more than 21 pints at a time so that's about how many rings of both sizes (wide mouth and regular mouth) that I keep in the kitchen pantry.

Our canners (water bath and pressure canners) are on deep shelves that DH built in our "canning pantry." He custom designed shelves to fit the space and have some very deep ones that accomodate all of our equipment - apple peeler & corer, food grinder, water bath canner, big stock pots, pressure canners, lids, etc. The other side of the pantry is narrow shelves that fit quarts and pints well.

I'm also interested in reading how others store their supplies!

[retro.mama]

Originally Posted by KariM

We buy our lids in bulk through a mail order company and have them bagged and on shelves in one of our kitchen pantries. We don't store used lids. For dry goods storage we use the white plastic twist-on lids.

Would you mind sharing your source on this? Thanks!

[Juvysen]

Uh... anybody stockpile clothes? Any time there's a great sale, I buy stuff for my kids for at least the next few years... usually for a couple bucks per piece...

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

Uh... anybody stockpile clothes? Any time there's a great sale, I buy stuff for my kids for at least the next few years... usually for a couple bucks per piece...

I always regret when I don't do this.

I have been going to the thrift store and "stocking up" on clothes in 1-2 sizes bigger than his current size.. it's time to go again!