Storage Question

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   Hello,

I am having some difficulty getting pails or containers to store bulk items such as rice and beans. (Mostly due to being cheap and not wanting to spend 8$ a pail!) I can't find any bakerys or food businesses in the area that are willing to give away any for free and if they can  they tend to be without usable lids.

My question is: Is it ok to use the Mylar bags for food storage and then keep the food in NON food grade storage containers such as cat litter bins. Would the use of the Mylar bag prevent the food from getting contaminated from the container?

I would appreciate your thoughts!  

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Edenfire Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Experienced Member Joined: May 18 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 17	Post Options Post Reply Quote Edenfire Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Storage Question Posted: May 03 2007 at 8:45am
	Hello, I am having some difficulty getting pails or containers to store bulk items such as rice and beans. (Mostly due to being cheap and not wanting to spend 8$ a pail!) I can't find any bakerys or food businesses in the area that are willing to give away any for free and if they can they tend to be without usable lids. My question is: Is it ok to use the Mylar bags for food storage and then keep the food in NON food grade storage containers such as cat litter bins. Would the use of the Mylar bag prevent the food from getting contaminated from the container? I would appreciate your thoughts!
	When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my religion. ~Abraham Lincoln 1860

Never2late Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: April 30 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 247	Post Options Post Reply Quote Never2late Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 03 2007 at 11:48am
	Try the grocery stores or Sams that have a bakery. They get a lot of 5 gallon food grade pails that might be free or cheap.

BMW1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: February 08 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 116	Post Options Post Reply Quote BMW1 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 03 2007 at 12:10pm
	EdenFire, I get mine 5 gal. buckets from Walmart, They use to charge me $1 now that they know me They just give them to me. They come with the lids.
	Mississipi Mama

Edenfire Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Experienced Member Joined: May 18 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 17	Post Options Post Reply Quote Edenfire Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 03 2007 at 12:40pm
	Thanks for the input! I will try for the pails from local stores... I have not yet asked at Sams.
	When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my religion. ~Abraham Lincoln 1860

diego Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Location: Michigan Joined: June 16 2006 Status: Offline Points: 121	Post Options Post Reply Quote diego Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 14 2007 at 9:05pm
	we store a lot of our dry navy beans, peas,etc. in qt. canning jars. some vac packed some not. just fill a full case, makes it easy to stack three high on the shelf. plus you can never have enough jars when your ready to can. as an experiment we put up a few of the gal. glass restaurant pickle jars. filled with dry navy beans not vac packed in 1980. every few years cook some up, still taste great. i think beans,etc. will if kept dry will iast darn near forever.

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 19 2007 at 11:52am
	Can I add some storage questions: 1, How long to ordinary matches keep if dry, in an airtight bag. 2, I thought that propane (LPG) lasted forever, but my mother in law who does a lot of camping and boating says part filled cyclinders do not store well. 3, How long does petrol last? The guy who has converted my generator to LPG says petrol in an airtight filled container does not go off and why do I want an expensive LPG conversion- I thought that stabil was the way to go and even then two years was the maximum. 4, How long does engine oil keep?

diego Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Location: Michigan Joined: June 16 2006 Status: Offline Points: 121	Post Options Post Reply Quote diego Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 08 2007 at 7:12pm
	wood or paper matches? i only store wooden strike-anywhere matches in their boxes, stacked in large metal popcorn tins, kept 15 years so far. propane stored that long, still good. k-1 clear kerosene stored in drums, used for lighting after t.s.h.t.f. will last indefinitely. for long term a thirsty generator won't do, get a few 65 watt solar panels and a bank of 4 or more deep cycle batteries. check out your nearest r.v. dealer for 12 volt, fridge, coffee maker, lighting, etc. also with inverter you will have 112 volt too. big plus is no noise and fuel is the sun. ive had gas treated with stabil last for ( y2k) 5 years . the way i store gas is in the gas tanks of spare vehicles outside. still smelled sharp and ran fine. a lot of stuff i learned from people that went through the great depression. they kept their dirty engine oil in clear gallon glass jars. let it set until crud and dirt settled to bottom, then poured off the clear as honey oil on top. i don't know about additives being used up, if we get down to this method ANY oil is better than no oil.

inthesticks Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: December 18 2007 Location: Arkansas -- US Status: Offline Points: 3284	Post Options Post Reply Quote inthesticks Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 18 2007 at 4:18am
	Five-gallon buckets can also be picked up from fast food places that use pickles. I know that most fast food restaurants get their dill pickles in large five-gallon buckets. Also, register with your local Freecycle.org site, and post a WANT for buckets, or see if anyone is making an OFFER of buckets. Freecycle is strictly a free site...nobody can buy or trade items. As for matches, it would be wise to include a couple of fire-starter tools to your survival stockpile...in case your matches get wet, or otherwise ruined. Those new Space-Age airtight storage bags make great dry-food storage. Simply load up a bag with goodies, then vacuum all the air out of the bag, which compresses the bag (and the goodies), thereby saving space while maintaining freshness.

jacksdad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251	Post Options Post Reply Quote jacksdad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 18 2007 at 12:30pm
	I've been buying new 5 gallon buckets at Walmart (about $5 with lids), but I also have quite a few empty cat litter containers I'm planning on using too. As long as you get unscented cat litter it shouldn't make a difference. I managed to deodorize a scented one by filling it full of dilute bleach for a couple of days and then leaving it open to dry and air out for a couple of days. The mylar should keep the food fresh anyway.