Since it sounds from your post on water that you don't really have storage or pantry space, I'd say the best you can do would be to store them in 12-can cartons labeled as to contents and maybe fit them under your mattress if you have a bed where you can do that.

 

Since it sound from your post on water that you don't really have storage or pantry space, I'd say the best you can do would be to store them in 12-can cartons labeled as to contents and maybe fit them under your mattress if you have a bed where you can do that.

I'll echo the above. I use wire racks like this one. Then I fill with canned goods using the cardboard flat just as the grocery store does. Stack the flats of like items - I get about 3 flats to a shelf plus the bottom under the first shelf reserved for 5 gallon buckets. I write the year of expiration on the ends {when I remember and have enough flats}, but it's fairly easy to keep everything in rough date order.

 

I am not sure what you are asking. NYMin seemed to have a reasoned answer but, I am not sure what you want. Sporks, taled about shelves but, I will say the ones presented do NOT hold up under serious weight.

You need a plan, before you buy 365 cans of soup.

 

I am not sure what you are asking. NYMin seemed to have a reasoned answer but, I am not sure what you want. Sporks, ta,ked about shelves but, I will say the ones presented do NOT hod up under serious weight.

You need a plan, before you buy 365 cans of soup.

Hmm. They've held up fine over two years for me and I've got it stacked 3 flats high, 3 flats across plus more on the end of odd sizes. Maybe a difference in the manufacturer? Mine are from Walmart, not Amazon.

 

Wire shelving does come in different grades rated to hold different amounts of weight. You need the kind sold for warehouse use, not the more inexpensive stuff sold to look trendy in a living room.

 

Home Depot sells some reasonable plastic shelving; I've used it because my basement, aka the pantry, is wet. Plastic Shelving.

 

^^^^^this^^^^

In addition to these, there are similar material shelves with doors. I use both.

 

The chromed/epoxy coated wire shelves should actually hold up in a damp basement. (I'm assuming you don't have a constant foot of water on the floor. )

 

Standard milk crates hold 32 cans of soup, and they stack nicely. Easy to move them around and rotate, too.

 

No, but I have enough that my rings rust, cans rust, everything except the water pipes rust. It's really damp. The original well for the house was 4 feet from the side of the building, and it all seeps into the basement. Oh, and we are on a hill. The well is on the "up" side of the house.

 

I would fix that!!

 

Well, I guess it's good to know all the bad architects didn't work in the city.

 

If memory serves, OP has very limited space, Renting a part of a house, or something like that. So, with that:

Small boxes.
I used to get 4 gal paint boxes from the local paint store.
PERFECT size for lifting, stacking, and NOT too heavy.
LABEL THEM WELL, use DARK MARKER
Also, if by chance you were "ever" going to ship them anywhere...
wink, wink, nod, nod...
USPS has MID and LARGE size shipping boxes for free.
Those Red/White/Blue boxes.
They will even ship a bundle to your home for your "future shipping needs", or you can pick some up in the lobby of the Post Office

CAT...
One of my storage places is damp, and I suspect could get wet on the floor.
I have placed several of my LDS boxes in White Trash Bags. Taped up, LABELED WELL.
No water or humidity issues on the one I tested that was 7 yrs out.

OP - Desert
Whatever you do. KEEP INVENTORY
A Spiral Notebook with a basic list works well.
Just section it into say, Food / Canned / Box / etc
Date Size Type Qty Description - are the key things.
03/23 / Pt / Can / 12 / Tomato Soup, Great Value brand

Design can be in Ink or Marker, BUT use a PENCIL for entries.

edit: USPS link

Priority Mail Flat Rate® Large Box | USPS.com

Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box

store.usps.com

 

I’m just finishing up my can goods rotating shelf. I need to add a couple more decorative trim pieces to front slates. I will be building two more that will be free standing.

 

If you're volunteering, I'm sure catfeet will accept.

I believe she's had a lot to do on her place. Too little time, too little money, too little energy left at the end of the day, I'll think about that tomorrow is the usual song in that situation.

 

Gorgeous can storage, but probably not the kind of thing the OP can build into her rented room or would want to have to move a year from now.

 

Thank You. I kinda figured that, but thought it may help someone else reading the thread.

 

I'm suffering an attack of carpentry envy myself.

 

I feel your pain! That is why I made a can rotator out of fabric. It only holds 70 cans, but the FIFO system works for me and didn't take up a lot of precious space.

Storing Commercially Canned Food

I want to come up with a storage sytem for canned goods. Ideally, it would have a small footprint as I have more wall space than floor space, and it would be friendly to a FIFO sytem. I'd like space for 100+ #2 cans. https://www.thespruceeats.com/can-sizes-for-recipes-4077057 I have not found...

www.survivalistboards.com

 

Not my pics.

Some small scale DIY can rotators would help.

 

I use those in my kitchen. It makes rotation from my pantry easy. I can rotate 12 cans of an item at a time. I have 6 slots for the most used items. Makes rotation really convenient because I can rotate a half flat at a time. Easier to track dates that way.

 

The issue for me with the usual rotating can storage system sold is that they store less in the same space than stacking cans in/out of cartons. I haven't got it to waste.

Now that against the wall top-to-bottom one Jiminy Cricket made, that's an efficient use of space otherwise unusable. If I had the wall space, I'd jump on that. As it is, shelves and stacking get me the mostest in the leastest.

 

I think they're great if you've got the space to put them in.

(11th Prepper Commandment: Never mind his ox or his donkey or his hunky male servant, thou shalt not covet thy neighbors pantry, or his can storage racks, or his ever-cool dry basement, or his root cellar, or his cheese cave; thou shalt not....aw geez, guess I'm headed straight down.)

 

I'm going to throw these out there as it may give someone ideas for their own situation. They're all thumbnails but can be clicked for the large version.

I wish I had a can rotator but my space doesn't allow. So I built this rolling can storage:

It's made out of shelving you can buy at a home store that has the holes drilled in the sides into which you put the shelf pegs. I put it on a set of casters so I can easily roll it around. I can get 14 flats of cans on there and they're not hard to rotate--I just pull out the flat and stick the cans behind. And as you will see below with the rolling shelves, multiple units could be built and then nested against a wall or in a corner.

The casters come from an appliance dolly like this that you can get at Menards and, I'm sure, most home stores:

They're fairly cheap (Harbor freight has a small one for $10), and can be adapted to whatever you want. Menards' version needs to be assembled, which is even better as you don't have to take it apart.

Anyway, you can use that under something like the can holder above, or make other shelves that can nest against each other and allow you much more storage than if you can only have shelves against a wall:

On that one I had to make a wooden base to hold the plastic shelves and then attach the casters to the bottom. As you can see, this allows me to push this rolling shelf unit against the shelves behind; to access them I just....wait for it....roll the shelves out of the way.

Here are a few other ideas for those who are currently space-challenged. As you can see, I really like to make use of unusable space as much as I can.

A very much unused space in houses and apartments is the space above the door inside closets:

Another is if you have suspended ceilings above which are joists you can install some cleats on the joists and then make shelves to hold lightweight stuff...like TP:

Or if no suspended ceilings but you have exposed joists:

You can even make shelves inside stud walls if they're exposed; this is mine, but I have drywall screwed on over the studs so the preps are not visible to whomever might be there.

All this always depends on circumstances and what you have available, but even if these things won't work, maybe they'll stimulate some other ideas. Good luck and if you have some clever space-saving ideas, I'd love to see them.

PS: I cannot believe how much the price of plastic shelves have risen in the last couple years. You used to be able to get a set of 72x18x36 shelves for under $40. Good luck with that today.

 

'm going to throw these out there

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...

Goose3, weren't you ever told that it is a sin to put another in the near occasion of sin?

I better just go take the rest of the evening off from this place in the interests of my immortal soul.

 

I have some of the heavy duty shelving and some of the light weight "bakers racks" they all seem to work. Luckily I have some room and also outside storage here in cold dry montana. I store a lot and every few years go thru and throw away the pull top cans and anything oozing. It's cheaper than other insurance costs I have. The white rice and beans are holding up well and I have some home canned #10 cans of wheat I am going to get around to sprouting this year.

I must admit my blood pressure went up a few notches seeing all that salt laden campbells. I use very little salt and a lot of those canned things are super laden. Getting a freeze drier last year changed my whole outlook on storing and being able to move food supplies.

 

I have some of the heavy duty shelving and some of the light weight "bakers racks" they all seem to work. Luckily I have some room and also outside storage here in cold dry montana. I store a lot and every few years go thru and throw away the pull top cans and anything oozing. It's cheaper than other insurance costs I have. The white rice and beans are holding up well and I have some home canned #10 cans of wheat I am going to get around to sprouting this year.

I must admit my blood pressure went up a few notches seeing all that salt laden campbells. I use very little salt and a lot of those canned things are super laden. Getting a freeze drier last year changed my whole outlook on storing and being able to move food supplies.

I have tried many shelves over the years. I tried plastic but, have seen them fail. Violently in some cases.
I load heavy because I have very limited space. It is cheaper in the long run to go heavier duty.
I have over 1000 pounds on this unit alone. Over 360 cans fit on just one tier.

This is the same shelf I posted above.

 

And, a little off topic but, since I am in here working on the pantry. With the door open to the rest of the house. My pantry temps are perfect for storage.

 

~4 million balanced calories in this room. In under 64 Square feet of floor space. That is over a year for 4 people @2750 calories per day.. I'll walk through it once I finish.

 

Nice stash of life sustaning supplys MTShawn. Great to see you figuring out caloric intake....which would be starvation for me at the stats some food suppliers quote.

We have two of the heavy duty racks (bought at costco) in our kitchen area for the handy stuff. I also have a unused room that is in our half basement that stays around the temps you show. I super insulated the window and shut off all the heat and only have the door open for retrieving/stocking or letting my killer cats cruise the area looking for mice. I also keep some sticky traps and regular baited traps around just to give me early warning of rodents.

I have had plastic tubs colapse from stacking too high with heavy stuff in them.
I have used closet doors on sawhorses, those folding white plastic tables and also boards supported by things like file cabinets. Everything works but the more visible your stores are the more useable they are.

With storage being a hot topic the other thing that I think will be very important is the person that functions as quartermaster. Somene needs to know where things are and then keep a handle on dispersment and utilization of the goods in the best possible way.