11 Creative Food Storage Ideas for Modern Homesteaders
I’ve been storing food for hard times since I was a little girl. When I was about 5 or 6 years old, I got locked in the bathroom at home. The handle was really sticky and I couldn’t turn it to open the door. My mom was upstairs and out of hearing range, so my
cries for help went unheard for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, which felt like hours to me.
Once I was finally freed from my porcelain-clad prison and breathed a big sigh of relief, I decided to prepare just in case I were to ever get locked in that bathroom again. “What if next time I wasn’t so lucky?” I thought. What if next time no one came to my rescue? I might starve to death in there!
And so, I loaded up a few snack-sized boxes of raisins and some sunflower seeds and I tucked them away in the cabinet underneath the bathroom sink. Better to be safe than sorry, I figured. At least this would keep me going if I had to wait for the fire department or devise a MacGyver-esqe plan to escape the downstairs bathroom.
Luckily, I never had to resort to living off of raisins and sunflower seeds. But I remember the look on my mom’s face when she found my food stash in the bathroom. I can’t remember if I told her the truth or tried to pretend like I had no idea how they got there, but I do remember her having a good laugh.
Not that my mother’s one to point the finger and laugh at anyone else’s, er, “creative” food storage. My mom is, after all, the queen of storing food in every spare nook and cranny. I think that’s where my food storage obsession really began…
Related: How to Shop From Your Pantry Like A Pro
Growing up in a townhouse in the suburbs, we didn’t have a ton of space for storing extra food. There was only one small built-in pantry, but my mom has always been a food hoarder, ehm, I mean, food storage queen. So we had extra cabinets, closets and baskets full of food when I was growing up, plus a deep freeze and a bar fridge for extra drinks, yogurts, cheeses and creams.
Fast forward a few decades later, and my mom has only continued to build her food storage, adding more shelves and cabinets to store her stash all the time. And here I find myself doing the same.
In our last house, we were lucky enough to have a huge pantry under the stairs that was built back in the early 1900’s, when refrigeration wasn’t yet “a thing” and it was imperative to have a large pantry at home to store food for year-round eating.
The view from inside our former pantry. Yes, it was big enough to get a view from inside!
Looking into our former 1900’s-era under-the-stairs pantry. We’ve certainly had to make some adjustments to our food storage in our newer, smaller house!
So when we moved to our new house- a 1970’s-era rancher- just last week, I actually found myself having a mild panic attack when I realized how much food I had to store in a comparatively small space. Plus all of my jars and canning supplies that I use to store even more food, which is still coming on in our gardens and at nearby farms. So I got creative.
We adjusted existing shelves to accommodate our food stuffs, added shelving units in and consolidated our dry goods into similar-sized glass jars (because nothing gives me anxiety more than food in different sized packaging that somehow has to fit on the same shelf together… apparently).
Our new pantry. Organization is key! Oh, and luckily these shelves slide in and out:)
This got me thinking…
As our food production and storage grows, where will we put everything? What are some of the most creative places I’ve seen my own family members store food? And where can my fellow homesteaders and preppers living in houses with minimal built-in pantry space or in small spaces like suburban townhouses and urban apartments and condos store their food?
And so I decided to write out a list of all of the places I have seen utilized and that I could think of using in the future for storing food. Whether store-bought or preserved at home, this list is full of places that people living in various different types of spaces can store their shelf-stable food as they follow their homestead dream wherever they are. Because if you’re gonna homestead, you’re most likely gonna end up with more food than the average modern-day Joe. And that means you need more storage space. But no one, I repeat, NO ONE should have to put their homestead dreams on hold because of the space they live in.
You can and should homestead wherever you are! You might just need to get a little creative:)
So here’s my top 10 list of creative food storage solutions and tips. But I’d love to add to the list! So if you have any other ideas, please do share in the comments below! Now go on and stock that pantry… Or closet… Or wall unit… Or cabinet under your bathroom sink. Because you just never know when you’re gonna get locked in your own bathroom and come close to starvation. You just. Never. Know.
Creative Food Storage Solutions for Every Space
1. Maximize Pantry Space
This first one may seem obvious, but it’s amazing what a difference proper organization can make in the amount of food you’re able to store. Plus, if you can maximize your existing pantry space, you might just find that you don’t need to look any further for creative storage solutions.
I highly recommend investing in some standardized food storage containers so that you can put all of your dry goods into containers of a similar shape and size. This has helped save my sanity when it comes to dry food storage as it’s made it possible to fit everything together just right without wasting space. This really helps solve the problem of having to store different shapes, sizes and styles of packaging together (ie. a big box of cereal, a big bag of oats and a small bag of seeds, for example).
As a bonus, taking what you can out of packages and putting it into food storage containers also helps you to more easily see what you have and makes your pantry look a lot nicer and more organized! I use glass jars like these in varying sizes for my dry food storage. I’ve been able to find them at my local Dollar Store for a few bucks a piece, but you can also order them online here.
These glass food storage jars have helped me to maximize space in our existing pantry, which has saved me literal tears!
Another option is to use food-grade plastic containers or even Mason jars to store your food. The downside to Mason jars is I find they’re often not large enough to store the quantities of food we buy (we shop for many of our dry goods at places like Costco and Bulk Barn to get the best value for money). But if you can fit your food in Mason jars they make a great storage option.
Consolidate as much as possible into as few jars or packages as you can, and make it a priority to use up any food items that are almost gone (bags of cereal with less than a bowl’s worth should just get eaten up instead of taking up space).
And do your best to organize your pantry according to food type. So, for example, we have one shelf for flour, sugar and bags of “extras” that don’t fit into the jars (like extra chocolate chips, spare bags of brown sugar, etc.), one shelf for liquids like oils and vinegars, a shelf of grains like rice and pasta, a shelf for cereals, dried fruits and nuts and a shelf for herbs and spices. Then we have another another small pantry with all of our canned goods and sauces, both store-bought and homemade.
We also had to adjust the height of some of our shelves to accommodate our jars, so be sure to adjust your shelving to what fits your needs best. There’s no point in trying to fit things into a space that doesn’t suit your needs if you can rearrange it.
2. Add Shelving
If you’ve completed step one and you still find yourself with excess food, a great option is to add some extra shelving. We invested in a few of these metal shelves to help us store extra food, canning supplies, small appliances and much more that we just don’t have built-in space for.
These metal shelves are so handy. Currently we’re storing all of our canning supplies including canners, jars and lids here which I consider to be part of our food storage since that’s what they’re intended for!
Or take a look on Craigslist or online buy and sell sites or even garage sales for metal or wooden shelves. You might even find an old shelving unit for free and you can always paint it to give it a new lease on life and make it match your place!
3. Above Cabinets
I never considered this one until I asked a fellow homesteader who puts up hundreds of jars of home-canned food each year to share her most creative food storage space. She said she stores food in the “wasted space above my kitchen cabinets.” Brilliant!
The space between the top of your kitchen cabinets and the ceiling makes great storage space and it hides most of the food from view and protects it from falling because there’s usually some type of crown along the top edge. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this one myself, but now that it’s on my radar it will be my next go-to spot for storing food when my pantry space runs out! (Which it will eventually).
4. Closets
Closets that weren’t originally intended for food storage are a great option as well. Whether they be bedroom closets, linen closets or coat closets, these spaces can easily be converted into pantry space or you can simply store your excess jars of pickles, jellies or what have you on a spare shelf or in box on the floor of the closet.
Just don’t bury your food in the back where you might forget about it. One of the biggest rules when it comes to food storage is to store what you eat and eat what you store. So make sure it makes it into the regular rotation of food that you actually eat!
We converted this extra built-in storage closet into another pantry to store our sauces and canned goods.
5. Chests, Wardrobes and Dressers
Much like closets, spare drawers in dressers (or a dedicated dresser or wardrobe) makes a good storage space for food too, as long as your food storage containers aren’t too tall for the drawers.
Likewise, chests like cedar chests, etc. make good storage space as well. Just remember, it’s not recommended to stack jars of home-canned food on top of one another as it can affect the seal of the jars. And make sure jars of home-canned food are stored upright (not laid on their sides) for the same reason.
6. Wall Units and Dining Room Hutches & Buffets
Wall units and dining room buffets also make excellent storage spaces for shelf-stable food. You can use closed cupboards or open shelves to either hide or display your food storage. If you have a nice dining room buffet with open shelves or glass doors, you could even turn your beautiful jars of home-canned food into a decor piece! Because food you put up yourself is absolutely something to be proud of, and deserve to be shown off!
7. Under Beds
This one is surprisingly common among homesteaders! I see and read all the time about modern homesteaders facing a food storage problem who resort to storing flats and boxes of home-canned food under beds. I personally haven’t tried this one as our mattresses are currently on the floor! But I know a handful of other homesteaders who swear by their under-the-bed space. It’s cool, dark and often unused so storing food under your bed can make what can be a useless space into something quite functional!
8. Basements & Cold Storage
This one may seem obvious again, but it deserves a mention. Of course, not everybody has access to a basement. I grew up in a suburb that is built up on a delta, meaning the sand and silt that forms the base of the land that the houses sit on cannot be dug into for basements as water would simply seep in. Likewise, if you live in an apartment or any other dwelling without basement space, you might be out of luck here. But if you do have a basement (with or without a cellar built in) you should absolutely consider using some of the space below ground to store some of your food.
The added benefit of storing food in the basement is that it stays cool throughout the hot summer months and is a great space to store things like root vegetables and ferments that require storage at a specific temperature to ensure their quality and prolong the length of time they’ll store for.
* Someone else mentioned storing food in a storm shelter, which is definitely a good idea, especially if you ever need to use said storm shelter for its intended purpose. Then you’ve got food on had while you weather the storm!
9. Detached Buildings, Sheds & Garages
If you have a garage or a shed on your property that stays cool enough throughout the hot months and warm enough throughout the freezing months, this is another great place for food storage. A garage attached to your house is your best bet as heat from your house will keep it warm enough during the winter months so that liquids don’t freeze and cool enough in the summer so that foods don’t spoil. But detached buildings work fine too as long as the temperatures don’t hit extremes. For more information on safe food storage for shelf-stable items, check out this document produced by the USDA.
10. Attics
While I don’t recommend storing things like liquids or home-canned goods in the attic for fear of it getting too hot up there, dry goods in well-sealed containers should be fine in an insulated attic if you are really pressed for space. Again, just don’t forget about the food you’ve stored up there and if you’re ever unsure whether a product is safe to eat, don’t eat it. Live by the old adage, “when in doubt, throw it out.”
11. Storage Lockers
If you live in an apartment building with a storage locker room, this could make the perfect space for storing excess food. I wouldn’t recommend renting out a separate storage locker away from home simply for food storage. At that point you should probably just be giving food away!
But if you’ve got something on your premises, go for it! You might get some strange looks from neighbours who prefer to pack their lockers with sporting goods and seasonal decorations, but that’s the risk you take living this lifestyle. We’re a misunderstood breed, and while some may laugh at my storing food under the bathroom sink or other people storing food in their lockers, we’ll be the ones laughing when that zombie apocalypse hits! Or when we get locked in our own bathrooms. Or when winter comes. Because it is coming. Winter is always coming…
More Food Storage Ideas For The Overflowing Homestead
If you’ve exhausted all of the above options and you’re still lacking space for food storage, you could always ask a friend, neighbour or family member if you can store some at their place. As “payment,” you could perhaps reward them with a few jars of home-canned food:)
And then of course you can always spread the wealth and start giving it away. Whether to family and friends or local food banks, someone out there would be more than happy to take some extra food off your hands and some could really use a little extra. Which is just one more bonus to living this kind of crazy, somewhat misunderstood and definitely “alternative” lifestyle we’ve chosen: We have the ability to not only provide for ourselves, but for other as well. And at the end of the day, nothing is quite as rewarding as that.
I’d love to hear from you! Do you have any other creative food storage solutions you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below!
Having trouble organizing your food storage and knowing exactly what you’ve got? Check out our free printable pantry, fridge and freezer organization charts, weekly meal plan chart and smart shopping list to help you stay organized, eat well and save money. You can find them all under the Meal Planning section in our Free Resource Library.
Wishing you health, wealth and homestead happiness…
and abundant space for all of your beautiful, nourishing food:)
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The other day when I had a few minutes to spare, I was out in the garden doing a little work when my neighbour said hi over the fence.
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When I first started homesteading, I had a burning desire to become more self-sufficient and live a more sustainable life.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a rebel at heart, and learning how to homestead and become more self-reliant was a way for me to “throw a proverbial middle finger to the system” and live life on my own terms.
As a teenager, I was the girl who drove around town with punk rock music blaring from my car, Misfits sticker on the back and studs around my wrists. I felt misunderstood and angsty and like I desperately didn’t fit in with the world I grew up in.
I always knew in my soul that I wanted something different; Something more.
Today I’m the mama with stretch marks on my belly and battle scars on my heart. I’m the woman who gardens and cans food and makes her own tinctures and believes in something greater than herself and fights every day to stay free in a world that feels increasingly engineered to keep us hopelessly dependent.
Today I feel whole and at peace, and connected to a higher power and a higher purpose. I feel like I’ve finally found the place where I belong.
This journey has been about so much more than homesteading for me, and I've learned, lost, gained and loved so much more than I ever could have imagined.
Because, as I've said before, homesteading doesn't happen in a vacuum. Life is always happening at the same time.
This is the full, raw and unfiltered story of my homesteading journey, and how I've gained so much more than a pantry full of food along the way.
Click the link in my bio @anna.sakawsky to read more or check it out here >> https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-it-started-how-its-going
The news we’ve all been waiting for…
IT’S A BOY!!!
After so many years and too many losses, our hearts are so full and it feels like we are inching closer to our family finally being complete.
I’ve always known in my heart and soul that we were meant to have a girl and a boy. I know, it sounds cliché and very “nuclear family,” but years ago I saw a psychic who told me I would have a girl who loved to be centre stage and had a personality larger than life, very much how our daughter has turned out!
She also said I would have a boy who would be much more introverted and in tune with nature and with his own intuition. That’s yet to be seen, but I’ve always had this unwavering vision of a son and a daughter that fit these descriptions, and my heart has been set on a son ever since we had Evelyn.
Of course, things went sideways for a few years. Shortly after Evelyn was born, I became pregnant again, but we made the heartbreaking decision to terminate that pregnancy at 24 weeks due to a severe medical diagnosis. We lost our son, Phoenix Rain on June 15, 2018. Our hearts were shattered and have never fully healed.
Over the next few years, I had 3 more early miscarriages. None of the doctors knew what was causing them as most didn’t seem to have any sort of genetic explanation. We were told it was “something environmental,” but weren’t given any clues as to what that could be.
After pushing to see several specialists last year (after our most recent loss), and being told once again that there was “nothing wrong with me,” I finally got another opinion and found out I had something called Chronic Endometritis: A low-grade infection in my uterus that I believe in my heart was caused by my c-section with our daughter; A c-section I didn’t want and probably didn’t need, but felt I needed because I was under pressure to make a decision before the surgeon went off duty.
I’ll never know for sure, but when I pushed for more testing and finally got a simple round of antibiotics, the endometritis cleared up. I got pregnant again almost immediately and so far we now have a healthy baby boy on the way.
(Continued in comments…)
My baby girl is 6 today!
For the last couple months I’ve been making a concerted effort to be more present with her. While I try to do this all the time, it’s easy to get caught up with work, the daily to-do list, etc. But with her home from school for the summer, dad working out of the home full time at a new job and me pregnant with a new baby on the way, I knew that not only did I need to take a step back from work and the daily grind for a while, but that this time together, just her and I, is precious and fleeting, and I need to make the most of it while I can.
Over the last few weeks we’ve had many adventures and fun times together. We’ve gone camping, hit the beach, she learned how to ride a two-wheeler, is swimming in the deep end of the pool and in the ocean on her own, and we’ve spent countless hours together just talking, bonding, cuddling and enjoying each other’s company.
Many nights I’ve gone to bed after a long day of fun with dishes still in the sink, emails still unanswered and not one thing scratched off my to-do list. But then I remember that my most important “to-do” right now is to be a mama to my girl, and to cherish this time together because I know it won’t last forever.
She’s an independent spirit who probably won’t always be willing to spend hours hanging out with her mom or invite me to snuggle with her every night before bed. So I’m gonna soak up as many of those moments together as possible while I can.
Today my baby girl is 6, but she won’t be forever. So if you can’t find me here, you know where I’ll be:)
Oh, and maybe from now on I’ll remember to get a few more pics of the two of us together too 😉
We’re living through interesting times. Many people have even used the term “unprecedented times,” and while that may be true in that there has perhaps never been another time in history when we’ve faced so many existential threats all at once (ie. a global pandemic, climate change, political divisions, AI advancing at an incredible rate, cyber attacks, nuclear threats, globalization, food shortages, supply chain issues, hyperinflation, social media and the age of information/misinformation, etc. etc. all converging at once). But despite all of this, we are not the first generation(s) of humans to face hardships and threats of great magnitude, and in fact we’ve had it better than any other previous generations for most of our lives, especially here in the west.
The fact is, there are lots of things we can do to ensure we’re not sitting ducks when these threats come knocking at our door. But it takes action on our part, not waiting around for someone else to fix things or take care of us.
In the Summer issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine, I sat down with The Grow Network’s Marjory Wildcraft to talk all about the realities of our current climate, including worsening inflation and looming global food shortages, as well as what every day people like you and I can actually DO to improve our food security, become more self-sufficient, care for our families and communities and ensure our own survival and wellbeing even in difficult and uncertain times like these.
While I don’t believe in fear mongering, I do believe in acknowledging hard truths and not burying your head in the sand. That being said, things may very well get worse before they get better, and we would all do well to start learning the necessary skills, stocking up on essential resources and preparing now while there’s still time.
Check out the full interview in the summer issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine. Link in bio @anna.sakawsky to subscribe or go to www.modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to subscribe or login and read the current issue.
#foodshortages #selfsufficiency #selfreliance #foodsecurity #foodsecurityisfreedom #homesteading #growyourownfood #fightinflation #stayfree
If you’re like most homesteaders, you probably have a pile of scrap materials laying somewhere on your property, all with the “intention” of being resourceful and using those scrap pieces for future projects. And let’s be honest: With inflation and the cost of lumber and, well, pretty much everything these days, being resourceful with our scraps isn’t just practical, it’s downright necessary in many cases!
But the reality is that it’s often much easier to accumulate scrap pieces than it is to actually put them to good use, and if we’re not careful and discerning with what we keep on hand, that scrap pile full of homesteader gold can quickly turn into a junk pile of clutter taking up space on our property.
In the Summer issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine, our resident handyman (my dear husband @ryan.sakawsky ;) shares his best tips for how to put your scrap pile to good use and knock some projects off your list while the weather’s still good, including which materials are worth saving and which ones aren’t.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the summer issue yet, you can subscribe via the link in my bio @anna.sakawsky (or login to the library if you’re a already a subscriber) or go to www.modernhomesteadingmagazine.com
Do you keep a scrap pile? If so, what sort of materials do you have laying around?
#scrappile #modernhomesteading #homesteading #diy #getscrappy #resourcefulness #inflation #beatinflation
There are rollout pantry inserts that you can buy at the big stores and install yourself. They range from sized for spices to quart jar friendly and create species in lots of unused space.
I am in the process of turning my unused dining room (which is code for dumping ground) into a large walk in pantry. We are making shelves- lots of shelves!! I am so excited!
I hear you on the dumping ground. More shelves is always a good thing!
We moved to Texas from Indiana a few months back and went from having a HUGE basement with HUGE understair storage to not much of anything. Albeit we have understair area here, it’s a tiny door and not much storage (maybe later I’ll convert it after the kids are gone and I move the Christmas and wrapping stuff out). We do have an extra set of built in tall cabinets which I use for storage, but we had to get creative so I took some thin wood and cut some “shelves” that are movable. They cover about 3-4 jars wide and deep, and since they are lightweight, they don’t put a lot of pressure on the bottom jars and it distributes the weight better. I tried to attach a picture but it wouldn’t do it.
We’re in a 2 bedroom apt with no pantry. So we have food in unused and used by soft items drawers. Theres the bulk of the food storage behind the couch (so then the living room is 2 ft smaller that direction but it’s long anyways) and in the guestroom closet. I almost have my husband convinced to turn the guestroom into a walk-in pantry (or at least part of it) 🙂
No pantry? Just kidding. Clearly where there’s a will, there’s a way. I hadn’t thought of converting an entire bedroom into food storage! But hey, if you don’t need it as a guest bedroom, you go for it sister! I think if I was in the same situation I would do the same:) Love the behind the couch system you’ve got going. I’ll have to add that when I expand the list, as I’m sure it will continue to expand as I hear more great ideas from others like you!