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Hi there,
I have finally started a real good stockpile. YAY! DS1 is having surgery this June and I really want to simplify my errands etc since he will be in a cast for 12 weeks. In addition to the stockpile that i always do before hurricane season. SO now that I am stocked up...where do I put all this stuff? I was think that I would just stick an extra set of shelves on my one blank wall in the kitchen, BUT complicating things is that DS2 will eat through anything that is not nailed down...
For example this weekend I got a bunch of BOGO deals w/ coupons, but I have in mind how long it should take to go through them. Meanwhile DS2 has already eaten half a box of Ritz bits and 4 bananas. Last week I bought nice italian ice popsicles for pennies...4 boxes, and he ate them all in a week and a half. (I don't have an extra freezer.) He is not at all fat and at times has been underweight for his height, but he has a huge appetite and is very active. He runs around and plays hard, then comes running for food. I usually try to only leave out a few things in the pantry and hide the "backups" on higher shelves but I have so much stuff now that it's not possible to hide it all. If I add a set of shelves everything will be open to his sight. I need ideas of where you guys keep things. I do have a small garage but it is currently pretty nasty and I wouldn't put food there. Maybe soon I can clean it out but I need ideas for this week KWIM? Do you guys use bins? Or maybe there is a creative space that I am not thinking of?
Thanks guys for any ideas you can share!
Answer:
I am lucky enough to have room: large pantry room, plus two closets off the laundry room, that is where I stash food from the kids as well as from the husband.
What about buying some flat totes with lids that will fit underneath your bed? I would also try and get a move on and clean out the garage; easier said than done. But than you could stock at least can goods out there. I wouldnt put any food that is in boxes out there unless you put those in totes too. Sorry I dont have any real good ideas for you. Good luck!
Answer:
Thats a great idea with the totes! Do you have a basement?? I have a old hand truck down in my basement that I use to pile all my extra stuff on. Plus its out the kids viewing, they won't usually go for it if theydon't know I have it.
Answer:
DH built shelves in the garage for my stockpiling. You can also buy those plastic cabinets that you can put somewhere & you can even lock them. Just be carefull not to put too much on a shelf because the shelves will bend. The same thing goes for the particle board ones & don't put those in the garage, they will warp from humidity!! (learned that the hard way).
Congrats on the stockpile. Isn't it nice to be able to only buy whats on sale? When you can, you might look into that extra freezer. It's nice to not have to buy meat every week also!
Answer:
I have 5 kids, 2 of which are teen boys, so I can relate to the "if it's seen..it's eaten". To keep the kids & Dh out of food, I'll put boxes/cans double bagged in plastic grocery bags and tied @ the top, in pantry. I let them know that they can have anything not bagged, then I put out stuff as needed to replenish their stash. I also live in South Florida and wonder where does everyone store Hurricane water? Do you wait till a storm is coming to stock up? With a family of seven, I don't have room for the recommended amt. to be stored.
Answer:
Thanks everyone for the ideas! I ended up hiding what I could, fitting it around my "fancy" plates and stuff, then stuck the rest in a bin for now.
lizfl5 - I store the drinking water in the garage, it is sealed so I feel okay with that. Then if we are going to get a storm, I fill up my bathtub and I have some large buckets i bought from Home Depot (I think you can put paint in them) with screw on lids, that I fill up as well. Those are just for flushing toilets, washing, etc. I also always have a couple of frozen 2-liter bottles of water in my freezer to keep it cold if the power goes.