It's Not That Easy (Food Storage), Part Two

Todd's Apple Upside-Down Cake
didn't turn out quite as he'd hoped (ca 2009)
photograph by
daryl_mitchell
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

From the last article, you will notice that I stored the dried beans differently then I did the sugar. There is a reason for that. We are having a problem with finishing an entire 5-gallon bucket of food, in a timely manner.

Normally, I'll open a 5-gallon bucket of rice, and we'll cook with the rice. Well, the last time I did that; it took us about one year to eat all that rice. We are also having a problem finishing a 35-pound (5-gallon bucket) of sugar. My wife isn't making as many cookies as she has in the past.

So,

We decided to start packaging some of our long-term food storage in smaller five-pound mylar bags. The smaller bags will allow us to eat our food storage and still keep most of it properly packaged.

But,

There is a down side to this. A five-gallon plastic bucket will hold less food when packed with small bags. Normally, a five-gallon bucket will hold 35 pounds of food, in a big mylar bag. Using the smaller five-pound bags, a five gallon bucket will only hold 25-pounds, a reduction of 10 pounds.

This reduction will increase the storage costs of your food. Instead of ten buckets for 350 pounds of wheat, you will need fourteen buckets. If you're paying $10 for a plastic bucket and lid, your food storage cost will go up $40.

Ouch!

But, there is an advantage to using smaller bags. Food in a smaller bag is easily carried by a child. Plus, it is easier to divey up for trade.

Note:
I disagree with Mr. Rawles about charity. I believe in trade.

I also made a mistake in my last article "It's Not That Easy (Food Storage)" I forgot to mention that I labeled each bag with the type of beans the mylar bag contains.

More later.

Links:
GSIEP - Storing Sugar Using Plastic Buckets
https://prepperstta.blogspot.com/2012/07/storing-sugar-using-plastic-buckets.html

GSIEP - Technical Tuesday: 20 September 2011
http://gsiep.blogspot.com/2011/09/technical-tuesday-20-september-2011.html