[Trihonda]

Our storage room was ok.. and we have this metal rack shelving that works really well, but during a recent trip to Menards, I discovered the shelving was a crazy cheap clearance price. Sooo. I snagged some more.

There was a lot involved with preparing for this project, as I have some heavy items (poker table) suspended from the ceiling (in a hand made storage rack) that needed to be relocated to the other side of the room, as this was where the new shelves would be going.

Here was the existing pantry…

This was the existing floor space, which we, Recently added carpet tiles to…

Here are the shelves we bought

in progress

some pics of things “mostly“ done. I wound up rearranging a lot of the food items, and there was a lot of other things (preps) that needed to be organized and shelved.

Pretty happy with how things turned out. Total cost of the shelves was $320. That included two complete sheets of 3/4” OSB. These things are amazing, and we have them all over our house and BOL.

It seems like a lot of food, but it’s really not. very little of what you see if my long term food supply.

 

[Trihonda]

One thing we considered (and was part of my reasoning for the carpet) is that one option in our bug in plan involves consolidation of our MAG into fewer houses. Our house is decent sized (5br), but if it came down to it, or if we needed to shelter in our basement (maybe an NBC event), we could place cots in the aisles for hot racking folks. Just an option, and it’s always good to have flexibility.

TBH, I just thought of the additional benefit of those shelves being a structural boost to our basement. Should we need a tornado or similar shelter, that room wI’ll now be my go to!

 

[Trihonda]

I have all my 5gal and LDS long term storage at one of my MAG member’s house. He’s the unmarried one with a secret cellar storage room.. oh wait, I lied.. I might have a small number of 5gal buckets (maybe 20) hidden in the void behind my HVAC system…. Ya gotta diversify storage locations

 

[Trihonda]

Didn't seem like a lot of food at all, mostly drinks and snacks..

Well, just from memory…. there’s over 200 Kraft Mac and cheese boxes, 200 ramen noodles, 30lbs of canned chicken, 10+ jars of PB and Preserves, 75 cans of chili, 75 cans of tomatoes, 75 cans of baked beans, 200 cans of soup, 200 cans of corn, and 50 cans of green beans. There are 20 jars of pasta sauce, 30lbs of vacuum sealed spaghetti pasta, 100lbs of flour, and a several totes full of 1gal mylar bags filled with various rice/bean/grain combos. There’s also three cases of spam, several cases of canned mixed fruit, 8L of honey, 400 packets of instant oatmeal (vac sealed), 80 lbs of pancake mix, various cereals, and yes comfort snacks and such. Ps I know I am missing a ton…

Correct me if I am wrong, but that looks like Minute Rice in a box.

yup, like 10 boxes. Your point? It doesn’t last that long. This is my rotation pantry. We go through rice faster than I can buy it. Teenage boy, and college aged girl, both love rice. No need to repackage it.

Is that a basement, asking as I didn't see a dehumidifier.

I post a pic of my shelves, a small portion of my basement, and discuss the makeover of the space. Theres no expectation you will be able to see all my food or preps. Why would you expect to see a dehumidifier? lol.

 

[Trihonda]

Apparently then the inventory you mention are not in the photos, but I still think your numbers are off, less the products are out of view or not in photos or in bins, as in photos least at the angle taken there seems to be only 13 boxes of Kraft Mac and cheese, 48 cans of chili, I don't think Ramen makes cases of 100, and numbers for them are usually like 24 ct, 48 ct, 96ct, but as you mentioned there are bins of food as well, which since they cannot be identified, the quantity of food looks less.

No matter how you look at it, or even using your numbers as if written in stone, I stand by my original comment, that doesn't look like a lot of food you have there. My uncle, father, and stepfather have about 5 times if not more than what I can see, and technically they are not even preppers. Curious though, you yourself mention that it wasn't that much food, and now that someone agrees with you, you seem to be back stepping on your initial response.

The answer to the dehumidifier, all temperature. moisture regulated food storage areas that I have seen in basements all had a dehumidifier running in the room.

The point of my post is that you seem to jump into my threads with a judgmental or critical vibe, nitpicking little or irrelevant things?

For starters, yes there is absolutely more food that you can actually see, and I still don’t think it’s a ton of food compared to some pantries. You say there’s only X number of Mac and cheeses…? The shelves are like 2 feet deep? and you would only see the first row…. There are multiple rows/stacks of most everything. And i actually have far more than 200 ramen, but didn’t quote you exact numbers.. because it’s irrelevant, but you’re calling out the validity of my post because the amounts I mentioned don’t fall into 24ct Multiples? The exact amount of food I have isn’t the point of my original post, it was the makeover.

You’re nitpicking weird stuff, like the fact you don’t see a dehumidifier …. Do you see a furnace or other hvac equipment? Not that I was staging the space to be all pretty for photos, but if I was, i wouldn’t even think to make sure my dehumidifier was in the picture.

And you might think you were agreeing with me, but it seemed somewhat condescending and judgey… and you made a lot of incorrect assumptions. You’ve done this to me in previous threads as well, so maybe I’m a tad over sensitive to it?

 

[Trihonda]

...yeah, and one of your boxes of elbow macaroni is upside down, you better get with the program Trihonda!

Damn, was hoping nobody would see that…

 

[Trihonda]

Those are some nice shelves!! Your pantry looks wonderful also. I have been calling an office closet the "pantry" but it would greatly benefit from some shelving.

ya know, those wire rack shelves from places like Costco work really well in closets, and the shelves can be adjusted to your exact needs. My one mag buddy who has a decent chunk of my 5g buckets, has a great basement storage room, but required me to supply the shelves for my preps. I used those Costco wire shelves. I could fit like 20 5-gal buckets on each, and they work perfectly for LDS #10 can cases.

 

[Trihonda]

Costco wire shelves, got it! Do they hold a lot of weight safely?

I mean, I have a few of them, with 20 five gal buckets. Those aren’t light.

 

[Trihonda]

Trihonda, there was no intent to be condescending, and nor was there any judgement. This is just how I speak, whether it is conversing with you or my own family, what little is left of them. My background is pure science, and we tend to be rather literal and specific, but again sorry if my mannerism was offensive to you.

You actually did pick up some really nice shelving units, and you seem to be like myself, a very well-organized individual. Sadly, if I was stuck in your basement, a majority of the food you have I could not eat, but damn, when I was able to eat that stuff, I would have headed right for a box of Mac n Cheese and grabbed a can of chili and have myself some Chili Mac.

Personally, I wouldn't store bulk food at a friend's home or a group member's place, but that is just me, as I have trust issues, but glad to see that you and your family are well prepared for SHTF scenarios.

edited: I should note that I literally couldn't store anything at a friend's home, as of this past April, the last friend that I have in this state died from a heart attack, so even if I was a trusting individual, there is no one here that I could rely on.

I understand your trust issues... and I'm sorry to hear about your friend. But my friend is more than a friend.. He's a brother in arms, and I trust him with my life. He's only a couple houses away, and he's in my MAG. He happens to be un-married, and thus has an ideal situation in which to store long term preps (no wife asking questions), and he has a 4000+ sq foot home with loads of space. We are each other's 911 if the SHTF. While I keep the majority of my bulk long term foods at this house (maybe 60%). I keep maybe 20% at my home, and 20% at my BOL.. Diversify! Since my wife has no idea about much of this long term supply, I certainly can't keep 100 buckets in my home... I do have lots of other foods in my home that I didn't mention, and that's ok. This post wasn't a "here's all my food preps" thread.

As for how you came across, I accept your explanation. We're good. But understand that when someone posts a thread on X, and you're hyper analytical of X, and then start to analyze Y, it comes across as very critical or even argumentative. People don't generally like it when their content is over analyzed. As you said, it's how you are. I appreciate bluntness, and people who are matter of fact, but only when appropriate. Most people on forums will post generalizations or estimates (especially on a prepper site, where people don't really wanna share specifics), so to argue minute details or specifics isn't overly productive.

Regards.

 

[Trihonda]

Mighty nice. Good job! I personally dont eat a lot of that unhealthy stuff...but know some do. lol.

We certainly could eat better. truth be told, our diet needs work, but that pantry isnt a 100% reflection of what we eat. We will have burgers, spaghetti, casseroles, tacos, grilled chicken, sandwiches, pizza, salads, stir fry, and soups for dinners… and breakfasts consist of yogurts, bagels, omelettes, muffins, fruit, granola, or pancakes. And of course, bacon when Interest rates go back down and we can afford it..

 

[Trihonda]

I am actually hesitant to respond, fearful that my mannerism may be offensive. At same time my brain and mouth have no off switch. Trihonda, I am not sure of what your basement entails, but in several of my homes, I have had flooding in the basement. Some due to burst pipes, others due to washing machines, water lines, and actual flooding from outside rains.

I eventually started to add risers to my basement appliances, and shelving units, and even relocated the AC outlets higher up. For the shelving units that I couldn't raise with risers, I used those same bins that you are using for my bottom shelves.

At the other place I had also installed a submersible water pump that automatically would turn on if water reached it. Hopefully, Trihonda, your home is not near a flood zone, nor have the same issues as I did.

our basement is pretty dry. Not in a flood plain. But even if it did spring leak, we have a sump. But nothing is guaranteed.

sucks about all your preps in that breakup… Wife is coming around some…. Today at Costco, she noticed her fave alcohol is on sale, and said “THAT’S what we should be stocking up on” lol. So we bought 6 large bottles of Captain Morgan’s Rum.

 

[Trihonda]

All I can say is WOW, I am impressed

great job !

Thanks! I appreciate that. It was a fun project and was a good exercise in inventorying our preps and all our other stored supplies (and cleaning house Somewhat. When things are more easily accessed, it makes them more useful.