Cookie Storage

Ah, don't forget about yummies in your food storage! What a great idea! I found this on none other than Pinterest, my fav! I loved this idea, I am going to try it here and I will post my pic's this weekend. I just loved the idea!

Source: todaysfabulousfinds.blogspot.com via Diana Allen - on Pinterest

Using My Food Storage

I love these containers for storing regularly used items from our food storage, then we refill them as needed. 

These are from my kitchen cabinet, nothing fancy but thought I would share how we use our long term food storage items regularly!

Long Term Food Storage Basics - How to Pack Rice, Wheat, Beans and Dry G...

Awesome Water Storage Racks

The images show the resulting racks after 2 days of construction. The most time consuming aspect was cutting the wood to the proper sizes.

(Some of you may arrived at this page from another source. The plans are posted online, with a brief description HERE. )

Fully assembled racks with loaded #10 cans and barrels full of water.

Assembled racks, without cans and with unfilled barrels. This was done to test the layout and make any final adjustments before the water was added.

Close up of the can shelves and how the lands were created.

Hose bib detail.

This shot shows the shelves and the various methods to ensure cans are kept linear and do not roll off/out of the shelf

Storing Onions for the Winter

 

 

Have lots of onions? With the proper storage technique, you can keep them for fresh months and months.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 15 minutes or less

Here's How:

1. Inspect all onions for soft spots, mold or other signs of damage. Only perfect onions are suitable for long-term storage.
2. Then, cut off the legs from a clean pair of pantyhose.
3. Drop an onion into the foot of the first leg, and tie a knot.
4. Continue adding onions and tying knots until both legs are full.
5. Hang the pantyhose in a cool, dry place (a location with a temperature between 40-45° is ideal).
6. When you need an onion, simply cut a slit in the side of one of the tied off sections. This will allow you to reuse the pantyhose again and again.

Tips:

1. If the onions are homegrown, allow them to dry before storing.
2. Avoid storing onions near other produce. Many fruits and vegetables will absorb the onion's flavor.
3. Onions can also be stored in mesh bags or braided.
4. Expect your onions to last up to eight months in storage.

Make Your Own Can Organizer for Food Storage Organization

From: Thenshemade.blogspot.com

Ok, I've been known to re-purpose things before like when I made a tote bag out of business cards for a friend.  Or when I made a much needed container for my bathroom out of Tampax box - (don't worry it was covered and changed enough that no one knew what it was. Hubby would have died if it was recognizable).  I've made candy dishes from gladware packaging. (I'll show that one soon - stay tuned!) You get the idea.  Anyway, it's just the way my mind works, I see something for what it is but then my mind switches gears and starts designing what it could be. 

That's what happened with my project for today.  It actually came out of need.  I don't like stacking my cans.  They never stay orderly.  They always fall over.  Or they get pushed to the back of the cupboard and I forget what I have and it BUGS me.  So, I made this.

Yes, I know you can by self-rotating Can Stackers for food storage but the small ones are $32 and frankly, I'd rather make my own and so that's what I did.  I had everything on hand except for the soda so the out-of-pocket expense was $3.50.  Here's how I did it....

 1- First, I needed an empty fridge pack of soda.  My kids were thrilled to find rootbeer in the fridge.  I  bought it specifically for the packaging - is that wrong?  Not really, just backwards, I guess.

2- On the back end of the container I cut out a space that is large enough to put a can of soup in.

3- I grabbed some decorative paper (I used about 3 sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper)  and folded it into place to cover the box.  I put everything in place, creased my edges and cut out my opening to fit the one I had cut in step 2.  Then I just took some Mod Podge and glued all the paper into place.  I did the back end of the box first and let it completely dry.

4- Once the back end was done drying, I grabbed another piece of paper and repeated the steps until the front part is covered.  And, just to make it more decorative, I used a coordinating paper for the front.

5- Then I added a label to the front and added a coat of Mod Podge over the whole thing - this gives it a little more strength and will keep the papers from tearing.

So, that's it.  To use it, I just always add my soups to the back and take from the front, that way they are properly rotated.  And, the best thing, I don't have to stack my soups anymore.  Plus, each soup flavor is kept together which means no more hunting through my pantry for the flavor needed.  I can have a box for chicken noodle, cream of chicken, corn, peas, whatever... And, I can make as many as I need and my cupboard is organized. 

How Much Will It Hold?

Here is a handy list of food storage container sizes and quantities if you are trying to determine how much of a given product will fit.


1 gallon container = 7 lbs. wheat, rice or sugar
1 gallon container = 5 lbs. flour or powdered milk
1 gallon container = 4 lbs. dry macaroni
1 gallon container = 3 lbs. potato flakes, oatmeal or instant milk
5 gallon bucket = 35 lbs. wheat, beans, rice or sugar
5 gallon bucket = 25 lbs. powdered milk or flour
5 gallon bucket = 20 lbs. dry macaroni
5 gallon bucket = 15 lbs. potato flakes, oatmeal, or instant milk
55 gallon drum = 400 lbs. wheat, beans, rice, or sugar
55 gallon drum = 275 lbs. powdered milk or flour
55 gallon drum = 225 lbs. dry macaroni
55 gallon drum = 160 lbs. potato flakes, oatmeal, or instant milk

Emergency Light Source

A Jar of Candles with a TWIST!

Today's project will cost about $1.50 to make, but will be a great help in a power outage.

You will need:

1 Quart Canning Jar (Regular or Wide Mouth)

Amazing Goop Craft Contact Adhesive and Sealant

(We used the Clear Transparent Goop)

and

1/2" Plumbers Cap

That's all you need to create this project!

Instructions:

Take off the ring and jar lid.

Flip jar lid so that the seal is facing away from the jar.

Replace the lid with the seal side up.

Apply a pea-sized amount of the glue to the center of the lid, and the bottom end of the plumbers cap.

Let each piece sit for 40 seconds.

Put the glue-side of the cap to the glue-side of the jar lid.

Make sure it's centered on the lid.

Allow to dry over-night with the cap on the outside of the jar.

Fill the jar with 1/2" candles and a small box of matches.

 Reverse lid so that the plumbers cap is now inside the jar.

Tighten the ring.

You now have a waterproof emergency light source!

Wait 24 hours before you use the jar.

Note:

If you are unable to find 1/2" candles, NO PROBLEM!

They have lots of different sized plumbers caps.  Just take a candle with you to the hardware store to make sure you get the right fit.  Make sure you can fit the cap on the lid and that the candle(s) and matches will fit in the jar.  

I decorated my jar to show it as a GIFT IDEA.

You can make a few neighbor gifts for Christmas right now, and if there's an emergency in the meantime,

No worries . . . You're good to go!

PETE Jars

Convenient and Air-Tight Food Storage Containers

PETE Jars

Many people have been using PETE Jars for storing food for years.  However, not everyone is familiar with these containers.  Plastic PETE Jars derive their name from the symbol on the botom of the container.  On this particular type of jar, the symbol is 1 with the letter designation of PETE or PET.  This type of plastic is considered BPA Free and air tight.  This type of plastic container is commonly used for juice containers, sports drinks and other liquid and food products.
So, why use PETE Jars?  For us, having our grains, seeds, nuts and legumes in PETE jars encourages us to use and rotate our food storage.  Keep the jars in the pantry, in your cupboards or on a bookcase like we do and have easy access to your for storage.  The PETE jars  are so air tight that you can add an oxygen absorber with a metal lid and it will hold a tight seal and help provide a great long-term food storage option.  Many of them are made in a square design, so they maximize space.  They are clear, which helps you see the contents easily.  However, this also means that for long-term storage they should be stored in a box or kept in a dark place.