Emergency Stockpile Organization: How to Keep Your Prepper Food Storage In Order!

[@terarosen7909]

Organizing a pantry is my favorite hobby. If I was there you could sit back and drink your tea lol

[@ritanelson8879]

Great organization tips. The only difference is in so cal, we have earthquakes. We have to put heavy, breakable stuff, glass, near the bottom and pasta, rice, lightweight stuff on top shelves. Or we would have broken glass, or just a big mess as shelves tip over.

[@LivingOnADime]

Wow, that shows why it's important to adapt to where you are. Good job!

[@donnakjohnson]

Tawra, you are an excellent organizer, looks great, very neat!!

[@muskokaoma7470]

Tawra could be a professional organizer and earn a lot of cash doing it too. I agree she's very talented with her organizational skills

[@teresagalaz1364]

To remove the sharpie writing from your containers, use nail polish remover.

[@peggetennant]

My grandkids would move in with you today. Pasta of all kinds is a main stable here. They have it almost everyday. Great organization. You are amazing. My stockpile is not that organized, but you have given me great ideas. Thank you.

[@joellenbroetzmann9053]

We always had a "stair pile" even when I was very young. They were always put on the same side of the step so people knew to walk on the other side. Our laundry was in the basement, so Mom would have one laundry basket of washed and folded clothes on the basement stairs. Once someone carried it to the main floor they would set it on the 2nd floor steps. The Harlem Globetrotters used the motto "Use your head to save your feet"

[@pegjac05]

I store my rice in those cleaned and sanitized juice bottles. A couple of oxygen absorbers in each one. Store in dark cool place and it lasts for a very long time. Currently using rice stored since 2015- it’s fine.

[@LoveMyCoffee10]

Did you freeze the rice? Can I just put the rice in jars w/oxygen absorber w/o freezing?

[@nachtbild]

Oxygen absorbers are a must, freezing isn't. I only freeze my flower before storing it.

[@NRice34102]

I bought a few of these from Wal-Mart over a peruod of several months. Weight capacity per shelf is 100 lbs. Even fully loaded, it is easy to move. Hyper Tough 16"Dx48"Wx75.4"H 5 Shelf Heavy Duty Wire Shelving with 3 in. Casters Black Although I am NOT normally very organized, when it comes to my working pantry & emergency pantries, everything is sorted by category, then alphabetically. It helps keep me aware of what stock is low.

[@debbywelchel3893]

Great job. I guess I got my Tawra fix for the week . Good job Mike and sons.

[@tooshieg2059]

Wow, you've done a great job of organizing. I fear if a mouse ever sets up home he will have a field day! I found that I save a lot of room be removing individual packages like Swiss Miss from it's box and storing the packets in a plastic container. Also, as someone who has had several basement floods, I don't stock paper products or cardboard anything on the floor. Good luck to you! Thank you for sharing.

[@LivingOnADime]

Thanks! We are keeping an eye out for mice but the room is far from other food or entry points. Not sure if Tawra mentioned it, but we talked about putting flour and rice in the 5 gallon cat litter buckets like the pasta.

[@dawnjenney5519]

Happy to see you

[@Bloodhoundjed1]

I like to use yellow painters tape as labels for my buckets and will mark on them with a sharpie. It's also better on my eyes, because I was using blue painters tape and couldn't read them very well. I also mark the month and year on front of the food labels with a sharpie, it helps me better on doing rotation, because I have a hard time seeing some of the dates on cans, & pkgs. I also try to keep all canned goods together, all breakfast, all baking, all condiments, etc., it just makes it easier when I go looking for certain items. I pretty much have my kitchen pantry set up the same way.

[@nance8885]

Funny about Life Alert. Thanks for showing us how you organize. My stockpile is in my utility room, kitchen, bedrooms, linen closet, etc.

[@CookingwithCatLover0330]

LOL! That guy is so funny. Great video. There are so many times I get overwhelmed with my stock up. I have a chest freezer that I really don't want to deal with. You do good with the stock up. Thank you for sharing.

[@terarosen7909]

I have a chest freezer too. I heard a tip I’m using, you may find helpful too. I’m using 3 of those cloth shopping bags from Walmart. 1 has chicken products, 2 is pork products, 3 is beef products. That way you can just grab each bag and pull them out for other items on bottom. I love how it’s working for me. You could use the idea and change it up to suit your needs. Hope that helps

[@LivingOnADime]

Thanks @CookingwithCatLover0330 ! And it's great to "see" you! -Mike

[@muskokaoma7470]

Thankyou Tawra, your pantry room is awesome. All your hard work is paying off big time. Youve definitely motivated me to get down to my basement and start reorganizing my basement too. When i do those kinds of tasks i allow a week to accomplish that sort of thing as i am full of arthritis and have degenerative disc disease and have illness that keeps me from doing a lot at once. I dont let it stop me, but do allow myself lots of extra time to complete my tasks.

[@LivingOnADime]

Yes, Tawra does the same when she is not feeling great - She works at it in little bursts as she can. I'm glad it is helping you!

[@vickiebrannon5217]

So good to see you! Love your storage tips! Thanks for the Life Alert message!😂

[@doodletoot7225]

This motivates me to organize food storage area. Thanks for the gentle push.

[@bolilukp683]

I really admire & appreciate your work & the amt of info you share in such a timely & efficient manner. You have been a light in the dark for me, as I am a new widow, & am now prepping without my husband’s help & his heavy lifting skills (lol). Even tho it’s just me & the cat, I prep with my 2 grown married kids & their tribe ❤. Thanks sweetheart for showing myself & others how to get this done without having a meltdown (me 😢) Connie in Lubbock Tx 💗

[@Bloodhoundjed1]

Hello from Fort Worth

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you! I'm very sorry for your loss...

[@wisemammabear]

I put my paper bags in 2 or 2 and a half gallon Ziploc bags, keeps them clean and dry

[@stephw1702]

My system is very similar. I always keep a sharpie marker, pair of scissors, and a pad of paper hanging in my pantry. That way I can write the dates on cans or boxes as I go and keep track of what is needed. When it comes to giant restocks or organization days, I really find allowing myself to take my time and to take breaks really helps. Sometimes I sit and look over the shelves I want to organize to create a plan before going at it again. It helps keep my anxiety down and prevents multiple rearrangements. Finally, when doing giant resets I always start in the working pantry ans make my way back to the bigger pantry. It's quick and lets my brain happy and ready to tackle the larger task.

[@beckybramlett3515]

If you can find the instant breakfast on sale, you can use 1/3 cup dry milk, the instant breakfast,and 8 ounces of very cold water and it’s very tasty.(I took it to work every day for years and just used the water from the fountain) !❤️ Hope this is a good idea for stock piling .

[@cubanitchy1]

Thank you for showing organized food storage ❤

[@SpatchG]

Great to see this. I love Yorkshire tea too. I live in New Zealand and it costs a bomb here, but I accept no substitutes and have a stash of it :-)

[@nancdee7282]

I live in Canada and Yorkshire tea is my favorite. ecstatic when I can find it on sale, but that is rare. I consider it my splurge

[@Teresa-K]

Excellent stockpiles! I realized there are more things I should get to add to my stock. Thanks for doing this video, it was very helpful. Kindness, Teresa

[@ritaslade2989]

Nice stockpile thanks friend for sharing God Bless You

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you! You too!

[@annaapplebush5316]

Thanks for the excellent tips! Watching from Germany and loving your show!

[@pamelafreeman4548]

Love your pantry organization!. 😊

[@marylindsay6241]

Glad to see you

[@laurat4977]

Great tips! I would LOVE to have a whole room for pantry storage. Good work!

[@Mimi-qc5hd]

I keep a marker, scissors, notepad, pen and boxcutter in my pantries for easy marking and opening

[@sandrawallin6044]

How to store flour and cornmeal to keep weevils out of it, put it in your freezer for 4 day’s then take a 5 gallon bucket with a good sealing lid put a few bay leaves in the bottom of your bucket ( about 4 or 5 ) add flour to half full add more bay leaves then fill up the bucket and add bay leaves on top then seal up your bucket. Works the same way for cornmeal. I was told this by a prepper, that the weevils don’t like the smell of the bay leaves so they stay away, and putting it in the freezer first kills out any larvae that maybe inside your flour or cornmeal.

[@kristineparks4606]

I wish I had that big of a pantry it would be nice. I put all of my grocery bags in my tide pod containers and mark them.

[@jennyh1970]

Where do you buy pasta in bulk?

[@maxibake9323]

Those are Great organization tips Tawra.👍 I reuse the boxes that things come in too. I empty them, reseal them, & cut the box in half to get 2 boxes that are still quite strong, especially for things on the floor. I also have one of those Flower pots that can hook onto the shelf, with a Box cutter, Parcel tape, Scissors, String & Sharpies in it, (including a white chalk pen for dark things,) You can also hang things on S hooks on the shelves. TFS LOAD, take care & keep really busy everyone.❤🙂🐶

[@trishthedish-n9u]

mice love cardboard

[@tammylainen4295]

You can go to your local liquor store and ask if they have any old beer signs and cut them to fit your shelves. That is what I did and I have the exact same shelf units that you have. Free is always wonderful

[@kristinthomas2229]

I need to get organizing. My pantry is a mess. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@PreppingAngel]

Looking good

[@Myeverydaywifelife]

Ha!! Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was originally created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 following a contest in the Saturday Evening Post. In 1954, General Mills introduced the red spoon logo with her signature, placing it on Gold Medal flour, Bisquick, and cake-mix packages.[1] A portrait of Betty Crocker, first commissioned in 1936 and revised several times since, appears on printed advertisements and product packaging.

[@res6769]

No need to explain your soda stash. I get so tired of people telling those of us who drink regular and diet soda we need to stop. I have no health problems (besides arthritis-I am 57) and am normal weight. Everything in moderation.

[@AC-sn5io]

Thank you 👍😊

[@ronniecupp6778]

I won't comment on your soda if you don't say anything about my coffee

[@res6769]

@@ronniecupp6778 👍

[@shirleydenton4747]

I sneak and eat ice cream in the middle of the night. Enjoy your soda!

[@cheriebolender8765]

One thing in my storage, I got a lot of boxes of plain gelatin , super cheap on clearance. It keeps even longer, than Jello. It is a very versatile product

[@winniallison5857]

I write the expiration month and year on the front of each container in black sharpy, so I don't ever have to surch . I put all "expired " things in one area so I know to use them first. I just revamped my pantry I am so happy with how organized and how nice it looks.

[@dianerobillard1044]

Very helpful.

[@stellasings5788]

Just buy some mylar bags for your flour and sugar. Small investment to protect your food from what could be a moisture problem. Same with your rice. It could last for 20+ years with better protection. You're lucky to have so much storage toom, but please consider better protection. (We learned the hard way when some field mice got into our dry goods storage armoire.)

[@LivingOnADime]

Tawra usually puts the flour and sugar in the 5 gallon buckets with lids as we find them. It's a great idea to take extra measures if needed, but we live in a low humidity area. The buckets work well with mice, but thankfully we haven't had them so far...

[@normamason3185]

I only have 2 of those shelves, but...I have a spare bedroom that as soon as my brother gets the extra stuff of his out of the house (he is renting the home to me), I can move these two from the living room/dining room and get at least one more shelf in there with stockpiles. Right now the toilet paper is in here (my computer room), paper towels are in the garage, and I put the cat food in the hall closet with the cool weather jackets (living in Florida, it's never cold). My extra canning jars are in the living room beside one of the shelving units. Those are my favorites too, because they are easy to put together.

[@pegjac05]

I also do the same storage with my flour and sugar. All those bags of sugar and flour sitting there gives me a little anxiety-- drip drip drip😵‍💫 all my bags of pasta go in 5gallon buckets with twist off lids.

[@tammyeflowers]

Tawra just so you know, I usually play your long live videos as I do housework. My dog had surgery (not frugal at all 🙈) and has been a nervous wreck since but seems to like your voice playing as a bit of normality 😅 Thank you.

[@kimsrurallife8775]

Love video! Hope your having a great break Tawra! 2nd favorite video! 1st is still the Thanksgiving video. 😆

[@ruthstock1549]

I keep scissors and felt pen in my storage room for when needed.

[@junesmith618]

That’s how I use our litter buckets too! But I use masking tape labels. Mice are problematic where we are moving to and the cats aren’t relocated yet.

[@leonorhernandez7079]

Thanks i watchd this as i finished up cleaning and reorganizing mine. 😂 only thing we live in the south so i got rid of the cardboard. No paper cardboard anyting bugs can live in and eat.

[@cindybauman3008]

😂 LOL!!! @ your bottle of vodka!!! I use that size to make my homemade vanilla! I should keep an extra bottle on hand for cleaning! Great content Tawra!!! I’m about to move to a different house several states away and am already looking forward to setting up a new stock pile space! Thanks for the inspiration!❤

[@annakovatch8966]

Very good! I love how you find great deals on things! Thank you for showing us this!

[@LivingOnADime]

You're welcome, Anna!

[@TheBestIsYetToCome007]

Fantastic video! Ive been there. Its so much work when you have a LOT of food.

[@kathylovejoy2569]

I love your storage area, I sure would like that much room to be able to put things away. I only have a small pantry and right now, it's a mess!!!! I have to go through it, and get some shelving, to hold products, that it doesn't matter if they get too hot or cold. As I do have an extra area for that sort of thing. Once that stuff is out of my way, I will have a lot more room in the pantry. But yes it really can get beyond a person at times. Love watching you show and this one is very interesting.

[@TheLutzFamily1]

Love this video

[@fiftyfive70]

I am so excited for this video!

[@eileenkillen1481]

Love your tips Tawra, more than you will ever know. Thank you. ❤

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you, Eileen!!

[@rachelrodgers9171]

May 29, 2023 was Memorial Day, but the 4th of July is around the corner, you'll be good to go with your BBQ sauce.

[@junemorgan1958]

Where did you get your racks?

[@tinaharvey2342]

Lost the powder in Casper 5 hours the night that we were - 40 yes everyone it was -40 in Casper this last winter

[@patriciacooke886]

Tina I feel your pain, our furnace broke down for a month this past winter.

[@LivingOnADime]

Yes, we saw video of houses almost completely buried in snow in Casper! 😬

[@sandrahoffman1958]

Good job so far but may want to add another storage rack or more for center isles. Wish I had a basement with the brick home but had it built without steps with bad knees, BUT do have walk in closets that one was made into a pantry for can goods. Also use under beds and shelves in the back of all double closets.Have an inventory notebook of what is where and the dates stored or sealed so I know what is what.

[@atomicfrijole7542]

Hi Tawra, if you just vacuum seal the flour bags, they will be waterproof and also last a lot longer. Just keep the flour in the bags and put the whole bag inside the vac seal bag. Also - a question for Mike - where did you find flats of Taco Bell sauce? I have only been able to find them a couple at a time at King Soopers and Walmart. Thanks!

[@LivingOnADime]

I can't remember if I bought the Taco Bell Sauce all at once or a few at a time, but I bought them a year or so ago when there were a lot more on the shelf. We have only seen a few at a time in our Walmart here lately, too. I also used to find them at King Soopers, but we don't have one here.

[@atomicfrijole7542]

@@LivingOnADime Fair enough! Thanks. :) Yeah, King Soopers has been pretty hit-or-miss recently. Their prices have gone up tremendously too. Hope Wyoming is treating you well!

[@marjoriesmith9038]

I saw you had giant cans of butter? Where did you get them do you have a link? Thank you❤

[@kimbarker7250]

If you use disinfectant wipes, keep those containers for Walmart bag storage.

[@laurabrown5983]

you find the best prices!! and sales!! ....if you turned the mac n cheese big boxes the other way to go front edge to back would they all have fit vs taking them out?

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you! It just takes a little digging! And we will have to check that wht the mac n cheese boxes.

[@susandavidson635]

Good video!! How nice that you have so much space for stockpiling & storage!!! I have started putting flats of canned goods under the beds! We recently traveled from Colorado to Washington, & on the way back, we stayed overnight in Sheridan, WY. Seems like a nice town. I did wonder where you were!!

[@sarahwright4104]

Oh my gosh I need to think out of the box and use a kleenex box to store grocery sacks in. Will neaten things up instead of just stuffing them all in one bag.

[@kerrynwright]

Loved seeing what you're stockpiling as it gave me some more ideas. I'm needing another set of storage shelves so I'll look for some 2nd hand ones. Always more tips & tricks with your vids, Tawra. Thanks for sharing your ideas. 🥰Blessings from South Australia💕🐨

[@smarttraveler8232]

I have found those cheap plastic totes do give a plastic smell to whatever is in them. I would get food grade plastic buckets for flour and sugar. The smell would ruin your food.

[@tammypoling9618]

Awsome

[@Barbarahas10]

Thank you !!!

[@christinewallace9251]

Thanks! That was really helpful.

[@jennyh1970]

Enjoyed video. Lots

[@laurievoelker9005]

The flaps could be used as shelf liners.

[@des711]

Nice video!!!

[@kathleenjohnson8731]

I just ordered your book on Amazon. I look forward to learning from you😀

[@janreynolds3794]

This was a great video! Very informative!

[@LivingOnADime]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nathanielaranda8407]

this is pretty much what we do, just on a smaller scale because our house is smaller and were a family of 4 but we do a lot of the same stuff that you showed in this video. organizing can be overwhelming but like you said I just take it one section at a time and organize it by category

[@Survival-gyver]

Well, it was nice to see you have some preps that most people forget like the housewares like aluminum foil and baking soda. Out of curiosity, do you have your metal racks affixed to the wall to prevent instability from uneven weights, or to prevent the racks from tipping or collapse? On a side note, I have a discount code for Augason farms if you need it.

[@kimharris2700]

Thank you for sharing.

[@susancumpton9906]

I love your channel ❤

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you, Susan!

[@karenvancehammond1583]

How do you feel about pull top cans of beans, corn etc... vs #10 cans. Loved your video!

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you! Tawra does keep some pull top cans, especially for easy access, but the other day on a show I think she said they don't last as long as the regular sealed cans. They still last a while - I think at least a year if they're in good condition. If possible, we often buy regular-sized cans because you don't have to find a way to use 68 oz. of beans all at once! ;-) -mike

[@nancymiller9095]

Aldi has 2 kinds of whole chickens. Organic $2.99 a pound; 4-lb. Purdue $6.25 for whole chicken. A no brainer!

[@sweetbarksandberries4556]

Ever try using any type of oil to clean old marker labels off the buckets so you can update your barrel labels?

[@LivingOnADime]

Use rubbing alcohol.

[@AC-sn5io]

I put on all my food their Best by date, so I know when to bring them down use the red sharpie, so you can see it better. 👍😊

[@CynthiaRockroth]

I bought a -20 degree sleeping bag. Cost was $200 on sale. I can sleep thru a blizzard in that. My only complaint is i have to use a triple loader at the laundry mat to wash it.

[@carolsmith2969]

I fold my walmart bags like a flag and store in cloth grocery bag in my utility room. You can store more bags and less space.

[@carolsmith2969]

I use bay leaves in all my container and shelves and no weevils

[@diegeferenbach8065]

Thanks

[@sandraskalnik2369]

I use plastic bags in the kitchen all the time when I am food prepping. I spread them out on the counter and put all of the vegetable scraps on them. For instance if I am making soup, I can peel the potatoes, carrots, celery, etc on the bag. When I finish preparing everything I just roll the bag up and throw it right into the garbage. Easy and no mess.

[@tomvarnadoe4302]

Gm👋 my dear, luv the new dew.

[@FiatVoluntasTua23]

Loved this video.

[@wisemammabear]

When I went to the stores in New York in February, no plastic bags in any of the stores. You had to use cloth bags or boxes

[@patriciacooke886]

Colorado started it January 2023. I do major shopping once a month. Yesterday was that day, got a comment from a shopper, she was amazed by the amount of bags in my shopping cart. We had a great visit. Stores charge 10 cents per bag if you want a plastic bag. As a state it’s getting easier accepting change.

[@danamustard1907]

Like watching the prepper shows❤

[@donnacauble]

I always remove box flaps by rolling them the way you do, cardboard has no sharp edges from being cut, which means NO paper cuts.

[@jackieburnett6881]

Great video! You really do have a great stockpile. You gave great tips everyone should follow! Ty

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you! I appreciate it!

[@brightstarr57]

Great storage video! 👍👍👍👍

[@bet3lyn3G3]

Your hair looks very cute up like that

[@LivingOnADime]

Thank you so much 😀

[@JNoMooreNumbers]

I only have walking sideways paths in a small bedroom for storage 😂.

[@patriciacooke886]

LOL

[@LivingOnADime]

We used to use space under the beds and we did things like stacking some flats of canned goods, covering with table cloths and making end tables and such out of them.

[@JNoMooreNumbers]

I have stacks of kitty tubs with sheets over them in the bedroom too. Bed is no good for food. It would get warmed up. It's a heated waterbed so dry stuff in the drawers. Home canned food in 3 closets.😁A challenge to stay near with every spot used. All cabinets have doors to hide things. I need to declutter. I do on a regular basis. Pick a closet or drawer and remove unused items plus people give us coffee mugs and cups endlessly. It would give me more space but he wants the darn things. Please no more and tshirts I don't wear. I have tons. I use them for painting and rags. Cat hair magnets. I need a sign. New coffee cup and Tshirt free zone .😁

[@jerseystotler3615]

Great video!

[@kathylovejoy2569]

When you picked up that box of???? from Costco, that you said were kind of expensive, but worth, I couldn't hear what you called them? What are they for Please?

[@maxibake9323]

I think Tawra said they were Aluminium foil Sheets, they come pre-cut in the packets.

[@SusanJones-cv4wz]

What a fun video!!!