Awhile ago we had a fun discussion on what you consider to be a small space and it was a great glimpse into what everyone’s space challenges were and how much space each of us were taking up. I love to see how big people’s homes are in relation to their family size and also the satisfaction that they have with the space they already have.
Just to make the story a little more fun, I had mentioned that I thought our home was 1,800 square feet because that is what my husband kept telling me. When we would flip through the home catalogs everything was in comparison of what we had (“Oh, that house is only 2,000 square feet? Well, that is only 200 square feet bigger than what we already have”).
As we were working on our office organization though, we came across some paperwork from buying our house. My husband had a shocked look on his face as he flipped through the paperwork. “Our house isn’t 1,800 square feet….it is only 1,500 square feet.” Suddenly the walls were closing in on us and we huddled together in our teeny tiny office space in our teeny tiny shack of a house and shuddered in disbelief that all this time we only had this amount of space.
Of course, that is all melodramatic and I continued to pat ourselves on the back for making this amount of space work for us. No, we have no plans for moving into a bigger space, but I just wanted to use this point to illustrate that our house is not large, nor is it small. In this area of town, our house is considered on the small end. When we lived in Massachusetts, we would have felt VERY blessed to have a home of this size. Space is all relative!
Regardless of size, I have true storage dilemmas with my home, in general, due to the tri-level floor plan of this house. The house is broken into three levels and we also have a basement (in some parts of the country it is referred to as a quad). A broken floor plan like this leaves me with zero storage space and small rooms so stockpiling can be difficult in my space. I do have a basement and a garage though so feel that I am at an advantage compared to someone who might be renting a space or live in a home without these two luxuries. And yes, I do consider having my basement and garage to be a luxury as we have lived in spaces without either of these blessings.
I am going to share some ideas for ways to store your stockpile and am opening the floor up to you to share what your storage dilemmas have been and ways you have (if you have) overcome those dilemmas in a creative way. It should be a fun discussion and I am looking forward to sharing with you!
Today we are talking about how to store your stockpiled groceries. In future discussions, I would love to share about what to do with other stockpiles you might be storing in your house (children’s clothing, toiletries, etc…), but today we will focus on the grocery aspect.
Here are some ideas for ways to store your stockpile:
- First, begin by organizing your pantry and getting rid of the items you are not using. Too often, there is space for stockpiled items, but they are being used by items that are wasting your valuable space. I have found that grouping items in totes makes it easier for me to pull out what I need when I need it, keeping the like items together and preventing items from getting lost in the shuffle. Organize the space you have to create space for all that you want to stockpile.
- One of the first places to look is at the closets that you already have in your home. While not all of us are blessed with a closet in the kitchen, some closets that are not being used can be repurposed into a more usable space. Walk around in your house and really take a look at the closets that you have and see if they are being used to the best of their ability. Try and see if there is another place for the stuff in your closet (or get rid of items that you do not use) and measure the inside of it to see how many shelves you could fit into that space. If you head over to your local hardware store, you should be able to find wired shelving that can be cut to match the size of your closet. Durable wire shelving inserted into a rarely used closet can equal an affordable solution for storing your stockpile.
- Look at the doors to your closet as a place to also store items. Hardware stores offer units that can be mounted on the door for storing your canned goods. This space is rarely used, but is an excellent place for you to store items that you are stockpiling. Likewise, the dollar stores offer over-the-door storage with plastic pocketed units that can be great for storing spices, spice packets, trail mixes, nuts, etc…
- Basements and garages are ideal spaces for stockpile storage, particularly for families who are lacking space in their kitchen itself. Try to pick a space that is easy to get to so that you can make the most of your stockpile. In a basement, for example, putting your stockpile at the bottom of the stairs so items can be grabbed easily rather than a far off or less lit corner in your basement. For a garage, storing items closest to the kitchen instead of having to walk the length of the garage would be more ideal. You can use wired shelving in these spaces, bookshelves, mount 2×4′s- whatever is cheapest and easiest for you to use.
- Under your beds can be a great storage spot for stockpiles. Although it certainly isn’t ideal, it is a more creative way to use space that is rarely used. If your bed is too low, you can purchase bed risers to raise the bed to give you more space underneath. You can purchase under-the-bed storage containers and fill these with canned goods or other items that you like to stockpile or tuck items in your rarely used suitcases or bags for a free storage solution.
- A freezer is a wise investment for anyone who is looking to stockpile their groceries. In some cases, such as rental space, a freezer might not be an option, but if it is, I have found it to be a very smart investment. If you do not think you have the space for a full-size chest freezer, Sears carries a model that is half the standard size and perfect for smaller spaces or for small families that would not need such a large freezer. We purchased this freezer for our small townhouse and we love it. Less seems to get lost in the bottom depths, but we are also able to keep it filled with stockpiled items that I have gotten from the grocery store. Consider buying one of these to help save your family money.
- In smaller spaces, it might be necessary to split your stockpiled items up in various areas around the house. A shelf in the basement, a little space in the garage, a corner in a closet, stuff under the bed…it can spell a recipe for disaster if you don’t have tight tabs on what you have stockpiled. Try keeping a list of all of the items that you have and tacking it on your refrigerator. Periodically, do an inventory of the items you have so you don’t end up repeatedly buying diced tomatoes, for example, when you already are storing forty cans. An inventory list can help decrease some of the confusion and be a great way to help you decide exactly what you will be eating in the coming weeks.
Sound Off: Where do you store your stockpiled groceries? What else would you like to see covered in our “Baby Steps” series? Help us keep this going!
We just moved into a too-big house (that we will grow into as more kids come along). The master bedroom is downstairs, and the rest are upstairs. We sleep upstairs to be near our child, and the master bedroom is our guest suite. We’re going to use the walk-in closet for food storage.
Food storage (or stockpiling) is very important to Mormons like me. You might be able to find some new ideas at http://www.providentliving.org.
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I want to get into a habit of making a monthly menu, and stockpiling would come in handy. I like the minimalistic look though, so sometimes, stockpiles look “cluttery” to me. Blargh.
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We are blessed to have an unfinished basement that has several uses. Our chest freezer and ‘grocery outlet’ are there along with gardening equipment and small workbench area.
What is the best way to rotate the stockpiled storage? What seems to work best so we’re not wasting food?
Thanks for the baby steps, keep it up. I’m learning so much!
Lynne in NC
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I have wall to wall shelves in our laundry room. We have 9 foot ceilings so I actually have room to add some more shelves which I am planning on doing. I store things that I want to save for emergency food on those shelves. Right outside the garage door I have an open bkshelf and then a cabinet that I keep non food type storage on. It gets so hot here in Alabama that I don’t want food out there- even canned food. I also have our old side by side refrigerator in the garage. I am going to buy up flour (cost is supposed to rise in near future) and store it on one of the refrigerator shelves. I use the top of the coat closet that is near the garage door for stuff I am hiding from everyone and stuff jackets in front of them.
I am having a problem with stock piling. I keep getting great deals and buying up the sales and my family just eats it as fast as they can. They take it as a sign to eat more. I have two teenagers and three from 8-11. My house is always full of extra kids. Any solutions for this?
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We don’t have a pantry so all pantry items get stored in the laundry room on 2 small put-together shelves. I also use my freezer for extra grains and baking supplies as well as the usual meats and veggies. This works great as long as I don’t have more than the shelves hold.
As far as rotating stockpiled items, I put the oldest cans or containers at the front of the shelf and then use those first. That seems to work well for me.
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Our house is pretty large (2500 sq. feet) but we have very little storage space. I stockpile groceries in the storage area under my kitchen island, in some unused cabinets in my laundry room (it’s connected to the kitchen) and in a small “decorative” cabinet that is in my kitchen.
I am amazed now that we used to live in a house that was 980 sq. feet!
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We have a decent sized 3 bedroom house with nice sized rooms, but there is very little storage space. We have an attic that we can keep some stuff in, closets in the bedrooms, and quite a bit of cabinet space in the kitchen. We have a separate cupboard thing that serves as our pantry in the dining room-not the prettiest arrangement but it works. We also have a lot of our food storage under our spare bed. We really want to get a freezer, but we don’t really have a place to put it-unless we put it in our dining room as well.
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Our house is 2200 sq. ft. We are big stockpilers. Grocery items are stored in kitchen cabinets and the walk in pantry.
Since we’ve never had the “luxuries” of a garage or a basement, we really haven’t missed them.
Great post Amy. Blessings!!!!!
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You are so right about an inventory list. I keep one and it really stops the wasted. Great article, as always!
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I appreciate this discussion. We have just under 1200 feet (with a 2 year old and hoping to add another in the next year). The rooms are nice and spacious but we miss out on any storage space. We have to be creative, so I like your ideas. I would appreciate any other suggestions for smaller space organization. The size keeps us getting rid of things we don’t need, but I still have pack rat tendencies sometimes!
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We have a fairly large house but we have 6 children. We believe in having a years supply of food on hand (at least) This meens storing a lot of food! We took out our bed frame and have found that we can put 48 boxes of food under our bed. This gave us more room in our storage area. The food that we put under there is not the type of food items that you need daily obviously. The are saved for an emergency. So they must be items that can be stored a long time without going bad. Such as cans og wheat, dried foods, sugar, dried milk and so forth.
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