tangent
Membership Revoked
broken out from another thread:
> There is always a tradeoff on storage options in terms of space, container cost, food stability etc. I have for 3 years now stored rice in the original 50 lb sacks and can't find any evidence of any problems. They are stored inside at around 65-70 deg. I store beans, flour and a few other things that I think are more perishable in mylar lined 5 gal pails with an oxygen absorber. Even though initially I thought I had a lot of storage space I could maintain at around 65-70 deg it sure gets used up fast. I have found that in the case of rolled oats I can transfer the 25 lb bulk bags to the standard 5-6 gal mylar bags and store these on top of each other up to a depth of 5 bags. Just when it seems like I run out of all conceivable storage space I come up with another idea for cramming more into what space I'm using or some new space altogether. Needless to say many of the ideas come from this forum.
Para.
This seems like a constant probem for everyone. I know one person that has kind of a maze in a back room - narrow corredors, shelves facing in on both sides. In the rafters, plywood is tacked up at intervals and preps stored there. in nooks and crannies 2 liter bottles of grain are tucked...
Maximum stacking height is an issue, many times w/ space near the ceiling wasted. A good argument for shelves. cheap ones can be made with cinderblocks and boards or sometimes bookshelves can be found on sale. Weight becomes an issue, however.
Being a little more creative - have you ever seen record storrage rooms? The type where the shelves are on rails and roll, so they can be collapsed right next to each other. You might be able to build such a creature by bolting a couple of bookshelves back to back and adding large wheels to the bottom... the kind that don't rotate arround but roll back and forth only. Likewise, placing wheels on pallets and adding a tow rope so you could get back to pallets behind the front ones.
Think like a submarine or space station. No wasted space, floor, walls or ceiling. If you have the headroom or don't mind crouching, build a raised floor and stash stuff there.
you can also suspend lighter weight stuff from hooks in the ceiling...
on shelving, consider a serpentine layout, basicaly building shelving in "U" shaped arraingements, and against another set, on the oposite wall, with the legs, of one in the hollows of the other. That creates very narrow passages (remember it has to be wide enough for you widest prep - prob a 5 gal bucket - no big deal), but the traditional straight walkway down the middle isn't really ideal for maximizing space unless all you have is a hallway to deal with. Speaking of which, hallways are generally underused for storrage space.
just some thoughts, others?
-t
> There is always a tradeoff on storage options in terms of space, container cost, food stability etc. I have for 3 years now stored rice in the original 50 lb sacks and can't find any evidence of any problems. They are stored inside at around 65-70 deg. I store beans, flour and a few other things that I think are more perishable in mylar lined 5 gal pails with an oxygen absorber. Even though initially I thought I had a lot of storage space I could maintain at around 65-70 deg it sure gets used up fast. I have found that in the case of rolled oats I can transfer the 25 lb bulk bags to the standard 5-6 gal mylar bags and store these on top of each other up to a depth of 5 bags. Just when it seems like I run out of all conceivable storage space I come up with another idea for cramming more into what space I'm using or some new space altogether. Needless to say many of the ideas come from this forum.
Para.
This seems like a constant probem for everyone. I know one person that has kind of a maze in a back room - narrow corredors, shelves facing in on both sides. In the rafters, plywood is tacked up at intervals and preps stored there. in nooks and crannies 2 liter bottles of grain are tucked...
Maximum stacking height is an issue, many times w/ space near the ceiling wasted. A good argument for shelves. cheap ones can be made with cinderblocks and boards or sometimes bookshelves can be found on sale. Weight becomes an issue, however.
Being a little more creative - have you ever seen record storrage rooms? The type where the shelves are on rails and roll, so they can be collapsed right next to each other. You might be able to build such a creature by bolting a couple of bookshelves back to back and adding large wheels to the bottom... the kind that don't rotate arround but roll back and forth only. Likewise, placing wheels on pallets and adding a tow rope so you could get back to pallets behind the front ones.
Think like a submarine or space station. No wasted space, floor, walls or ceiling. If you have the headroom or don't mind crouching, build a raised floor and stash stuff there.
you can also suspend lighter weight stuff from hooks in the ceiling...
on shelving, consider a serpentine layout, basicaly building shelving in "U" shaped arraingements, and against another set, on the oposite wall, with the legs, of one in the hollows of the other. That creates very narrow passages (remember it has to be wide enough for you widest prep - prob a 5 gal bucket - no big deal), but the traditional straight walkway down the middle isn't really ideal for maximizing space unless all you have is a hallway to deal with. Speaking of which, hallways are generally underused for storrage space.
just some thoughts, others?
-t
The idea of a store room is beyond my comprehension, but fascinating nonetheless. For me, I see a wall, slap some shelving units against it, BAM! No it doesn't all come crashing down.
