For the past two weeks we have talked about how to decide what foods you want to store in your General Store. We have talked about where to store your food so you can prepare a place before you begin purchasing large quantities. Today we will address how to rotate your foods so you don’t have a mess.
Rotating is an extremely important component of any great food storage plan. Too often people waste valuable money due to the lack of a good, efficient food storage rotation plan. We want to purchase our food storage for the least amount of money as we possibly can but we also want to preserve those foods and make sure none are ever wasted because they spoil. The more simple your plan is, the more likely you are to stick with it and to succeed.
First you will need to decide how you will handle the foods in your store so you are always using the oldest items first. You may consider purchasing rotating shelves for your General Store. I like the can organizers. I have their shelves in my General Store and they are strong, efficient and much less expensive than the plastic models sold by others. The shelves are as little as four dollars each, a real bargain. These organizers can easily be laid flat and reassembled if you are moving. Take a minute to click on the link and check them out.
Whether you are using rotating shelves or stacking cans or placing them in bins, you will need to mark each can, again, so you are using them in the order they were purchased or canned. I keep a permanent marker in my kitchen and as soon as I unload the groceries I date the top of the can or box with the date I purchased the item. I chose this method because canned food are safe to use for a minimum of two years past the expiration date and I know I can rotate a three month supply within two years so even if the can was at the expiration date the day I purchased it ( I don’t recommend purchasing items that have reached their expiration date unless you are using them right away) I still have plenty of time to use it. Storing according to the expiration date is very frustrating as you may find a great deal on an item, purchase 10 cans and the next month purchase 10 more which have a later expiration than the first 10 cans. Now you have to pull the cans off the shelf, place the more recently purchased behind and then replace the older, a real pain in the neck.The can organizers also make a great gift and would be great for you to ask for as a gift. Again,click on the link and check them out
You can choose the method you feel good about but I date the can with the month and year purchased. The tops of my cans and boxes look like this: 10-10 if purchased in October of 2010. It just takes a minute and helps so much to keep your store organized.
Next, I take any boxed items and seal the ends with packing tape. I place a strip or two of tape on the bottom and top of the boxes so it covers the seam and the ends. This prevents any moths that may hatch from getting out and if you have an invasion it also prevents any from getting into boxes that are not infested. I used to have a big problem with that but this method has really help. On occasion I will open a box that has moths in it but they have not been able to get out and to infest the rest of my store and I simply throw the box away, outside of course.
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