Calculating Food Storage Space Needed + Bulk Food Storage Tour ~ Azure Standard Haul 

Thank you! I do, ha!

I am so glad you found it helpful! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!

Wow, thanks!

Glad you enjoyed the video!

Hi there neighbor! We are way up by Lake Superior. So glad you found it helpful!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

Ha, I can see that!

😂 That’s so awesome!! Thanks for sharing! I agree... I think people might just not know how to cook beans. 🤷‍♀️

As a prepper of 50 years you are absolutely correct. The only way the beans would of dried out so much that they wouldn't cook correctly is if the air got into the container.

Hello MNTNSTARZ80. Do you know the channel : The Provident Prepper ? They have TONS of information on various storage; short term to long term. Jonathon and Kylene Jones would love to hear about the interestingly successful albeit accidental storage of those beans! ❤️ ~~Sharon

I have a storage accident story, too. I've always been told that yeast should be kept in the freezer to extend its shelf life. I was cleaning the pantry one day and found, way in the back behind boxes of canned grains, a foil pack of yeast bought from Sam's Club. The expiration date on the yeast was 13 years previous so I assume it was 14 or 15 years old. Even though I didn't need to open it, I couldn't resist the temptation. I opened it and tested in a dish of warm water alongside another dish with an equal portion of our fresh yeast. There was no discernable difference between the activity of the two lots of yeast. Mylar and oxygen-elimination are amazing technological advantages to food storage. Then again, similar to your experience with the beans, we have many buckets of wheat from the days before Mylar and O2 absorbers became popular. We still use them and haven't noticed any deterioration. That the Egyptians stored their wheat in clay pots, though, doesn't mean we should do so or otherwise not do our best. Just what is your family worth to you? If you cut corners, saving a few pennies or dollars, and then your food storage has gone bad, been eaten by insects or rodents, or otherwise isn't available to you when you need it, was the cost savings worth it? You use a refrigerator; you use a freezer. You have air conditioning. These are technologies that improve our food safety and reliability. You should also use Mylar and O2 absorbers when appropriate and you want to do the very best you can to insure your family against food disasters. Those, too, are technologies that improve our food safety and reliability.

Unfortunately in this house I don’t have a garage, but yes, I do plan to add more shelves! Thank you for your suggestions!

Thank you, this is a good point about the weevils and other bugs. I have honestly never done this or had any issues, but I do know people who have. I'm not really sure how I would go about doing this though when buying several 50# bags at a time. Also, the reason we did not go with wood shelving was intentional. I wanted shelves that would be easily be wiped down, not at risk of being damaged by any moisture, and allow for better air flow. Thank you for your suggestions!

Ugh. Weevils. Besides papers they're the bane of my existence. All the old wives remedies failed (massively...they were in my spice cabinet ffs!) but freezing worked. Every dry good that comes into our house (flour, oats, cereal, pasta, rice, etc) gets frozen for a week, thawed, then put away. So far so good.

I’m so glad you found it helpful!!

Wow, that’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse I just rewatch3d, I would suggest, not storing things in the paper bags from Azure, because the humidity of any amount, will cause alot of things to turn solid ,ask me how I know,lol

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse hope you are all stocked up , 5hings are getting real these days

What a great idea! I'm off to create this! 👌

That’s awesome! Wish we had a Costco here!

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse You can buy commercial or industrial shelves from ULINE or Global Industries which will ship them to you. ULINE\Global Ind sells all sorts of products that are heavy duty, including drums, totes, cabinets, workbenches, packing materials, etc. If for some reason you cannot get local UPS\FedEx deliveries to your address, one option is to get a PO box at a nearby UPS\FedEx store. They can recieve them and hold them for you to pick up.

​@@guytech7310Oooooooo see THIS is why I read the c0mm3n+s!! Thank you!!!

Good to know, I’ll check them out. Thank you!

Glad you found it helpful!

I'm so glad you found it helpful!

Hi there! I'm sorry there must be a misunderstanding. We do not consume GMO corn.

Thank you, good to know! I definitely didn’t think about the onions and garlic tainting things. In all honesty, we live off of our “long-term” food storage so it will be used up in 6-12 months, which is why I have never had to bother with mylar or oxygen absorbers. Good to know though!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

So glad you found it helpful Kathy!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

I remember my Granmother kept flour in a metal barrel that had a wooden round lid on it. It sat in the kitchen by the counter. She sat me on it when i needed to be near her in the kitchen.lol

😂 No, I’m not.

Thanks for sharing!

@Rover's Makeover Dog Grooming There is no such thing as organic food. All crops in America are planted and harvested by tractors and trucks. Once one of these vehicles pulls onto an organic claimed farm the entire crops has now been contaminated. All it takes is one car driving down a road running by a so called organic farm and that farm is contaminated. All it takes is one cow getting onto a organic claimed farm and the entire farm has became contaminated and by law the crops can not be sold as organic. A farmer spaying crops as far as 40 miles away can contaminate any farm within those 40 miles. I grew up on a very large farm and still live in a farming community so I know what I am talking about. Organic food claims are to get people to buy their products at a higher rate then those without that little claim glued to their products. So if you are buy food because it claims to be organic stop.

@@evamyrick9803 I would think slight contamination is still much healthier than crops being heavily sprayed with pesticides and roundup? And livestock and dairy not being fed hormones and antibiotics would also be much better than conventional raising.

@@kimberlee2469 What do you think organic farmers use on their chops to combat pest and weeds, chemicals. They are just a different type than other farmer use, however they are still chemicals. By the way no farmer uses Roundup on chops. There are very strict laws in the United States and Canada in place that ensures that no contaminated food products are allowed to enter ours and theirs food supply. The USDA test all of the United States meat, poultry, eggs and milk for unwanted compounds, including antibiotics and growth hormones. Check out the facts with the USDA. Every food production plant in the United States has a number of USDA certified personnel checking everything a number of times per day to ensure NO contaminated food is released to the American consumer..

@@evamyrick9803 are you talking about crops? Or chops, meaning livestock. I am speaking about pesticides and roundup used on crops. And hormones and antibiotics used with livestock and milk production, and fish farms too for that matter. To be clear, I don't only buy organic produce, etc. But I do try to with certain items. It's a personal choice.

Awesome! 👋

Unfortunately there isn't a Costco here, but maybe they ship? Thank you for the suggestion!

Your welcome! Yes, I’ve wondered if the quick oats are really necessary, but since we use them so often I decided for now to buy both. A root cellar is definitely new to me, but I’m very excited to have it!

I think when I priced it out it was more expensive because of shipping.

I'm so glad you found it helpful!

Thank you, there are some on the outside, but you are right that it probably wouldn’t hurt anything to add some inside as well!

I’m so glad you found it helpful!

I’m so glad it was helpful!

Thank you!! Yes, I sure wish I could have known this info before as well!

I found that stacking food on metal shelving , was MUCH less space used when using buckets. Only thing, is, stuff in tin or glass can only be outside a bucket due to potential pests.

Thank you, I’m so glad it was helpful!

Really?! Goodness... hope that doesn’t happen to me! 🤞

Oh good to know! Thank you for the good idea!

Oh, good to know! Thank you!

I'm so glad you found it helpful Jennifer! Also, I just did an updated cellar and food storage tour today. Here is the link in case you want to check it out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oJkQ2UO5_V4.html

Ha, yes, 50 lbs is a lot!

Ha, well... it definitely wasn't what I had in mind yet, but I shouldn't complain. I will say that it is very clean and functional! Now we have it set up much more organized and filled with food.

I started watching bc of your morning routine collab. 😄 Jessica from Three Rivers sent me.

Thank you for the helpful advice! 🙏

Thank you. I think I discuss this more in another video, but we do have a ventilation system. We also have taken the growing setup and the freezers out.

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse I just stumbled on the video. I'm planning to install the 2 vents this year in my cellar to get it down below the 50-55 it stays all winter. Potatoes I grow sprout way too soon. I have put some in the fridge which did not sprout at all. Sp 38-40 deg seems to work. Peace.

I’m so glad it was helpful! Thanks for letting me know!

Great idea!

Different squash last different amounts of time. I’ve had spaghetti squash last almost a year! Potatoes are good for about 6 months.

Thank you! Your information is helpful for someone who is a prepper or looking for more “long-term” than we do for sure! We will go through our food storage in a year or less and have never needed to use mylar bags or oxygen absorbers. I know we have a unique family size, but I believe no food should be stored for more than 2 years, so I would encourage everyone to actually live off of it and replace as you use it up.

My husband and I were preparing for Y2K and bought many buckets of wheat berries and put the unopened berries in our shed, which was not a conditioned space. We were told the wheat berries would last many, many years and practically never degrade, as long as they stayed in the sealed buckets. Not true. The gluten in the berries has dissipated and does not make good bread. We now know that it’s necessary to put the berries in a mylar bag with oxygen absorbers. I read about a man that did this 14 years ago and when he opens the bag to retrieve the berries he said it is as fresh as when he first stored them. So grateful for youtube and all those that share their experiences.

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse But, in your video, at 8:20 into it, you suggested that grains stored in buckets with gamma lids will last many years or possibly even indefinitely. In reality, it may not last a year because you can get weevils in it in a matter of months - though, generally, I have been successful in keeping a bucket of wheat for a year or two. But remember that if you get weevils in your open bucket, and all you're other buckets are sealed only with the lids or, even worse, with Gamma lids, you will have weevils in all of your grain and will find yourself with no food storage at all, and perhaps a hungry family. Your idea that no food should be stored more than two years is your opinion and you're certainly able to manage your food storage with that in mind but it's not science and it's not fact. Wheat and whole grains can be stored, when stored properly, for decades. Cracked, flaked, or otherwise milled grains can easily be stored for 10 years when done properly. Storing all of your grains or dry food products in buckets with Gamma lids is taking a risk that you may be willing to take for your family but you shouldn't talk about long term storage in Gamma lids. I don't have any interest in what risks you choose to accept for your family but when you promote those poor choices as good advice for long-term storage you risk misleading others who, like you, don't have good experience or learning in food storage and that can cause harm to others. That is why I bothered to try to politely suggest you add disclaimers to your videos because what you choose for your family is not recommended practice by any expert in the field of home storage.

Thank you 🤗

I’m so glad you found it helpful!

I’m so glad to hear the video was helpful! And glad my advice on the shelf helped you make a better purchase. As for my grain mill, I use a NutriMill Plus. I think it is a great mid-grade mill. I will try to do a review on it soon.

I plan to!

Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful!

So glad you enjoyed it!

Nuts will go rancid stored that way.

@@elizabethbertsch3066 I buy bulk nuts and store them vacuum packed for a few years. Use this with caution, though; experience does not equal science; because they haven't killed me doesn't prove it's a safe practice. But the taste hasn't been such that I didn't enjoy the nuts. Temperature, oxygen, and light are the primary drivers for going rancid. If you reduce them you reduce the onset and rate at which polyunsaturated fatty acids go rancid. Eating rancid oil isn't immediately harmful and could save your life in an emergency. Eating them over time or in large quantities is considered carcinogenetic - especially if you live in California.

Thank you!! I’m so glad it was helpful!

Thank you!

Thank you! And thank you for taking the time to let me know!

Thank you! I personally haven't seen a need for them, but we also don't keep more than 2 years worth of most items. Grains and whatnot are easily stored long-term by just added oxygen absorbers to their buckets. In the future I might look into them though for making emergency "go bags."

Nut oils go rancid fairly quickly, usually within a year. Vacuum sealing does nothing to prevent the rancidity. The only way to store nuts long-term is to freeze them.

Thank you!

Thank you! I’m so glad this was helpful!

So glad you enjoyed it!

Your welcome! Glad to have you here!

Not exactly, but it's just a room in our basement that is in a corner. We super insulated the ceiling and interior walls. Then we put in airflow pipes to the outside for ventilation and to help control the temperature.

That’s what a few people have said... these were the only ones Menards had, but maybe they make different styles for different stores 🤷‍♀️

We get them from Sam's Club. They hold 600 pounds per shelf or 3000 pounds per shelf unit, on the feet, not the wheels.

Thank you! Glad it was helpful!

Good to know!! Thank you!!

I’m glad you found it helpful.

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

I’m not currently using them, but might in the future if we decide to store more than we can eat in a 12-18 month period. At this point, our method of long-term food storage means that we are continually using what we have up and replacing it with new fairly quickly, so mylar bags and oxygen absorbers are unnecessary for me at this point. I do agree that those things would be great for keeping food that would be stored longer!

Well I don’t love mine, so I might not be the best person to ask. 😅

From Azure Standard! The link is in the description below the video.

Based on my numbers it should be between 33-35 lbs of dried beans per 5 gallon bucket. However, if you are using a gamma lid, those sink down into the bucket a bit so that you won’t be able to fill it to the top. Hope that helps!

I do rinse them out with hot water, but don’t clean them beyond that. You can pry off the gamma lid if you need to though!

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse good to know. Would you pry it off to clean it? It's sugar in the bucket that I'll be pouring out.

Yes, my cellar is pretty humid. If you stored your dry goods in buckets, the humidity shouldn’t affect them. I would also recommend putting oxygen absorbers in the buckets that won’t be accessed for awhile. Hope this helps!

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse it does help. Thank you so much for the response. So nice to hear from someone with first-hand experience. Just found your channel & excited to watch your other videos.

Yes, I’m thinking the freezers might have to go. And yes, that’s why I said what my future storage plan for potatoes is, which is a crate. As for the potatoes you see in the video, we will use those up in a week or so, so it isn’t necessary to do anything special. One benefit of being a family of 9... we don’t really worry much about food lasting long enough to go bad! 😉

True. I don’t vac seal mine so it hasn’t been a problem.

Yes!! I have noticed this recently too. I’m wondering if there is something more to it. 🤔

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse I’m still been investigating. Ha ha Lowe’s now has a commercial blue bucket that is food safe. Says so on the website. The two buckets look the same and cost the same

If your intent is to store the food for more than 12 months then I would.

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse Thanks! Helpful to know!

I’m assumed you mean the glass jars I show. There are metal lids sold by Azure, but they are not sealable or air tight. The opening is not a standard canning jar size, so those can’t be used. What are you trying to seal them for? If it’s for preserving food, I would suggest just using a standard canning jar. If it’s for commercial purposes, you could purchase a sealing machine and closures from a bottling company. Hope this helps!

I'm not sure, but I think you are right that there are different ones. I will go with the Amazon ones in the future!

The contents shouldn’t touch the top of the jar, so putting it on it’s side is not recommended. With that said, it would probably be fine. I do not use those things because we never store things longer than 6 mo, since we are continually using and renewing our food storage. If storing for longer than 6 months, it is recommended.

No, I do not, but if you were to store them for more than a year I would suggest it. We go through our food storage fairly quickly.

Azure Standard .... there is a link in the description below the video.

Menards

That’s a good question, but I’m going to assume that no, they aren’t quite that air tight. It might help prolong the shelf life of things, but not for long-term storage.

It really depends on what you are keeping in there. I’m assuming you mean like a cellar where you would keep root veggies, canned food, etc. In that case, the ideal temp is considered to be between 32 and 40. Ours is never that cool, however, and is usually around 50-60. On the other hand, some things like squash should be kept above 50 (50-55 is ideal), so if you have a combination of things like me, I think 50 works great. Hope this helps!

One option to consider is to install a mini-split in your pantry if it does remain cool. A Mini-split will have a small outdoor condenser unit and a wall or ceiling mount air handling unit. These can be installed yourself if you have some basic skills, & there are lots of YT videos on how to install them yourself.

How strange. Dries beans can last MANY years without changing.

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse Yes, absolutely as long as they are stored properly.

I have been gardening, preserving our food and experimenting with different food storage methods for 13 years. We are all still alive and well. 😉 With that said, I know many old-timers who still can in the oven or don’t follow tested recipes. I think most people understand that they are responsible for their own actions and should never just take someone’s advice off RU-vid and not do any of their own research. Even from “experts.”

I'm sorry! When I redid my website some did not get fixed. I'll check through each of the links and update them tonight. Thank you for letting me know!

Your welcome, glad it was a help!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

350 lb. It would be fine if I didn’t plan on putting very heavy stuff on it.

@@TheFromScratchFarmhouse Are you planning on putting diesel truck engines on them? My 18" x 60" shelves, rated for 600 pounds per shelf, hold about 75 store bought cans or 60 quart canning jars or about 80 to 125 pounds; up to160 pounds if I leave more vertical space and stack cans. Wheat or grain in gallon buckets weigh about 50 pounds, 4 buckets per shelf, or 200 pounds. I also use storage tubs to hold smaller Mylar packages of pastas, rice, beans, etc. I can get 45 to 60 pounds per tub, two tubs on a shelf. A 350 pound rating, if reliable and accurate, is plenty for food storage. I've been using the Sam's Club shelves for 15 years and never found a sag. The most recent I bought were just months ago and the quality hasn't gone down but the size has... Similar to the one-pound pack of cheese is now 11.25 oz, the 18"x60" shelves are now 18"x48". They trick their customers by leaving the price the same but reducing the product size... I'd rather have paid more. Anyway, they're still good quality shelves.