Finding Room For Food Storage in a Small Pantry
Don’t have a ton of space for food storage? We’ll show you how to carve out an area and the best food for your family to fill it with. Food storage in a small pantry is possible!
(THIS POST PROBABLY CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY IS LONG & BORING BUT, YOU CAN FIND IT HERE.)
How to Organize Food Storage in a Small Pantry
I will be the first to admit that while I fantasize about being a full-on prepper, I lack the money and storage space to do so. I did however decide it was time to make a start and have a basic amount of food storage that I can continue to grow as time goes on.
Unfortunately, I have a fairly small pantry which means not a lot of room for food storage. However, a small pantry is not a good excuse for no food storage. I’m going to quickly walk you through what I have done in my own pantry to make room for food storage.
What Food to Buy for Food Storage
After watching lots of Youtube videos about food storage, I was able to figure out what items last the longest without having to buy expensive freeze-dried food. I decided I would start my food storage with the following items; Rice, beans, peanut butter, canned meat, canned veggies, canned fruit, multiple flavors of bullion, and Tang.
I grabbed a small variety of beans that I knew I could easily cook with. Don’t buy food that you won’t know how or what to prepare just because people say you should have it in food storage.
How to Organize Your Pantry to Included Food Storage
Next, I had to figure out how to make room for these items in my already stuffed, unorganized pantry. Since moving into our place I had not taken the time to fully unpack my kitchen items and organize my pantry.
Adding all of these food storage products would not happen without new storage items and planning. I bought some 5 gallon buckets, gamma lids, and a can organizer.
I decided the bottom of my pantry would be for the main bulk of my food storage. (Buckets of rice and beans, large containers of peanut butter, the bullion and Tang). The cans of meat, veggies, and fruit would get worked into my shelves.
I had to empty my whole pantry and then replace everything in a way that made sense for our family and our needs. It does not look like your perfect Pinterest pantry but it works for us. This took awhile, so if you plan to reorganize your whole pantry, make sure to give yourself a good chunk of time. This is NOT a project you want to start and then have to stop in the middle.
I was able to add some food storage into the space I already had, with a small budget, and with items we already use. This made the whole process seem way less intimidating. That would be my advise to you. If you want to start your food storage without feeling overwhelmed, these would be my tips:
- Buy items you are familiar with
- Start small and don’t think it’s an all or nothing project
- Organize food storage items into your regular food so it can be easily rotated. You don’t want items going bad or wasted.
