Anyway, in terrific timing, Bec and Gavin have launched their Be Prepared Challenge this week, based on Kathy Harrison's OAR method, outlined in her book Just In Case (which I have written about before).
Read their first posts abut the Challenge here and here.
I have continual issues with storage in my house, and whilst I was ill on and off last year, we ran down our stockpile considerably (in fact, only the condiments are left in multiples) so I have a bit of work to do to get it back up to scratch. It also means facing my perennial stockpile storage crisis head on!
It's calling for some serious lateral thinking. I don't have any spare cupboards or cabinets (nor could I physically fit one anywhere if I bought one), my garage and roofspace get way too hot to store foodstuffs, the space under my bed is being used to store kids' clothes (and there is no space under theirs as they either have trundle beds or they are too low), and I have found that using my linen cupboard is just not working. It's close to the kitchen and is fine during winter, but come summer I need the space to store four doonas and flannel sheets; foods are being shoved to the back and getting lost or are just plain hard to get to! Moving around heavy buckets of flour and dried beans to get to what I want is a pain in the butt to be honest.
In desperation I recently ended up with a Howard's Storage World catalogue, but that just made me laugh and shake my head ($399 for a kitchen garbage bin? Some people have way too much money) and I'm loathe to buy even more plastic tubs than we already have, especially since the larger ones I bought a few years ago to organise the kids' toys are now mostly broken, so their durability is questionable.
So, that's my part of the Challenge for today - find accessible storage spaces for my bulky dried goods.
If you buy in bulk and stockpile, where do you store yours?
Cheers,
17 comments:
Hi Julie,
you could try those vacuum bags for your duvets and sheets, the ones you suck all the air out of with the vacuum cleaner.
We had a cupboard built on our deck for things like the Vacola and jars, vases etc that we don't use more than a couple of times a year. What was once a horrid dog hair ridden corner is now a huge storage area.
Hope you are well.
I love the OAR idea and will have to read more. Thanks for that.
I store our bulk food in lidded buckets which thankfully fit on the floor of our pantry. It makes refilling jars from the buckets nice and easy.
Perhaps you could put some cushions on some buckets and pretend they are stools ;-)
I hope you find a solution.
Could you store doonas and flannel sheets in your roofspace over summer, instead of using the cupboard??
like Tricia- we have lidded buckets that sit along one wall in our pantry, Could you store doonas and flannel sheets flat under the mattress(princess and pea style). Lucks.xx
Hi there
new to your blog but loving it
We solved our food storage isues by moving all non essential(non food) and little used items from the kitchen to our shed
Fancy serving dishes, the food processor bits which we only use rarely, the christmas cake stand, big baking tins, as well as the pressure canner, dehydrator, sausage machine ........you get the picture :) are all now stored in boxes which have been clearly labelled and i gained 3 cupboards for food :)
Since I live in a small house (by the standards of today - 1600 sq ft) I have to remain organized and as clutter free as possible.
It's an ongoing process, and I have constant clean-outs, at least two or three times a year to rotate out those items that I no longer need or use.
I'm also extremely careful about comes into the house to begin with now. And if something new comes in, something else has to go out.
I love to cook, and along with that comes gadgets and dishware. Not that I have a ton of gadgets, but there are those items that only get used on rare occasion. Those are now delegated to a garage cupboard.
When we moved in we bought several inexpensive particle board units to line one full wall of the garage. One was set up as a pantry/kitchen overflow (all have since been replaced with nicer - but still inexpensive - units from IKEA).
That is also where the food goes that I put up during the summer months.
Everything is still at hand, but not taking up precious space inside.
I'm lucky to have a large kitchen (thanks to a recent remodel), so I have extra space for keeping bulk items organized, yet still at hand. Still, a few items go in airtight containers and into the garage pantry (again IKEA has been a lifesaver).
Good luck with your mission!
We have a set of shelves for most of our spare sheets but keep the duvets and quilts we aren't using under the sheet we are sleeping on, good side facing down for the quilts.
I too am storage-challenged. I fit things under the bed, in a second closet in shelving, in the cellar, wherever I can. It's difficult and definitely takes creativity!!
Staci
Hi Julie,
I'd love to know what items you keep in your stockpile (when it's built up). Could you please share a list?
Thanks,
Kate
I find that in our hot and humid climate things like flour and beans get bugs in them. I add bay leaves, but it doesnt really help for long term storage. We have decided to get a small chest freezer in order to be able to buy those items in bulk and store them.
Hi everyone!
Thanks for all your tips, I've taken them on board :-)
I do already have nine (!) 10L square buckets stacked along one wall in my pantry, but they don't hold everything unfortunately, just the stuff we use all the time like bread flour, pasta and dog biscuits.
I've also tried those vacuum-suck storage bags - three different brands - and they all leaked over time unfortunately.
Anyway, we will get there eventually :-)
Kate - Yes I will do a quick post on what I stockpile for you as others have also asked :-)
Cheers, Julie
Hi Julie, I just found you blog and think it is awesome!! I wanted to make a suggestion for your storage issues. I have travelled here there and every where with the army and sometimes the houses are smaller than the last one. For storing blankets and doona's in summer my mother in law suggested laying them flat under the mattress. Keeps them out of the way and leaves your cupboard free for other things. I hope it helps.
Wow! In the middle of a much needed pantry clean out at the moment (it's coffee break/ "reward" time now!). Usually, the pantry is reorganized once a year, however THIS year, I'm taking EVERYTHING OUT! About 2 yrs ago, we discovered my partner is gluten intolerant, so we spent a lot of time and money getting various 'substitutes' - flours, seeds, nuts, etc. And today I'm finding quite a lot of partially used odds and ends that I can now discard (we're not putting much in the rubbish...most of it is suitable for the chooks!), as we discovered it was either not to our liking, or so rarely used as to not be worth storing! AND I have almost TWICE the pantry space I thought I had! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Julie. I'm not sure this would apply to your family, but perhaps someone reading could use the idea-in our last house we had an older (but still very nice, if not a little saggy) hide-a-bed sofa. My husband took out the "bed" part and built bench boxes with lift up lids like a chest that fit neatly inside the sofa frame. We simply put the sofa cushions on top of the box and had a firm, yet comfortable couch with lots and lots of lovely storage! We used it then for the kids' toys, but now I would consider storing just about anything there. Good luck finding a solution that works for you!
Hi Jo,
I'd never heard of doing that but it seems to be quite common! Thanks for the tip, I think that will be really useful :-)
Hi Karab,
My pleasure :-)
Hi Lorna Jean,
Wow, now that's lateral thinking. Terrific, thank you!
Cheers,
Julie
Without having seen your kitchen,,, is there wall space where you could add an open free floating shelf? This could free up further cupboard space.
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