Are you a stockpiler? If so, have you noticed waste in your stockpile? No, I don’t mean items that you buy but don’t use, I mean items that you go to use and find expired. If so, you’re failing to do the most important thing you can do for your stockpile and it is costing you money every single time you throw an expired product in the trash.
The Most Important Thing You Can Do for Your Stockpile
As you buy things for your stockpile, do you just toss them in the cupboard or on the shelf and walk away? If so, that is your issue. Stockpiled goods can do what all goods do- expire. When you just toss those items onto the shelf, you’re basically saying that you don’t care if it expires and you lose the money. I don’t know about you, but I certainly can’t afford to buy things and then just let them go right into the trash. You need to be rotating your stockpile on a regular basis. This means when you buy a new product, you should put it on the back of the shelf so that the oldest is used first and the newest is used last. This will keep your stockpile from getting stale on the shelf and will help you to make certain that you don’t have any that get missed or left behind and wasted.
To help you keep track of when you buy an item, make sure that you’re not only putting new items behind older ones, but that you’re dating them as well. You don’t need to get too specific, but the date and year that you bought it will help you make sure it is used by its expiration date. Just grab a sharpie and date them as you’re putting them away. It is an extra 15 seconds that you will be grateful you took when you’re trying to figure out if something is good or not. You should be marking not only canned goods, but boxed foods or bags as well.
Another good way to keep yourself from having to do too much extra work is to pick up a can rotation system. For a few bucks, you can outfit your pantry with a system that will automatically rotate your canned stock for you. Slide the cans in the top and they fall to the bottom just like the stores use. If you stockpile for more than a month or two of food, they can really make things much easier for you…and your wallet. They can also be made pretty easily from a cardboard box with plans that can very easily be found on Pinterest. You can buy or make them in different sizes to help with the many different sizes of cans that you’ll find.
To store boxed or bag foods, you’ll want to remove them from their original packaging. If you’re storing for more than a few months, consider buying mylar bags and oxygen absorbers. If however, you’re storing for 6 months or less, just store them in airtight containers like these Rubbermaid canisters. Again, make sure that you use a dry erase marker or Sharpie to write the date that you opened the bag so that you can keep an eye on whether the product is still usable or not. Try not to mix batches in the airtight container so that you don’t have to keep track of two different dates for the same container. Instead, use different containers. You can also store dry goods like flours in the freezer too to make sure that no pests get into them.
Rotating your stockpile can be a pain, but at the same time, it is a necessary pain. Make sure you don’t skip it and your stockpile will last long enough to be there when you need it.
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