Suggestions wanted

[IEFPRO]

I am new to this site - drawn in by the recent publicity...  I have been working up the courage to begin creating a long term storage (LTS) food project for some time.  I have been a long time believer and practitioner of STS(short term storage) of food and supplies.

I have researched and watched the available video and I am ready to do the Mylar bag thing with oxygen absorbers,  I am going to do the 1 gallon size, which maybe better for usage and bartering if the time comes.  Anyway, how about some suggestions as to best kind of products to store in this manner.   I.E. just go to Sam's and buy rice, beans in the bulk?  How about wheat, where is the best place to purchase that?

Also a question:  I have several large buckets that contained pool chlorine in them.  If I use the Mylar bags, would it be ok to store them in these buckets?  Been trying to figure a good use for these things after several years of collecting them...  I would of course rinse well, then use a caulk to seal the old lid.

[Atash Hagmahani]

I will pick off the one that is easiest for me to answer:

I.E. just go to Sam's and buy rice, beans in the bulk?

Traditional "dry goods" like beans, rice, white wheat flour (whole wheat will go rancid, so you can either vacuum pack it, or you can grind wheat berries on an as-needed basis), powdered milk (preferably vacuum-packed as it does spoil), lentils, dried peas, and that sort of thing, are your best bets, far and away, for convenience and cost-effectiveness. This is what most of our ancestors did, before refrigeration and regular supplies of groceries at the store.

If you have restaurant supply grocers, like Cash and Carry, they carry more variety of staples than the warehouse supermarkets. That's where I find things like lentils and split peas.

How about wheat, where is the best place to purchase that?

You mean like wheat berries (whole wheat kernels, intact?). That might be tricky for most folks...mail order but then shipping gets expensive.

Hopefully someone else can chime in...

[Rusty Shackelford]

When I lived in Illinois, I made contact with some farmers and bought direct.  At the time, they'd sell me Hard Red Winter Wheat at roughly the spot price - at the time a 5 gallon bucket would be $5 - the bucket being a little less than a bushel and the price being about $4.80 a bushel.  Never found a better deal.

[opsec]

I've gotten 50lb. bags of organic hard red winter wheat from health food stores. Anyplace that sells organic food in bulk is going to be able to get these. Try Whole Foods Market or someplace like it.

I would take all those buckets to a local bar & grille late one night when it's not busy, like an hour before closing on Sunday. Offer the cook (usually a teenager who is desperate for any cash) $20 to run each bucket through the dish washer. Those things are industrial grade washers. I would trust the bucket after that. I would still use the mylar liners however. But at the same time, I saw 5 gallon buckets on sale at Home Depot for something like $3.00 apiece, $4.50 with a lid. If that's still too expensive, then I would scour the bakeries at the local supermarkets and ask them if they can give you any of their empty buckets they use for cake icing and whatever else. You know those are food safe. Again, just wash them out real good.

[Malone Laveigh]

Also a question:  I have several large buckets that contained pool chlorine in them.  If I use the Mylar bags, would it be ok to store them in these buckets?  Been trying to figure a good use for these things after several years of collecting them...  I would of course rinse well, then use a caulk to seal the old lid.

I would not trust those buckets for storing food even with the mylar bags and oxy absorbers.  When the manufacturers make the 5 gallon buckets that weren't specifically made for storing food, they use a toxic mold release to release them from their molds.  I understand the desire to use them and make prepping a little bit more economical, but with the well-being of my loved as the top priority for my prepping in the first place, I just wouldn't want to take that chance.

As Opsec has commented, I'd check with local grocery store bakeries and such.  You know you're getting food grade buckets from them.  You also might want to check restaurants as well, I've been getting the pickle and relish buckets free for the asking.  Just an FYI here, the Wal-Mart bakery who had sold them to me for $1.00 each has recently stopped selling them.  They're now recycling them instead of offering them for sale to customers. 


Malone

[opsec]

If you do get a pickle bucket, you will have to soak it for a long time with bleach water because the pickle smell infiltrates the plastic and will not leave no matter how many times you clean it. Even the bleach may not do the job completely. You definitely want to use a mylar liner with that bucket.

[darwinslair]

the easiest source of food grade buckets I have found are frosting buckets from a local bakery.  I get 3 or 4 a week with lids.  They give them to me for free.

Tom

[mantis308]

the easiest source of food grade buckets I have found are frosting buckets from a local bakery.

I just started picking these up a few weeks ago myself. How do you clean them out? I've found washing them to be a difficult, time consuming process, the smell of the frosting lingers, and I'm not convinced the lids are real air-tight. What do you think?

[Rusty Shackelford]

I haven't had much trouble getting the smell out of used buckets - except for pickles and olives, I use those store other items.  I wash them with bleach, then again with vinegar, then with Dawn using a large sponge and a hose.  Check any store that bakes or serves pre-made salads.  Around here, most of the bakeries I've been in have started charging exorbitant prices ($10), but I still have a source where they are free - if you're there when they are available.  Unfortunately, they have a lot of olive buckets.

For lids, try these:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=266012

They usually have coupons at:

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/sportsmansguide.com

[IEFPRO]

Thanks Everyone!   Great ideas.   While researching I came across this information.  Storing in 1/2 gallon mason jars. 

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=260256

What do you think of that?

[opsec]

He stored all of his food in...GLASS? 1 plastic 5 gallon bucket costs about $6.00 at Lowe's. How much does 10 large mason jars cost? I think this guy has missed the boat when it comes to thinking in terms of self-preservation. The only thing he could have done worse is to store his food in same bulk paper bags that it's sold in.

[Dame]

Mason jars, at least until recently, are available almost for the asking in some communities.  Usually from seniors who are moving into seniors facilities, and particularly if you are prepared to dispose of the current contents (makes great squash hills or chicken food).  The ones with glass lids are particularly useful for long term storage.  Glass has the added advantage of being way easier to clean and deoderize. It keeps rodents and insects out better than plastics as well.  The disadvantage is that glass is more dificult to transport without extra packaging and does not do well with rough handling.

[offdalip]

glass is the way to go for the long term, it is impervious to anything and vacuum sealable , plastic may easy degrade unless it is HDP

not all plastic is created equal by a long shot

[Rusty Shackelford]

Mason jars, at least until recently, are available almost for the asking in some communities.  Usually from seniors who are moving into seniors facilities, and particularly if you are prepared to dispose of the current contents (makes great squash hills or chicken food).  The ones with glass lids are particularly useful for long term storage.  Glass has the added advantage of being way easier to clean and deoderize. It keeps rodents and insects out better than plastics as well.  The disadvantage is that glass is more dificult to transport without extra packaging and does not do well with rough handling.

I used to get mine at auctions.  It's hit or miss, but most times I would end up with anywhere from 10 - 200 (yes, I really bought 200 at one time) for $1.  Usually, it would be whatever was in the pile.  You'd get a mix of brands and sizes - from 1/2 pint to gallons - mostly quarts, and not all will be usable (broken lips, etc).  At one time I had over 600 quart jars in my basement.

[opsec]

Too fragile. If a jar breaks, the food becomes inedible unless you are willing to risk small pieces of glass in your food. If you plan on never moving the food supply, and you get the deal of the century on jars then I suppose it would be practical. I just naturally shy away from glassware due to the ease with which it is broken.

Something that might be just as practical and not much more expensive, would be to buy a bunch of mylar bags and seal the food inside and just keep the bags inside cardboard boxes. You could move the boxes around without much worry about things breaking.