Kim, my husband died Sept 6. It was totally without warning and I was not "prepared". My neighbor knew I was broke from the funeral costs. She contacted her LDS Church and asked them if they could help me. I had no idea until a truck full of canned foods came to my door. For 3 months, until my Social Security started I prepared all my meals from shelf stable foods provided with love from the church. A little imagination and some spices can make canned foods taste gourmet. I love your prepping ideas. I won't get caught unprepared or unaware again. 💐💐💐💐💐
Put in hot chocolate powder and/or coco as well. I think it has a longer shelf life than chocolate (at least the time on the shelf the chocolate lasts in my home for me!), AND I haven't heard of it melting in heat. Plus, there are more servings in a hot chocolate box (or get a load of single servings). Plus, if you were to put a chocolate bar into hot milk you need a lot more chocolate than you think for it to change the taste, so I recommend having powder to prevent wasted chocolate AND to keep away those less than horrendous cravings!
If every bit of storage space is full, then it is time to evaluate the items you are storing. I know someone who has a closet for just handbags. Handbags! I know others who have 50+ pairs of shoes. I know people who have totes full of some sort of collectibles. You get the picture. Evaluate and purge! That cute pair of sling backs, the Michael Khor's bag, and those Star War collectibles are not going to be any use to you in a SHFT situation. EVERYONE has storage options. You just need to decide what is important. Just my thoughts.
An article I read once said if you really love something but you cannot use it where you're living take a really good picture of it and then let it go you'll have that picture book to look through and admire but it's not taking up space in your house.
I live a 4 room historic farmhouse. It is 320 square feet. I have over the door shoe organizers. I have bins under the bed. I cleared out the linen closet and filled it with food. You would be amazed at how much I found room to store. In 2018, something told me to stock up. I only had a measly grocery budget of $10 every week. I ration my food and worked on making better choices to keep my food intake to under $1 a day. That gave me $2 to $3 to buy extra and put it up. I started with this cheap pasta. It is for sale at Walmart in the Mexican section of the international food aisle. It was 24 cents when I started. Now, it cost 48 cents. I bought 3 of those gallon containers at the Dollar Tree and filled them. I found the the Menard's Hardware Store sells groceries and they have a rebate program. I bought Mac and Cheese as well as a generic hamburger helper. I bought quite a few. I used my rebates for free bacon and tomato sauce. I rotated my meals as I was building my food storage. I have 28 of those #10 survival cans under a meal plan that I came up with as I live alone. I really need 4 more but the prices went up. Those cans are stored in a secure place as my last resort food storage supply. They are hidden in a empty space next to my bedroom. I put plastic stacking shelves in the space and I could only go two shelves next to each other. Each section will hold 16 cans so I can only fit 32. I have food that has best by dates of 2024 and 2025 in my linen closet. It was a 10 foot W by 7 foot tall and 3 feet deep. I have over 400 cans of meat And 150 pounds of pasta with 12 different types of sauce. I have 20 of the plastic containers of dehydrated vegetables and assorted powders. Then I have a year supply of Cream of Wheat and assorted toppings. Then comes the single serve peanut butter packets as well as various jelly packets. I have an assortment of baking mixes that are just add water. I made flour blend packets and made them into mylar sealed pouches. They are already measured according to the recipes that I use. They are half whole wheat flour and half all purpose white. They are stored in my under the bed bins. Behind the sofa are those 5 gallon buckets with lids. I put nut packets, jerky packs and dried fruit packets. I keep track of them by best use by dates. I label them according to when I need to use them. They are great for when I cannot cook. One bucket is good until February 2023 and the other is April 2024. In the winter months there is going to be days that I cannot cook so I know that my 2/2023 bucket will be empty before then. My normal kitchen closet has food with mostly the use by dates of 2023. There are a few Knorr sides that need to be used by November 2022 and a few December 2022 in that section. I have another plastic shelving unit in the hall space between the bathroom and laundry section. In that space I have over a year worth of cleaning supplies. It does not block passage as I left about 5 feet to get to the bathroom or laundry. Behind the Landry room door is over a year supply of my hygiene products. I have the combined body wash and shampoo to save space. On the shelf above the washer and dryer is over a year supply of my laundry supplies. I have 2 dressers in the bedroom. Now, I keep a minimalist wardrobe so I do not really need space for clothes that I do not plan on buying. So I filled a dresser with my feminine products. The over the door shoe organizer on my bedroom door is filled with first aid supplies and medicines. I do not have a coat closet so I put an over the door garment rack with 5 hooks on the other bedroom door to hang up my coat, sweater, shaw and jacket. My house is a basic circle with 2 inside doors in each room. That is a living room, kitchen, bedroom and the multiple purpose chopped up space which is the laundry, bathroom and mini hall. My favorite shelf stable meal is Knorr Sides with a 5 ounce can of meat and a scoop of rehydrated vegetable of my choice. In December of 2021, I fell and had medical complications. I was not able to grocery shop until this week. I refilled my supplies. If I can find space in my small house then y'all can find space in houses and apartments that are 3x and 5x bigger.
When I first married, over 50 yrs. ago, one of my meals to go to was Spam. Take sliced pineapple, cut circle in two and put one on top of sliced spam. Put it in the oven and bake until brown. My young husband thought I was a fantastic cook! 😆💐 Love your channel. You are one smart young lady!❤
Idea time. Spam cut up into cubes with chunk pineapple and brown sugar and teriyaki sauce. Then bake. I think that would work and I could serve it over some rice. I like it. Thank You for that.
I do like green beans, but I don't like them as a prepper food, especially when space is tight, simply because they have almost zero calories. Specifically when talking about choices for somebody who is having an issue with space, it makes sense to go with much more calorically dense foods. A can of green beans has only like 75 calories. Sweet peas are better at 210 Black beans much better, at 385 the corned beef hash you mentioned is actually one of the best, at over 600 calories per can. It would take NINE cans of green beans to get the same amount of sustenance! Something to keep in mind. Great video, thanks!
My chest of drawers and two nightstands have enough space in their bottom panels that I was able to place canned goods underneath. I was able to store four cases of food under there. It was a real blessing because my apartment is very small.
My husband and I live in an apartment. We have a chest freezer in our living room and also have a two door shelving cupboard unit. I'm an LDS convert. I'm so happy and blessed that I've come so far. My husband isn't a member but keeps asking why do we have so much food. I explain to him its times like this what we are dealing with right now is why.
We needed to get a new bed frame and decided to go with an elevated one, 14 or 16 inch space. I can easily fit a banana box-size container. Right now we have spaghetti, spaghetti sauce and extra tea bags there.
@@bigredohio Yes, I have a lot of storage space, but we have a bunch of packed boxes there, so under the bed is a good spot because it doesn't take up valuable real estate. We keep a small shelving unit in the kitchen that serves as our freestanding pantry. Our kitchen has only a few cabinets and we have a small chest freezer. So under the bed is a great place to store things. I'm hoping we can put our suitcases under the bed as well to free up that closet space.
@@jenniferwang3489 You could always store mac&cheese in your suitcase. ☺ I live in an apartment so there is no expanding or attaching anything to walls.
They make risers that you can use for regular bed frames and couches too. You can get a small shelving unit to put behind a couch and cover with a table cloth - that will give you 3 - 4 shelves to store totes of food.
Your content has been spot on, Kimmy. People need to know these things. Thank you! Edit for a thought: if someone is having trouble with the rotating, take out the items that are close to the expiration date and put it on your kitchen counter. It is a reminder to use that item up because it is staring you in the face. 😁
Baby steps is what I make, we live in a bungalow in UK with hardly any storage but I have a small bookcase upstairs with coffee, sugar, tinned tuna, ham, beef, chicken, veg, porridge. We can buy gravy granules, stock cubes, tinned fruit & I love it. When we run out in the kitchen cupboard we replace from upstairs storage & I buy 2 to replace them! Thank you for all your ideas xxxx ❤❤❤
Kimmy, you and Denise at This and That were my inspirations for my extended pantry when I started out. I always had a well stocked pantry but I didnt have an extended pantry. As my pantry grew I cleaned out the furniture in our home office (that we rarely used) and bought standing cabinets to put in it. Its located off my kitchen so its a convenient location. I gathered up all the food we had stored under beds and throughout our house and now have it all in one place. I will be using the under bed storage again though as I continue to stock up. My widowed, elderly Mom listened to my suggestions about starting her own extended pantry. She cleaned out some space and began shopping. On her very tight, limited income she has been able to build a nice pantry shopping mostly at the various Dollar Stores and Walmart. Our oldest son and his wife have also began to stock up. So thats 3 families here alone that you have encouraged and helped. Thank you! God is using you and your light shines bright! (BTW, you look great!)
I live in a small 900 square foot house. There’s three of us in the household. I still manage to have 2+ weeks food storage. It has helped us through the many shortages/floods I’ve had recently in my part of Australia.
My mother was a widow raising 5 kids. Here is a good food stretcher...She would cube up SPAM and fry it and put it in spaghetti sauce. It really isn't bad, I still occasionally make it when I'm missing my mom. ❤
I've not tried Spam with spaghetti as it has been hard to find where I lived. I did see a video where they made spaghetti with fried corned beef, aka Slope Spaghetti. It's pretty good and easy to throw together with the pantry good. Corned beef has been plentiful, but you have to work with what you can get ahold of.
My grandmother did this also. She would also cube and brown spam add canned green beans & potatoes. Serve with cornbread. Very cheap. Fed half a dozen kids.
I still use beef mince but if Turkey or Chicken is cheaper just add a beef stock cube & no one will ever know. I then add water & Pearl Barley (about 1/3) of the total mince amount. I’ve been doing this for 6 months & no one has noticed.
My mom it was hot dogs. She'd cut up hot dogs in small pieces. Should make two marks to make four pieces down from the ends and then cut down the lengths of dog
Ever since I have my kids I always think of having extra food everytime I go to the store specially for my kids needs. Now my oldest son is 20 year’s old and I’m still doing the same. It was really a big help with what happened in 2020 lost of job for 6 months. My husband used to laugh at me because of my stocking up and now he os the one that buying most of it from the big store. Aiming for a year supply for a family of 5.
Nice ideas! My son is a boy scout we use our gas stove and fire place! Foil packet meals! Pie,hot dogs! Every year our power goes out for 4 days. Last year was for 9 days! We prep a head of time and thermal pjs are a must! We live in oregon!
When we bought our house the one essential thing we were looking for was a wood stove. We live in northern Canada rural remote and that thing has saved our butts many times. Our power goes out at least a few times a year, always in winter. I love foil packet meals!
For apartments, the bed raisers so you can store stuff under the bed--try those on other furniture. I have cube units, sideways like a dresser, and stacked. And using the folding cubes to save privacy. 1 can go behind a sofa, with a fancy drape on it. Or tall, behind a lightweight chair in a corner. Just use the cube drawers for appearance, camouflage.
Under the bed… not enough height? Get bed risers! Replace side table by your bed with sturdy storage bins, put a nice cover over it. At first… I gave my wife grief, but now I’m grateful. 👍🏻👍🏻
Proverbs 31:11-12 “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”
I agree this is a fine idea when you're younger, but once you're older and your balance is off I do not suggest having to try to get up into a bed. You need to be able to be level or sit down to a bed to prevent falls and fractured hips.
We love Spam salad sandwiches. Slice it and mash the slices with a potato masher ( l like the ones with small squares), add some chopped up Little Gerkin's pickles, chopped onions, a splash of mustard and some Miracle Whip. Mix it all together and put it on sandwich bread. I like to chill mine for a couple of hours before serving.
I like that you don't criticize people for saying they don't have space. What you do is offer solutions and tips for storing meals and using unusual places to put food. Thinking of meals instead of individual items lets you know how many days you have covered too. Making a list of meals your family likes and stocking shelf stable food for them is a great tip. We are doing meals in a bag suggested by RoseRed Homestead video which is putting the ingredients for a meal in a bag and note if you need to add fresh ingredients or water. I'm using the canned goods that expire this year or early next year which helps us rotate as well. We are decluttering since retired and I'm not into decorating for seasons and holidays like I used to be. Less out makes what is displayed more special and room for food storage. Thanks for the positive videos!
@@andrea.6405 RoseRed Homestead, Alaska Granny and Homestead Corner have great recipe ideas using pantry items. Check out their channels and playlists!
We have stuff stored between the wall and the back of our couch in the living room. We have toilet paper stacked beside the wall and toilet and cabinet in the bathroom. We have things in bins under beds. Plus we have part of a storage room in the cellar with added bins. I've always had a stockpile but have been trying to build more. We have chickens for eggs and garden and greenhouses going which hopefully will help put stuff away in the freezer etc.
Many times there is space between coats and shoes in a closet. So place your shoes on top of the storage box/ bin/ tote. You may even consider putting a second shelf above the coats. Seldom used or storage items can be placed there; like first aid supplies, candles and the like.
I have actually stocked up on packets of gravy to save space. Also fajita seasoning. Canned chicken, homemade tortillas, rice, and boom something quick that will feed my family and save space. Your tips have helped so much. I have a 3 month storage thanks to watching you. I have been following you since the beginning. Thank you for sharing your family, life, recipes, and now food storage.
You might have already thought of this. But in my coat closet I put up a over the door plastic shoe holder. And use the pouches for all my small gravy, chili ect packets. And I have one for my linen closet with bandaids, lotions ect
Kimmy you are the reason I started a pantry. You have given me sooo many tips and advice over the past five years! I would have never been prepared like I am now for my family. Also, I turned a spare bedroom into a walk in pantry! Thank you for everything you have done for me Kimmy!
So thankful for my mom who lived for through the depression and taught me how to keep a pantry. Thank you for you teaching, always good to keep learning.
I have noticed that we are eating way less meat than we used to. When we have a meat meal, it is usually as an accompaniment to a dish. I think that long term storage proteins like beef, chicken and pork are great to use in this way! You don't need more than a can or two (or jar if you can your own) to make up a wonderful, flavor filled meal. I have seen some great videos lately on canning ground meats like beef or turkey. I am most interested in trying my hand at that! Get them at today's prices and have them stored for later when prices may be much higher and out of the grocery budget.
That is a good point. I used to cook large meals. Now we are learning to eat less and fill up with simple things, like popcorn or crackers etc. We are actually feeling better too.
That is why I love the smaller 5 ounce cans that were $1 or less. They are now $2 or less. I get cases of Knorr Sides where the price is about $1 each. I keep 40 in my pantry. I add a 5 ounce can of meat. I also add a scoop of rehydrated vegetable for my supplies. I could go Teriyaki noodle Knorr Side with dehydrated minced onion and a 5 ounce can of chicken. I could change out the chicken for small can of beef. I could change the onion for bell pepper. I could prepare the Four Cheese with a 5 ounce can of diced ham and add spinach flakes. I could switch out the spinach flakes for peppers or onions or dried dice tomato. I could switch out the ham for cut up Vienna sausages. I could also use some bacon bits in place of the can meat. I do a mid week meal prep on Wednesday afternoon. I went with a different brand of side that is angel hair with a light herb sauce. I added tuna and made Tetrazzini.
Looking forward to the college one, to show and teach my kid as they go off to college. I'm actually thinking of just putting together a bin for them so that they have it on hand. Thank you so much for sharing this! I just discovered you and getting started on food storage.
When I went to university my parents provided me with pantry staples and freezer essentials. It was awesome and I appreciated it so much, even more now 20 years later!
Space...Underbed, draws, box food( storage bins)..( look on F/B market place,thrift stores)I bought 5 from Goodwill large1.99- 2.99, A steal) make furniture , cover...Purge if u can, items u dont need..( clothes that dont fit,)..If theres a will there away...It takes time..U can do it!!!
You can make space for food storage in an apartment. One idea is making a metal trashcan into a nightstand and putting a wood top on top of it and storing things inside that. An idea for condiments..packets you get from fast food. :) Just make sure you rotate them because they will go bad and explode. Save the mess and store them in ziploc bags. From my experience....mac and cheese boxes are half and half...the mac and cheese noodles are fine for long long storage (for years) if stored properly, but those cheese packages...they turn brown and gross and do not last long.
Very good ideas! I've been working on my food storage for a few years. These videos are good even for me because sometimes I forget what I can make with what I have in my pantry.
I am single, but my son and his family are close by so I have a rotating pantry and I can what I can in the summer.. you are an inspiration Kimmy, thank you so much!!
Kimmy, I would love for you to please do a food storage for type 2 diabetic, like your dad! That would be sooooooo very helpful for so many! Appreciate all that you do. ❤️
Thanks for all the practical advice! The bin you used looks like the bins I just bought at Costco. They are on sale right now - 3 bins for $18! A steal! These are great for storing quart size canning jars and the smaller Costco bins (4 for $10) are perfect for pint jars. The bins allow you to stack your home canned foods.
I’ve started storing food finally I live currently in a 5th wheel while my house is being built by myself and husband and I store food under my lift up bed for one. Cleared a cabinet in the living room tossed junk I don’t need for food I do need. Great series kimmy keep it up good job.👍💞
I used to love SPAM, but now find it's too salty for my taste. However, the Great Value reduced sodium or low salt SPAM knockoff is delicious and still very affordable. Try one and see if you like it! 😊
I’m a child of the 60’s and 70’s and we loved spam my favourite was spam fritters. I’ve made them recently for my grandkids using sliced spam and krustese pancake mix and deep fry they’re delicious x
I was lucky to have an unfinished room in my basement that stays around 60 degrees to stock my secondary pantry. I still use under beds for shelf staple goods. I have stocked soups for meals and added rice to make it hardier and go further.
Love your hair styled that way!❤️❤️ FYI mayo is good at room temp as long as it hasn't been refrigerated yet. My best friend and her family never refrigerate their mayo. It's loaded with preservatives nowadays.
Great video! I’ve been working on moving my food pantry from the garage to inside, and working to build up our supply. I’ve used my hutch space and a free standing cabinet. I’m also considering cleaning out our mess of a coat closet, and installing shelves in there for more storage.
Just a personal preference, between the different kinds of mashed potatoes, go for the pouch pre flavored kind (looks like crumbles not flakes). You don't have to add anything to it but water. I recently switched to flakes to save money and be a little healthier; the taste difference is huge.
Thanks for the encouragement and sharing your ideas. Its just me and hubby in a small apartment. Turning coat closet into pantry. We've always lived in walking distance of groceries and now live rural so for convience alone a pantry would be handy. Such good information. Thanks!
Thank you. Yes, I took notes on things that I don't have. I have been prepping for about a year but my living space is small. Your suggestions are brilliant!! Thank you!
Video is amazing! If you stock up now, you won't be hit hard as the prices increase. It's more about savings and having some items on hand for a while, such great ideas for meal prep.
Ideas for storage from someone living within a 900 square foot apartment: - Use the space in your linen closet behind your towels and washcloths to store things such as extra first aid supplies or hand soap - Place plastic drawers under sinks to add vertical space. They make a great place to store sponges, magic erasers, small trash bags, brushes, etc. - Add a shelf above doorways to store items - Add plastic drawers to your hall closet either on the shelves or on the floor - Hang shoe organizers on the back of doors, then fill the pouches with small items. - Dressers usually have empty space between the bottom and the lowest drawer. When I was a kid I used to hide my diary and other items in it. - Most importantly, start decluttering! You'll be amazed what space you discover when you do.
This is so good for a beginner getting started,but I even took something away from it with new ideas you shared. I'm constantly adding to my food storage. Actually it's a fun challenge at this shortage time in our life. Thanks again!
I have a camp stove and some small propane tanks for it, so we can cook a simple meal. I dehydrate cooked hamburger and store it in canning jars then vacuum seal them. My son moved into his own place for a new job, I was able to take enough out of my pantry to get him set up in his new place and that made me so happy that I could do that for him. Kimmy, I also wanted to share this, I saw in a video that you were talking about storing water in those gallon milk type jugs and how they often leak. Well I found a container called a water brick, (on Amazon) each one holds 3 gallons of water and for me its distilled water for my cpap machine, you can even get a lid with a spigot to pour the water out, they are easy to move because they only have three gallons in them and they can also slide under a bed. If you stack them they interlock and wont move. Great video thanks for sharing your tips with us.
Shepherds pie from food storage, I have used the corned beef, [FrugalQueeninFrance], added some A1 to the gravy, very 👍. We dehydrate broccoli, rather than using up freezer space. Use it in cheesy broccoli box/can/bag mix-soup, rice, pasta. There is never enough broccoli. Can chili, SPAM, ham chunks, tuna; add 2nd veg, and good to go. Pancake mix--PB&J pancake sandwich. Like stir fry & fried rice? SPAM, can chunk 🍍, PF Changs mango sweet&sour sauce. And the usual ingredients for fried rice, and stir fry veges. Slice, cube, fry your SPAM. [Separate the 🍍 from juice. The juice can go in stir fry, or sweeten tea or water.] Set meat aside, deglaze pan by frying the 🍍. SPAM, 🍍, mango--Hawaiian vacation.
Do you have any tips and/or resources about rehydrating dehydrated food? My parents do this, but we aren't sure how to rehydrate in a almost foolproof manner, and/or what to use the foods for.
I'm so thankful for the heart. You give me strength to get up and Prep my house for the future. It's very hard for me I have stage 4 kidney disease some days I can do anything. And i watch you and get thoughts of idea's. Thank you
Hi Kimmie! Great info. I have under the bed storage with my home canned foods and I'm cleaning out my Hutch to store long term foods. This is a topic I'm really interested in. I appreciate all of your sharing. I'm looking forward to your video.
I'm so glad to know I'm not the only person that stores food under the bed!! I have jars in every room in the house. I keep an inventory so I can keep a good rotation.
Love love love watching your videos, also love the hair. I like getting ideas on ways to stock pile foods to have on hand to use when needed and your meals on shopping your pantry… the best !
I have been so overwhelmed trying to figure all of this out. I am on a budget and I do not have a lot of space and barely have normal storage space. This video was so helpful. I got so many ideas and didn’t feel overwhelmed. I can do it, even if I have to approach it at a 1-2 month bin at a time and just date the bins. So thankful that I came across this channel today.
Yes, please do a video for food storage for a college kid. I have one going next year and would like her to have a little something in her dorm for emergencies.
This is a great video! For anyone living in the Southwest or on the Sun(same difference) Ritz crackers and Graham crackers have gone bad for me because of the heat, even being stored in an air conditioned home. I don't know if it's because they are both packaged in a wax paper-like packaging, but they do not last in my climate.🏜🏜🏜🏜
I love your pantry. I get a few extra things every time I go to the grocery store. I do a shopping trip once a month. I will always buy pasta sauce. As long as it is under $2. That is my stop price on pasta sauce. I always buy a can of salmon at Aldi's even if I have plenty at home. That is how I have built up a nice pantry.
I've started following the serving sizes on the foods so I can get use to the amt of food I'm looking to be limited to. I also started out just buying one meal items at a time then started grouping them by expiration dates.
Great video! Kimmy you are awesome! Everyone could learn something from this video. I live in a small house without a garage, or attic, or basement. I have some prepper food items stored under beds. I plan food storage items for 4 even though we are a family of 3. My mother in law eats twice the amount as my husband & I ( no disrespect intended just being real).
We just went through Hurricane IAN and lost everything in our freezer and fridge. Power was out for 9 days. We cooked some food on grill and kept in cooler but ice was difficult to come by. We threw away a so much food that spoiled. I’m happy that I had some things in a Rubbermaid container that I started be fire this. Now everyone is out of products we are in the same boat. This was a great reason to make this a priority the rest of the year. Love the videos. Sad that I lost so much food in fridge and freezer.
Awesome information! Also, I have a family member with type 2 diabetes and I store in my pantry for diabetic and Keto dietary needs. I buy prepackaged (from Costco) cauliflower rice, Keto noodles, chicken, tuna,beef cans and canned veggies including mini corn, waterchestnuts and bamboo shoots from the Asian market. Also, I can my own green beans, asparagus and cucumbers into pickles from my summer gardening. Living in Florida, if we lose power (during hurricane seasons) I use the bbq grill that has a side burner and we use the pool water to flush toilets. It's really easier nowadays to find foods that are packaged well for long term versus what was out there in the 90's.
great video Kimmy as always I have gained so much info from your channel, i have only limited space but always store a month or 2 storage. many thanks Julie from England. xxx
I love your taco soup. I made it one night and had an unexpected guest come and stay for supper. She asked what we were having, so I told her. She wasn't sure at first but then she tried it and loved it!
This is perfect! We just moved and our new place is very small and there is very little space for food storage. These ideas are really helpful! Thanks Kimmy! ☺️
Great video! I’m so envious of your large pantry space. This would be my dream! My husband and kids love spam - I’m not the biggest fan but my husband makes “spam fried rice” and it’s delicious. Whenever we have leftover rice, we store it in the fridge overnight, the next night we toss it in our wok and heat it up, then we cut up one can of spam into small pieces and fry it in a little oil, then we add mixed vegetables and soy sauce. It’s delicious - yes it’s high in sodium but it’s the only way I can eat spam 😂 there’s usually enough for leftovers the following night too but it all depends on how much rice you cooked.
I live in a small apartment in NYC, 4 people in a 2 bedroom apartment. I have made space for food storage in closets, under the bed, on top of cabinets, etc. I only recently bought containers to put dry goods in, it really helps me visualize exactly how much we have. I keep the canned goods in under bed boxes. We already had a couple of the large plastic bins designed for under the bed, so I utilized those. Then when I'm at the grocery store I'll take empty boxes the canned food is packaged in and I use that, I've also cut delivery boxes down to fit under the bed. I have not spent anything on containers to store things under the bed. I also store extra toilet paper under the bed. I'm not stockpiling, it's just more cost effective to buy in bulk.
Coat closets and lines closets are great for purging and storing. I look new closet has over the door shoe racks in the plastic pockets I have band aids, lotions ect. And the small coat closet I have in the pockets gravy packets, chili packets, rice ready to go ect. I also was able to fit small plastic bins in that closet and stacked em up. In the drawers are all my boxed foods. I have a small space and had to get creative.
Spam isn’t my favorite either. My main plan for spam is to chop it up small and put it in fried rice. Fried rice is a great shelf stable meal with canned peas or mixed veggies, soy sauce , oil and rice. You could also add powdered scrambled egg, though it’s not necessary. I could eat fried rice every week, I love it!
I live in an apartment. I have metal shelving in the bedroom and in the dining area. You just have to make the space. I store behind the couch, under the bed and in my linen closet.
I had an old entertainment center taking up space so I've turned it into my pantry shelf. My husband added another shelf to it for me to add more room. When I go thru it though I'm going to have to label the shelves so I now what's on them as they are very deep.
I live in a small apartment with very little and limited space for anything. However, my honey bought a shelving unit for our living room closet and that's where we keep most all of our canned foods. He wants to buy another one to put along side of that one to put additional foods on it. We stock up when we can.
Don't forget your pets! My little Chihuahua mix senior dog has her own tote filled with kibble, wet dog food, treats and chews, extra of her favorite toys and water.
You have such good advice, I can't imagine feeding a family these days. Thank goodness our garden is really producing good again this year. My husband has already shared cabbages with friends and plenty of rasberries to freeze and share. Got my juice ready from the berries and frozen, so I can make jam this winter . Makes for nice holiday gifts.
I stock up on items by 6-10 but buy in bulk ( boxes) tomatoes, soups, salt, cooking oil, 2 large sacks of rice, 2 sacks of flours, and mineral water. Which I stock in the sports room and take when needed. Weekly I write in my diary/ calendar what I should stock up on following shopping trip.
They also make bins that slide under the bed. You may also be able to clean out a lower dresser drawer or the back of a closet. We usually have unused space somewhere we just have to get creative. Great video
Gluten free i use cream of rice for hot cearl. Or use whole quinoa if extra protein is needed. Also gluten free pancakes mixes are available, i add a little buckwheat flour to it.
Pancake mix is great love doing freezer pancakes why not make the whole box and fresh blueberries or chocolate chips or just plain same with waffles such a time saver later😋
I started my pantry a few months ago and I thank you I started with can goods,broth,rice,pasta,etc even spam the end of the month I'm off to Costco a friend has a card so I've been putting away a few dollars so I can stock up more our Costco is so much more in price here in Canada so I'm only getting what is important I also live in apartment
Great video! You probably haven’t gotten to spices yet however I love cinnamon on oatmeal, apple sauce , so many things you can use the inexpensive spice on and oh French toast 😝
Hi Kimmy, I've been a subscriber for a few years now, but don't usually comment on your videos. I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy your videos very much and as I've recently moved out of my parent's house, your content inspires me to build my pantry little by little. Btw, you look great! Love from Argentina.
I luve in an apartment too but have found ways to store. I have rolling under bed storage bins that I got from a dollar store. They hold a lot. I use boxes cut down to fit under my sofa or under a night table. I don't buy foods that I don't ever eat and I rotate through my foods. I have a binder labeled Household Notebook. I keep a spreadsheet of all of my household supplies. I go through it at the end if each month to see what I have or need to stock up on. I also include where that item is located in my apartment. Thankfully, I started prepping decades ago and had plenty of toilet paper during covid and had plenty to share. I have an 18x48 wire shelving unit in my bedroom. I keep labeled bankers boxes with vacuum sealed flour, sugar, cornmeal, oatmeal, dried beans, etc. I wad able to share with neighbors when we had a week long ice storm here in Texas and they couldn't get out to the store. Make a notebook with recipes you use frequently. When you buy ingredients for that recipe then buy 2...1 to use and 1 to store. It will become easier as time goes on and you will be surprised where you can find storage. Good luck!
I also keep tomato powder that I purchase online. I add a little water to make tomato paste, a little more water for tomato sauce or even more for juice. You can season it the way you like. I jar of tomato powder takes up a lot less space than all those cans.
Actually what I do is I make a pot roast. One day have the original meal. Take some of the meat and cut it up for sandwiches and put it aside and maybe have one more meal out of the roast and veggies. Then take the rest and chop or dice fine for hash, sometimes I have enough veggies to make a soup as well using the broth or stock from the roast
I know this stuff is useful, especially in this weird time were all hoping through, but I haven't seen you do an actual cooking/ baking/ freezer meal/ or meal prep vid fir aaaaaages! Please bring them back 😢 I LOVE to watch you cook.
Kim, my husband died Sept 6. It was totally without warning and I was not "prepared".
My neighbor knew I was broke from the funeral costs. She contacted her LDS Church and asked them if they could help me. I had no idea until a truck full of canned foods came to my door.
For 3 months, until my Social Security started I prepared all my meals from shelf stable foods provided with love from the church.
A little imagination and some spices can make canned foods taste gourmet.
I love your prepping ideas. I won't get caught unprepared or unaware again.
💐💐💐💐💐
Sorry for your loss 😢🙏
God bless you! Thank you for sharing. This makes me think...
You are a warrior!,, stay strong 💪 😇
Im so sorry for your loss. I lost my Dad last autumn and that changed our lives as well super suddenly. Best wishes to you and stay strong!
@@maribethshewmaker78 There are so many situations that could cause any of us to have to rely on what we have stored.
Oatmeal
Honey
Jams/Jelly
Brown Sugar
Boxed Milk
Corned Beef Hash
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Protein Bars
Almond Butter
Canned Fruit
Pastas
Boxed Macaroni and Cheese
Alfredo Sauce
Spaghetti Sauce
Tomato Soup
Tuna (packed in water, lasts longer)
Mayonnaise
Canned Vegetables
Gravy (jar or canned)
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Rice
Boxed Stuffing
Canned Protein (chicken, turkey, etc)
“Cream of“ soup
Canned Chili
Canned Beans
Canned Beef Stew
Canned Potatoes
Taco Seasoning (optional)
Canned broth
Just add water Pancake Mix
Canned Mushrooms
Popcorn
And I’m adding *CHOCOLATE* to the list because everyone needs some comfort food. Plus, it’s a great barter item in a SHTF scenario.
😃Chocolate is a must in our family. Yeah, we get headaches from it, but oh it is a necessary thing to have. 😉
@@chelinfusco6403 it really is the little things!!!
Dark chocolate is great for artery health. Seasoning/sauce packets for gravy, taco, enchilada, etc. will save a lot of space and add lots of flavor!
Put in hot chocolate powder and/or coco as well. I think it has a longer shelf life than chocolate (at least the time on the shelf the chocolate lasts in my home for me!), AND I haven't heard of it melting in heat. Plus, there are more servings in a hot chocolate box (or get a load of single servings). Plus, if you were to put a chocolate bar into hot milk you need a lot more chocolate than you think for it to change the taste, so I recommend having powder to prevent wasted chocolate AND to keep away those less than horrendous cravings!
@@phoenixmoon5580 this is genius!
If every bit of storage space is full, then it is time to evaluate the items you are storing. I know someone who has a closet for just handbags. Handbags! I know others who have 50+ pairs of shoes. I know people who have totes full of some sort of collectibles. You get the picture. Evaluate and purge! That cute pair of sling backs, the Michael Khor's bag, and those Star War collectibles are not going to be any use to you in a SHFT situation. EVERYONE has storage options. You just need to decide what is important. Just my thoughts.
Yes, for sure, keep a few treasured things you really love and use. Let the rest go to new homes where they will be appreciated and used!
Awesome thoughts Cindy Sue! I have totally purged to make room for essentials. No regrets either!
My extra closet is turned into my pantry with bookshelves that I already had. I own three handbags, lol!
An article I read once said if you really love something but you cannot use it where you're living take a really good picture of it and then let it go you'll have that picture book to look through and admire but it's not taking up space in your house.
@@rachalnocchi5600 If you can sell those items, so much the better! Perhaps a garage sale is in order!
I live a 4 room historic farmhouse. It is 320 square feet.
I have over the door shoe organizers. I have bins under the bed. I cleared out the linen closet and filled it with food. You would be amazed at how much I found room to store.
In 2018, something told me to stock up. I only had a measly grocery budget of $10 every week. I ration my food and worked on making better choices to keep my food intake to under $1 a day. That gave me $2 to $3 to buy extra and put it up. I started with this cheap pasta. It is for sale at Walmart in the Mexican section of the international food aisle. It was 24 cents when I started. Now, it cost 48 cents. I bought 3 of those gallon containers at the Dollar Tree and filled them. I found the the Menard's Hardware Store sells groceries and they have a rebate program. I bought Mac and Cheese as well as a generic hamburger helper. I bought quite a few. I used my rebates for free bacon and tomato sauce. I rotated my meals as I was building my food storage.
I have 28 of those #10 survival cans under a meal plan that I came up with as I live alone. I really need 4 more but the prices went up. Those cans are stored in a secure place as my last resort food storage supply. They are hidden in a empty space next to my bedroom. I put plastic stacking shelves in the space and I could only go two shelves next to each other. Each section will hold 16 cans so I can only fit 32.
I have food that has best by dates of 2024 and 2025 in my linen closet. It was a 10 foot W by 7 foot tall and 3 feet deep. I have over 400 cans of meat And 150 pounds of pasta with 12 different types of sauce. I have 20 of the plastic containers of dehydrated vegetables and assorted powders. Then I have a year supply of Cream of Wheat and assorted toppings. Then comes the single serve peanut butter packets as well as various jelly packets. I have an assortment of baking mixes that are just add water.
I made flour blend packets and made them into mylar sealed pouches. They are already measured according to the recipes that I use. They are half whole wheat flour and half all purpose white. They are stored in my under the bed bins.
Behind the sofa are those 5 gallon buckets with lids. I put nut packets, jerky packs and dried fruit packets. I keep track of them by best use by dates. I label them according to when I need to use them. They are great for when I cannot cook. One bucket is good until February 2023 and the other is April 2024. In the winter months there is going to be days that I cannot cook so I know that my 2/2023 bucket will be empty before then.
My normal kitchen closet has food with mostly the use by dates of 2023. There are a few Knorr sides that need to be used by November 2022 and a few December 2022 in that section.
I have another plastic shelving unit in the hall space between the bathroom and laundry section. In that space I have over a year worth of cleaning supplies. It does not block passage as I left about 5 feet to get to the bathroom or laundry. Behind the Landry room door is over a year supply of my hygiene products. I have the combined body wash and shampoo to save space. On the shelf above the washer and dryer is over a year supply of my laundry supplies.
I have 2 dressers in the bedroom. Now, I keep a minimalist wardrobe so I do not really need space for clothes that I do not plan on buying. So I filled a dresser with my feminine products.
The over the door shoe organizer on my bedroom door is filled with first aid supplies and medicines.
I do not have a coat closet so I put an over the door garment rack with 5 hooks on the other bedroom door to hang up my coat, sweater, shaw and jacket.
My house is a basic circle with 2 inside doors in each room. That is a living room, kitchen, bedroom and the multiple purpose chopped up space which is the laundry, bathroom and mini hall.
My favorite shelf stable meal is Knorr Sides with a 5 ounce can of meat and a scoop of rehydrated vegetable of my choice.
In December of 2021, I fell and had medical complications. I was not able to grocery shop until this week. I refilled my supplies.
If I can find space in my small house then y'all can find space in houses and apartments that are 3x and 5x bigger.
When I first married, over 50 yrs. ago, one of my meals to go to was Spam. Take sliced pineapple, cut circle in two and put one on top of sliced spam. Put it in the oven and bake until brown. My young husband thought I was a fantastic cook! 😆💐 Love your channel. You are one smart young lady!❤
Idea time. Spam cut up into cubes with chunk pineapple and brown sugar and teriyaki sauce. Then bake. I think that would work and I could serve it over some rice. I like it. Thank You for that.
@@Holly-ys1me Love it!!!
Growing up we had spam coded with mustard and sprinkled with brown sugar. And oh was it delightful? Healthy? I'm not so sure but tasted yummy
I do like green beans, but I don't like them as a prepper food, especially when space is tight, simply because they have almost zero calories.
Specifically when talking about choices for somebody who is having an issue with space, it makes sense to go with much more calorically dense foods.
A can of green beans has only like 75 calories.
Sweet peas are better at 210
Black beans much better, at 385
the corned beef hash you mentioned is actually one of the best, at over 600 calories per can. It would take NINE cans of green beans to get the same amount of sustenance!
Something to keep in mind. Great video, thanks!
My chest of drawers and two nightstands have enough space in their bottom panels that I was able to place canned goods underneath. I was able to store four cases of food under there. It was a real blessing because my apartment is very small.
My husband and I live in an apartment. We have a chest freezer in our living room and also have a two door shelving cupboard unit. I'm an LDS convert. I'm so happy and blessed that I've come so far. My husband isn't a member but keeps asking why do we have so much food. I explain to him its times like this what we are dealing with right now is why.
We needed to get a new bed frame and decided to go with an elevated one, 14 or 16 inch space. I can easily fit a banana box-size container. Right now we have spaghetti, spaghetti sauce and extra tea bags there.
I also use my bed to hide my bins. 🌻
@@bigredohio Yes, I have a lot of storage space, but we have a bunch of packed boxes there, so under the bed is a good spot because it doesn't take up valuable real estate. We keep a small shelving unit in the kitchen that serves as our freestanding pantry. Our kitchen has only a few cabinets and we have a small chest freezer. So under the bed is a great place to store things. I'm hoping we can put our suitcases under the bed as well to free up that closet space.
@@jenniferwang3489 You could always store mac&cheese in your suitcase. ☺ I live in an apartment so there is no expanding or attaching anything to walls.
@@bigredohio 👍What a good idea! Backpacks too I guess. Thanks.
They make risers that you can use for regular bed frames and couches too. You can get a small shelving unit to put behind a couch and cover with a table cloth - that will give you 3 - 4 shelves to store totes of food.
Your content has been spot on, Kimmy. People need to know these things. Thank you! Edit for a thought: if someone is having trouble with the rotating, take out the items that are close to the expiration date and put it on your kitchen counter. It is a reminder to use that item up because it is staring you in the face. 😁
Good advice, I do the same or it's out of site out of mind
Baby steps is what I make, we live in a bungalow in UK with hardly any storage but I have a small bookcase upstairs with coffee, sugar, tinned tuna, ham, beef, chicken, veg, porridge. We can buy gravy granules, stock cubes, tinned fruit & I love it. When we run out in the kitchen cupboard we replace from upstairs storage & I buy 2 to replace them! Thank you for all your ideas xxxx ❤❤❤
Ditto 👍👍
Kimmy, you and Denise at This and That were my inspirations for my extended pantry when I started out. I always had a well stocked pantry but I didnt have an extended pantry. As my pantry grew I cleaned out the furniture in our home office (that we rarely used) and bought standing cabinets to put in it. Its located off my kitchen so its a convenient location. I gathered up all the food we had stored under beds and throughout our house and now have it all in one place. I will be using the under bed storage again though as I continue to stock up. My widowed, elderly Mom listened to my suggestions about starting her own extended pantry. She cleaned out some space and began shopping. On her very tight, limited income she has been able to build a nice pantry shopping mostly at the various Dollar Stores and Walmart. Our oldest son and his wife have also began to stock up. So thats 3 families here alone that you have encouraged and helped. Thank you! God is using you and your light shines bright! (BTW, you look great!)
I live in a small 900 square foot house. There’s three of us in the household. I still manage to have 2+ weeks food storage. It has helped us through the many shortages/floods I’ve had recently in my part of Australia.
My mother was a widow raising 5 kids. Here is a good food stretcher...She would cube up SPAM and fry it and put it in spaghetti sauce. It really isn't bad, I still occasionally make it when I'm missing my mom. ❤
I've not tried Spam with spaghetti as it has been hard to find where I lived. I did see a video where they made spaghetti with fried corned beef, aka Slope Spaghetti. It's pretty good and easy to throw together with the pantry good. Corned beef has been plentiful, but you have to work with what you can get ahold of.
My grandmother did this also. She would also cube and brown spam add canned green beans & potatoes. Serve with cornbread. Very cheap. Fed half a dozen kids.
I still use beef mince but if Turkey or Chicken is cheaper just add a beef stock cube & no one will ever know. I then add water & Pearl Barley (about 1/3) of the total mince amount. I’ve been doing this for 6 months & no one has noticed.
@@ShellL Great tip. I add a T. of Worchestershire Sauce to ground turkey and it makes it more beefy.
My mom it was hot dogs. She'd cut up hot dogs in small pieces. Should make two marks to make four pieces down from the ends and then cut down the lengths of dog
Ever since I have my kids I always think of having extra food everytime I go to the store specially for my kids needs. Now my oldest son is 20 year’s old and I’m still doing the same. It was really a big help with what happened in 2020 lost of job for 6 months. My husband used to laugh at me because of my stocking up and now he os the one that buying most of it from the big store. Aiming for a year supply for a family of 5.
Nice ideas! My son is a boy scout we use our gas stove and fire place! Foil packet meals! Pie,hot dogs! Every year our power goes out for 4 days. Last year was for 9 days! We prep a head of time and thermal pjs are a must! We live in oregon!
When we bought our house the one essential thing we were looking for was a wood stove. We live in northern Canada rural remote and that thing has saved our butts many times. Our power goes out at least a few times a year, always in winter. I love foil packet meals!
For apartments, the bed raisers so you can store stuff under the bed--try those on other furniture.
I have cube units, sideways like a dresser, and stacked. And using the folding cubes to save privacy. 1 can go behind a sofa, with a fancy drape on it. Or tall, behind a lightweight chair in a corner. Just use the cube drawers for appearance, camouflage.
Under the bed… not enough height? Get bed risers! Replace side table by your bed with sturdy storage bins, put a nice cover over it. At first… I gave my wife grief, but now I’m grateful. 👍🏻👍🏻
Proverbs 31:11-12 “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”
@@iluvlexiful That is beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
I agree this is a fine idea when you're younger, but once you're older and your balance is off I do not suggest having to try to get up into a bed. You need to be able to be level or sit down to a bed to prevent falls and fractured hips.
We love Spam salad sandwiches. Slice it and mash the slices with a potato masher ( l like the ones with small squares), add some chopped up Little Gerkin's pickles, chopped onions, a splash of mustard and some Miracle Whip. Mix it all together and put it on sandwich bread. I like to chill mine for a couple of hours before serving.
I like that you don't criticize people for saying they don't have space. What you do is offer solutions and tips for storing meals and using unusual places to put food. Thinking of meals instead of individual items lets you know how many days you have covered too. Making a list of meals your family likes and stocking shelf stable food for them is a great tip. We are doing meals in a bag suggested by RoseRed Homestead video which is putting the ingredients for a meal in a bag and note if you need to add fresh ingredients or water. I'm using the canned goods that expire this year or early next year which helps us rotate as well. We are decluttering since retired and I'm not into decorating for seasons and holidays like I used to be. Less out makes what is displayed more special and room for food storage. Thanks for the positive videos!
Meals in a bag sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip!
@@andrea.6405 RoseRed Homestead, Alaska Granny and Homestead Corner have great recipe ideas using pantry items. Check out their channels and playlists!
We have stuff stored between the wall and the back of our couch in the living room. We have toilet paper stacked beside the wall and toilet and cabinet in the bathroom. We have things in bins under beds. Plus we have part of a storage room in the cellar with added bins. I've always had a stockpile but have been trying to build more. We have chickens for eggs and garden and greenhouses going which hopefully will help put stuff away in the freezer etc.
Many times there is space between coats and shoes in a closet. So place your shoes on top of the storage box/ bin/ tote. You may even consider putting a second shelf above the coats. Seldom used or storage items can be placed there; like first aid supplies, candles and the like.
I have actually stocked up on packets of gravy to save space. Also fajita seasoning. Canned chicken, homemade tortillas, rice, and boom something quick that will feed my family and save space. Your tips have helped so much. I have a 3 month storage thanks to watching you. I have been following you since the beginning. Thank you for sharing your family, life, recipes, and now food storage.
You might have already thought of this. But in my coat closet I put up a over the door plastic shoe holder. And use the pouches for all my small gravy, chili ect packets. And I have one for my linen closet with bandaids, lotions ect
Kimmy you are the reason I started a pantry. You have given me sooo many tips and advice over the past five years! I would have never been prepared like I am now for my family. Also, I turned a spare bedroom into a walk in pantry! Thank you for everything you have done for me Kimmy!
That’s awesome!!💃🏼
So thankful for my mom who lived for through the depression and taught me how to keep a pantry. Thank you for you teaching, always good to keep learning.
I have noticed that we are eating way less meat than we used to. When we have a meat meal, it is usually as an accompaniment to a dish. I think that long term storage proteins like beef, chicken and pork are great to use in this way! You don't need more than a can or two (or jar if you can your own) to make up a wonderful, flavor filled meal. I have seen some great videos lately on canning ground meats like beef or turkey. I am most interested in trying my hand at that! Get them at today's prices and have them stored for later when prices may be much higher and out of the grocery budget.
That is a good point. I used to cook large meals. Now we are learning to eat less and fill up with simple things, like popcorn or crackers etc. We are actually feeling better too.
That is why I love the smaller 5 ounce cans that were $1 or less. They are now $2 or less.
I get cases of Knorr Sides where the price is about $1 each. I keep 40 in my pantry. I add a 5 ounce can of meat. I also add a scoop of rehydrated vegetable for my supplies.
I could go Teriyaki noodle Knorr Side with dehydrated minced onion and a 5 ounce can of chicken.
I could change out the chicken for small can of beef. I could change the onion for bell pepper.
I could prepare the Four Cheese with a 5 ounce can of diced ham and add spinach flakes.
I could switch out the spinach flakes for peppers or onions or dried dice tomato. I could switch out the ham for cut up Vienna sausages. I could also use some bacon bits in place of the can meat.
I do a mid week meal prep on Wednesday afternoon. I went with a different brand of side that is angel hair with a light herb sauce. I added tuna and made Tetrazzini.
Looking forward to the college one, to show and teach my kid as they go off to college. I'm actually thinking of just putting together a bin for them so that they have it on hand. Thank you so much for sharing this! I just discovered you and getting started on food storage.
When I went to university my parents provided me with pantry staples and freezer essentials. It was awesome and I appreciated it so much, even more now 20 years later!
Space...Underbed, draws, box food( storage bins)..( look on F/B market place,thrift stores)I bought 5 from Goodwill large1.99- 2.99, A steal) make furniture , cover...Purge if u can, items u dont need..( clothes that dont fit,)..If theres a will there away...It takes time..U can do it!!!
You can make space for food storage in an apartment. One idea is making a metal trashcan into a nightstand and putting a wood top on top of it and storing things inside that.
An idea for condiments..packets you get from fast food. :) Just make sure you rotate them because they will go bad and explode. Save the mess and store them in ziploc bags.
From my experience....mac and cheese boxes are half and half...the mac and cheese noodles are fine for long long storage (for years) if stored properly, but those cheese packages...they turn brown and gross and do not last long.
I've had a pantry for years, it's a mess right now because I have so much overflow. It's even starting to take over my craftroom!
LOL - You can't eat your crafts! I put my crafts out in the garage, so I could keep my pantry in a cool dry extra bedroom
Very good ideas! I've been working on my food storage for a few years. These videos are good even for me because sometimes I forget what I can make with what I have in my pantry.
I am single, but my son and his family are close by so I have a rotating pantry and I can what I can in the summer.. you are an inspiration Kimmy, thank you so much!!
Kimmy, I would love for you to please do a food storage for type 2 diabetic, like your dad! That would be sooooooo very helpful for so many! Appreciate all that you do. ❤️
Thanks for all the practical advice! The bin you used looks like the bins I just bought at Costco. They are on sale right now - 3 bins for $18! A steal! These are great for storing quart size canning jars and the smaller Costco bins (4 for $10) are perfect for pint jars. The bins allow you to stack your home canned foods.
The smaller bins are also great for storing spices and seasoning/sauce packages!
I’ve started storing food finally I live currently in a 5th wheel while my house is being built by myself and husband and I store food under my lift up bed for one. Cleared a cabinet in the living room tossed junk I don’t need for food I do need. Great series kimmy keep it up good job.👍💞
I used to love SPAM, but now find it's too salty for my taste. However, the Great Value reduced sodium or low salt SPAM knockoff is delicious and still very affordable. Try one and see if you like it! 😊
I’m a child of the 60’s and 70’s and we loved spam my favourite was spam fritters. I’ve made them recently for my grandkids using sliced spam and krustese pancake mix and deep fry they’re delicious x
I was lucky to have an unfinished room in my basement that stays around 60 degrees to stock my secondary pantry. I still use under beds for shelf staple goods. I have stocked soups for meals and added rice to make it hardier and go further.
Love your hair styled that way!❤️❤️ FYI mayo is good at room temp as long as it hasn't been refrigerated yet. My best friend and her family never refrigerate their mayo. It's loaded with preservatives nowadays.
We ate Spam at my grandma's house. I was actually excited to have it because the alternative "meat" was often squirrels shot by my grandpa🤢
Great video! I’ve been working on moving my food pantry from the garage to inside, and working to build up our supply. I’ve used my hutch space and a free standing cabinet. I’m also considering cleaning out our mess of a coat closet, and installing shelves in there for more storage.
Absolutely awesome video! Great ideas for beginners, and great reminder for your regular viewers. Thank you ♥️
Just a personal preference, between the different kinds of mashed potatoes, go for the pouch pre flavored kind (looks like crumbles not flakes). You don't have to add anything to it but water. I recently switched to flakes to save money and be a little healthier; the taste difference is huge.
Spam fried rice is pretty tasty. I personally love Spam. Great video. Thank you for this!
I love it too 😋
Is it healthy, why no! I laughed at that. But will it keep you from starving, why YES. 😉
Thanks for the encouragement and sharing your ideas. Its just me and hubby in a small apartment. Turning coat closet into pantry. We've always lived in walking distance of groceries and now live rural so for convience alone a pantry would be handy. Such good information. Thanks!
Thank you. Yes, I took notes on things that I don't have. I have been prepping for about a year but my living space is small. Your suggestions are brilliant!! Thank you!
Video is amazing! If you stock up now, you won't be hit hard as the prices increase. It's more about savings and having some items on hand for a while, such great ideas for meal prep.
Ideas for storage from someone living within a 900 square foot apartment:
- Use the space in your linen closet behind your towels and washcloths to store things such as extra first aid supplies or hand soap
- Place plastic drawers under sinks to add vertical space. They make a great place to store sponges, magic erasers, small trash bags, brushes, etc.
- Add a shelf above doorways to store items
- Add plastic drawers to your hall closet either on the shelves or on the floor
- Hang shoe organizers on the back of doors, then fill the pouches with small items.
- Dressers usually have empty space between the bottom and the lowest drawer. When I was a kid I used to hide my diary and other items in it.
- Most importantly, start decluttering! You'll be amazed what space you discover when you do.
This is so good for a beginner getting started,but I even took something away from it with new ideas you shared. I'm constantly adding to my food storage. Actually it's a fun challenge at this shortage time in our life. Thanks again!
I have a camp stove and some small propane tanks for it, so we can cook a simple meal. I dehydrate cooked hamburger and store it in canning jars then vacuum seal them. My son moved into his own place for a new job, I was able to take enough out of my pantry to get him set up in his new place and that made me so happy that I could do that for him. Kimmy, I also wanted to share this, I saw in a video that you were talking about storing water in those gallon milk type jugs and how they often leak. Well I found a container called a water brick, (on Amazon) each one holds 3 gallons of water and for me its distilled water for my cpap machine, you can even get a lid with a spigot to pour the water out, they are easy to move because they only have three gallons in them and they can also slide under a bed. If you stack them they interlock and wont move. Great video thanks for sharing your tips with us.
Shepherds pie from food storage, I have used the corned beef, [FrugalQueeninFrance], added some A1 to the gravy, very 👍.
We dehydrate broccoli, rather than using up freezer space. Use it in cheesy broccoli box/can/bag mix-soup, rice, pasta. There is never enough broccoli.
Can chili, SPAM, ham chunks, tuna; add 2nd veg, and good to go.
Pancake mix--PB&J pancake sandwich.
Like stir fry & fried rice?
SPAM, can chunk 🍍, PF Changs mango sweet&sour sauce. And the usual ingredients for fried rice, and stir fry veges.
Slice, cube, fry your SPAM. [Separate the 🍍 from juice. The juice can go in stir fry, or sweeten tea or water.] Set meat aside, deglaze pan by frying the 🍍.
SPAM, 🍍, mango--Hawaiian vacation.
Do you have any tips and/or resources about rehydrating dehydrated food? My parents do this, but we aren't sure how to rehydrate in a almost foolproof manner, and/or what to use the foods for.
I love all you do to HELP people out. Your the greatest
Kimmie is a blessing 🙏😇
I'm so thankful for the heart. You give me strength to get up and Prep my house for the future. It's very hard for me I have stage 4 kidney disease some days I can do anything. And i watch you and get thoughts of idea's. Thank you
Hi Kimmie! Great info. I have under the bed storage with my home canned foods and I'm cleaning out my Hutch to store long term foods. This is a topic I'm really interested in. I appreciate all of your sharing. I'm looking forward to your video.
Spices go great in oatmeal too...cinnamon, ect. Put spices in the tote too😉
Great video/idea!! If you made up 3 of these bins and stored them in different rooms (if need be), then BAM....3 month food supply!! :)
I'm so glad to know I'm not the only person that stores food under the bed!! I have jars in every room in the house. I keep an inventory so I can keep a good rotation.
Love love love watching your videos, also love the hair. I like getting ideas on ways to stock pile foods to have on hand to use when needed and your meals on shopping your pantry… the best !
I have been so overwhelmed trying to figure all of this out. I am on a budget and I do not have a lot of space and barely have normal storage space. This video was so helpful. I got so many ideas and didn’t feel overwhelmed. I can do it, even if I have to approach it at a 1-2 month bin at a time and just date the bins. So thankful that I came across this channel today.
I’m so glad you found us!
You’d be surprised how much stuff you can stash under your bed.
Yes, please do a video for food storage for a college kid. I have one going next year and would like her to have a little something in her dorm for emergencies.
That video is coming in a few week. 🎉
This is a great video! For anyone living in the Southwest or on the Sun(same difference) Ritz crackers and Graham crackers have gone bad for me because of the heat, even being stored in an air conditioned home. I don't know if it's because they are both packaged in a wax paper-like packaging, but they do not last in my climate.🏜🏜🏜🏜
I love your pantry.
I get a few extra things every time I go to the grocery store. I do a shopping trip once a month. I will always buy pasta sauce. As long as it is under $2. That is my stop price on pasta sauce. I always buy a can of salmon at Aldi's even if I have plenty at home. That is how I have built up a nice pantry.
I always do the same thing with Aldi salmon 😊
I've started following the serving sizes on the foods so I can get use to the amt of food I'm looking to be limited to. I also started out just buying one meal items at a time then started grouping them by expiration dates.
Great video! Kimmy you are awesome! Everyone could learn something from this video. I live in a small house without a garage, or attic, or basement. I have some prepper food items stored under beds. I plan food storage items for 4 even though we are a family of 3. My mother in law eats twice the amount as my husband & I ( no disrespect intended just being real).
We just went through Hurricane IAN and lost everything in our freezer and fridge. Power was out for 9 days. We cooked some food on grill and kept in cooler but ice was difficult to come by. We threw away a so much food that spoiled. I’m happy that I had some things in a Rubbermaid container that I started be fire this. Now everyone is out of products we are in the same boat. This was a great reason to make this a priority the rest of the year. Love the videos. Sad that I lost so much food in fridge and freezer.
I would put the individual meals in separate big zip lock baggies
Awesome information! Also, I have a family member with type 2 diabetes and I store in my pantry for diabetic and Keto dietary needs. I buy prepackaged (from Costco) cauliflower rice, Keto noodles, chicken, tuna,beef cans and canned veggies including mini corn, waterchestnuts and bamboo shoots from the Asian market. Also, I can my own green beans, asparagus and cucumbers into pickles from my summer gardening. Living in Florida, if we lose power (during hurricane seasons) I use the bbq grill that has a side burner and we use the pool water to flush toilets. It's really easier nowadays to find foods that are packaged well for long term versus what was out there in the 90's.
great video Kimmy as always I have gained so much info from your channel, i have only limited space but always store a month or 2 storage. many thanks Julie from England. xxx
That was awesome. Thank you. Also learn a skill like bread making to trade with others. So if you make bread, make sure you store supplies for that.
I love your taco soup. I made it one night and had an unexpected guest come and stay for supper. She asked what we were having, so I told her. She wasn't sure at first but then she tried it and loved it!
This is perfect! We just moved and our new place is very small and there is very little space for food storage. These ideas are really helpful! Thanks Kimmy! ☺️
I will have to try that idea as I live in a small apartment
I look forward to all your videos. I watch your videos over and over. Thanks for sharing!!
Great video! I’m so envious of your large pantry space. This would be my dream! My husband and kids love spam - I’m not the biggest fan but my husband makes “spam fried rice” and it’s delicious. Whenever we have leftover rice, we store it in the fridge overnight, the next night we toss it in our wok and heat it up, then we cut up one can of spam into small pieces and fry it in a little oil, then we add mixed vegetables and soy sauce. It’s delicious - yes it’s high in sodium but it’s the only way I can eat spam 😂 there’s usually enough for leftovers the following night too but it all depends on how much rice you cooked.
I live in a small apartment in NYC, 4 people in a 2 bedroom apartment. I have made space for food storage in closets, under the bed, on top of cabinets, etc. I only recently bought containers to put dry goods in, it really helps me visualize exactly how much we have. I keep the canned goods in under bed boxes. We already had a couple of the large plastic bins designed for under the bed, so I utilized those. Then when I'm at the grocery store I'll take empty boxes the canned food is packaged in and I use that, I've also cut delivery boxes down to fit under the bed. I have not spent anything on containers to store things under the bed. I also store extra toilet paper under the bed. I'm not stockpiling, it's just more cost effective to buy in bulk.
Coat closets and lines closets are great for purging and storing. I look new closet has over the door shoe racks in the plastic pockets I have band aids, lotions ect. And the small coat closet I have in the pockets gravy packets, chili packets, rice ready to go ect. I also was able to fit small plastic bins in that closet and stacked em up. In the drawers are all my boxed foods. I have a small space and had to get creative.
Spam isn’t my favorite either. My main plan for spam is to chop it up small and put it in fried rice. Fried rice is a great shelf stable meal with canned peas or mixed veggies, soy sauce , oil and rice. You could also add powdered scrambled egg, though it’s not necessary. I could eat fried rice every week, I love it!
I live in an apartment. I have metal shelving in the bedroom and in the dining area. You just have to make the space. I store behind the couch, under the bed and in my linen closet.
I would love to see more diabetic ER meals!
I had an old entertainment center taking up space so I've turned it into my pantry shelf. My husband added another shelf to it for me to add more room. When I go thru it though I'm going to have to label the shelves so I now what's on them as they are very deep.
I live in a small apartment with very little and limited space for anything. However, my honey bought a shelving unit for our living room closet and that's where we keep most all of our canned foods. He wants to buy another one to put along side of that one to put additional foods on it. We stock up when we can.
Don't forget your pets! My little Chihuahua mix senior dog has her own tote filled with kibble, wet dog food, treats and chews, extra of her favorite toys and water.
Yes we have an extra 50 lb bag of rabbit food for our rabbits.
You have such good advice, I can't imagine feeding a family these days. Thank goodness our garden is really producing good again this year. My husband has already shared cabbages with friends and plenty of rasberries to freeze and share. Got my juice ready from the berries and frozen, so I can make jam this winter . Makes for nice holiday gifts.
Good Morning family and happy Sunday thanks for sharing
May God richly bless you for sharing these things with us! People like you are such a blessing to us.
I stock up on items by 6-10 but buy in bulk ( boxes) tomatoes, soups, salt, cooking oil, 2 large sacks of rice, 2 sacks of flours, and mineral water. Which I stock in the sports room and take when needed. Weekly I write in my diary/ calendar what I should stock up on following shopping trip.
They also make bins that slide under the bed. You may also be able to clean out a lower dresser drawer or the back of a closet. We usually have unused space somewhere we just have to get creative. Great video
Gluten free i use cream of rice for hot cearl. Or use whole quinoa if extra protein is needed. Also gluten free pancakes mixes are available, i add a little buckwheat flour to it.
Pancake mix is great love doing freezer pancakes why not make the whole box and fresh blueberries or chocolate chips or just plain same with waffles such a time saver later😋
I started my pantry a few months ago and I thank you I started with can goods,broth,rice,pasta,etc even spam the end of the month I'm off to Costco a friend has a card so I've been putting away a few dollars so I can stock up more our Costco is so much more in price here in Canada so I'm only getting what is important I also live in apartment
Always love your videos, so informative and helpful! Side note - your hair looks amazing :)
Great info, how are your shelves holding up? I’m guessing they are the sturdy pressboard, any sag, did you reinforce? Thanks for what you do.
Thanks for sharing this! Loved it! Wow! Love your new hairdo! Have a great day! God bless you and your family!
Thank you!
Great video! You probably haven’t gotten to spices yet however I love cinnamon on oatmeal, apple sauce , so many things you can use the inexpensive spice on and oh French toast 😝
Pumpkin pie spice is great on oatmeal, yogurt and toast! Don't wait for the holidays!
You can add rice to a lot of canned soups and stews to stretch them.
These are very helpful suggestions for hurricane preparation.
Hi Kimmy, I've been a subscriber for a few years now, but don't usually comment on your videos. I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy your videos very much and as I've recently moved out of my parent's house, your content inspires me to build my pantry little by little. Btw, you look great! Love from Argentina.
Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you're building up little by little!
I luve in an apartment too but have found ways to store. I have rolling under bed storage bins that I got from a dollar store. They hold a lot. I use boxes cut down to fit under my sofa or under a night table. I don't buy foods that I don't ever eat and I rotate through my foods. I have a binder labeled Household Notebook. I keep a spreadsheet of all of my household supplies. I go through it at the end if each month to see what I have or need to stock up on. I also include where that item is located in my apartment. Thankfully, I started prepping decades ago and had plenty of toilet paper during covid and had plenty to share. I have an 18x48 wire shelving unit in my bedroom. I keep labeled bankers boxes with vacuum sealed flour, sugar, cornmeal, oatmeal, dried beans, etc. I wad able to share with neighbors when we had a week long ice storm here in Texas and they couldn't get out to the store. Make a notebook with recipes you use frequently. When you buy ingredients for that recipe then buy 2...1 to use and 1 to store. It will become easier as time goes on and you will be surprised where you can find storage. Good luck!
I also keep tomato powder that I purchase online. I add a little water to make tomato paste, a little more water for tomato sauce or even more for juice. You can season it the way you like. I jar of tomato powder takes up a lot less space than all those cans.
I love Roast Beef Hash or corned Beef hash - I love a couple of eggs beat up and added after the hash has been browned
I like my hash with eggs over easy and then I Dice up dill pickles add to the hash poor a little ketchup on and lime in heaven😊
Actually what I do is I make a pot roast. One day have the original meal. Take some of the meat and cut it up for sandwiches and put it aside and maybe have one more meal out of the roast and veggies. Then take the rest and chop or dice fine for hash, sometimes I have enough veggies to make a soup as well using the broth or stock from the roast
Single serve condiment packets would be a good addition
I know this stuff is useful, especially in this weird time were all hoping through, but I haven't seen you do an actual cooking/ baking/ freezer meal/ or meal prep vid fir aaaaaages! Please bring them back 😢 I LOVE to watch you cook.
Their coming. A lot is coming 😀😉