# Pantry Ideas



## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

Guys,


Due to some remodeling, I now have a room that we can dedicate as a pantry. It'll mostly be food but will also have hygiene stuff, first aid supplies, etc..


It is just off the kitchen and is 11' long and 7-1/2' wide with about 9' ceilings. I know what supplies to store and how to make them last.


But...any tips on the pantry itself? Go with deep shelves? Shallow? Wood, adjustable, etc... Wish you would have put in X or definitely didn't need Y?


Anything you have learned from experience? The internet is mostly full of pinteresty ideas of frilly stuff. I've got a family of 6 I want to be able to take care of, I'm not worried about the latest "in" colors haha.


Thanks in advance!

P.S. I couldn't post from my iPhone app which gave me an XML error.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Should have made it bigger.  I have both built in and movable shelves. They are 4 half gallon jars deep and 1 jar tall. My canners and large pots slide under the move able shelves so they are out of the way.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

We do not have a kitchen pantry so we had some custom full height wood cabinets made. The shelves are adjustable so we can add or take away as needed. The shelves are however pretty deep and I wish we would have made them more shallow. It's much harder to rotate stock and sometimes things get lost or forgotten in the back.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Sentry18 said:


> We do not have a kitchen pantry so we had some custom full height wood cabinets made. The shelves are adjustable so we can add or take away as needed. The shelves are however pretty deep and I wish we would have made them more shallow. It's much harder to rotate stock and sometimes things get lost or forgotten in the back.


I rotate mine from front to back, left to right. Not sure I can explain this right. When we put up the jars, the jars on the far left face front so you can read the writing. The next row faces back and so on. When I pull a jar I slide the rest forward, move one from the next row over turning so the label faces forward and then push those jars back. It's like a U.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

You "can" (pun intended) make tis 1000 can panty, just have to modify dimensions to suit your needs. I want to build this myself in our bacement.


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

Make sure your shelving is heavy duty enough. Canned food is heavy. Home canned food is in glass jars, and you don't want shelves collapsing. We went with the Sam's Club really heavy duty shelves. A pain to put together, but I can put just about anything on them.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

Make at least some of the shelves deep enough to accommodate a case of canned goods (4 x 3 cans).


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Make some of your shelves the exact right size for some things you know you will have. That is what I did for 5-gallon buckets and #10 cans. Then make other shelves at random heights for mixed items.


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## oldasrocks (Jun 30, 2012)

I used Lozier shelving out of an old grocery store. Shelves are movable up an down. They will handle 200 lbs per shelf.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

I built a set of L shaped food shelves out of 1x6 and 1x2,for having in the laundry room. In most situations I can stack 2 cans high. And 2 cans deep. When it comes to the store bought veggies. The can of what ever I grabbed,is on the far left. It works great for me. Seeing how it's only me n my 2 lil dog's.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

We did something a little different. We designed and built a new house three years ago, and since we live in tornado alley, we constructed a 6’X10’ concrete-walled room in the middle of the house, just off the kitchen. It provides food storage space for daily use, and a several-day supply of survival items for short-term emergencies. It has narrow, medium (adjustable), and wide, floor-to-ceiling shelving to accommodate most everything. It also has enough room for a second upright fridge/freezer combination.

Since we moved here, tornados have twice been close enough to send us to the room for shelter. It sure beats huddling on a bathroom floor.

The only improvement I plan to add to the room is a canned-goods rack that will make it easier to organize and rotate cans.

I also designed a long, shallow, storage closet down the length of one hallway. Two sets of double doors provide easy access and look neat, while adjustable 12” metal shelving gives a lot of options for different size items to fit. However, instead of closets, I wish we had made the storm room bigger so we could fit all of our storage items and a gun safe inside.


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

This is a picture to give you an idea on what my pantry shelves look like. They are heavy duty metal shelving that was used in an auto mechanic shop. They were being given away and hey hard to pass up that kind of deal. I lined all walls with these deep shelving and also have to metal 5 shelf rolling carts. Mine are deep enough to hold 12 pint sized jars front to back and tall enough to allow double stacking. I keep dry goods in buckets on another wall in the pantry. Gives you an idea though.


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## obg12 (Apr 9, 2016)

Danil54 said:


> This is a picture to give you an idea on what my pantry shelves look like. They are heavy duty metal shelving that was used in an auto mechanic shop. They were being given away and hey hard to pass up that kind of deal. I lined all walls with these deep shelving and also have to metal 5 shelf rolling carts. Mine are deep enough to hold 12 pint sized jars front to back and tall enough to allow double stacking. I keep dry goods in buckets on another wall in the pantry. Gives you an idea though.
> View attachment 21333


Not picking on your spotless storage room but just the kind of pic I've been looking for,anyone that stores stuff in glass needs to ask their self what's going to happen if the ground ever shakes real hard for any reason ??


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

obg12 said:


> Not picking on your spotless storage room but just the kind of pic I've been looking for,anyone that stores stuff in glass needs to ask their self what's going to happen if the ground ever shakes real hard for any reason ??


You know how they say never keep all your eggs in one basket? That is just my canned goods. I also have tin cans and dried from garden stored in buckets. Those are located on the opposite side of the room. I'm not saying TX will never have an earthquake, but having the ground shake is not a main concern here. What I do worry about is a tornados collapsing the roof on that side of the house. My stockroom is one of the boys old bedrooms that I converted when he moved out. It is located on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen which has its good and bad. Not being right by the kitchen, but also multiple storage areas in the house.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Hubby built this one to go in a narrow walkway & I LOVE it! The only thing I'd change is to add a little ramp of sorts, a triangular piece of wood at the bottom/back corner to help dispense the cans a bit. My enchilada sauce cans are hard to get out sometimes.

Deep shelves are great use of space but can be a challenge when it comes to rotating small cans. For commercially canned veggies I keep the cardboard box they're in at the grocery that holds a dozen cans. I stack the cans in the box & stack the boxes on top of each other. On my shelves, I can store 2 boxes deep & 3 high. I use hard plastic magazine organizers for boxes of spaghetti & cans of tomato paste to make them easier to sort, use the vertical space, & keep them from tipping over. You can cut up cereal boxes or whatever & put in the front to better utilize the space in the front of the magazine holders you're using for tomato paste.

Even though we've been prepping for a long time, it seems the needs for our food storage are always changing & there's always some change that needs to be made.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

tsrwivey said:


> View attachment 21387
> Hubby built this one to go in a narrow walkway & I LOVE it! The only thing I'd change is to add a little ramp of sorts, a triangular piece of wood at the bottom/back corner to help dispense the cans a bit. My enchilada sauce cans are hard to get out sometimes.
> 
> Deep shelves are great use of space but can be a challenge when it comes to rotating small cans. For commercially canned veggies I keep the cardboard box they're in at the grocery that holds a dozen cans. I stack the cans in the box & stack the boxes on top of each other. On my shelves, I can store 2 boxes deep & 3 high. I use hard plastic magazine organizers for boxes of spaghetti & cans of tomato paste to make them easier to sort, use the vertical space, & keep them from tipping over. You can cut up cereal boxes or whatever & put in the front to better utilize the space in the front of the magazine holders you're using for tomato paste.
> ...


That's exactly the rack that's on my to-do list!


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

obg12 said:


> Not picking on your spotless storage room but just the kind of pic I've been looking for,anyone that stores stuff in glass needs to ask their self what's going to happen if the ground ever shakes real hard for any reason ??


Pick up glass?? I have bungee cords across the edges of my shelves. The way things are built around here I'll be picking my house up off the ground. A good shake will knock the piers and blocks right out from under it.


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## bugoutbob (Nov 11, 2012)

Flight1630 said:


> You "can" (pun intended) make tis 1000 can panty, just have to modify dimensions to suit your needs. I want to build this myself in our bacement.


Love the idea but would have to scale it down in size to fit here.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

I agrea bugoutbob. I plan on doing the same here, but in a smaller scale.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

We used these when we were figuring out what we really needed and wanted. There a different variations of these. They also make good gifts to nudge you non prepping family. 

We'll I couldn't load a photo, but what we use are the plastic or wire organizers for soda cans they also hold most food size cans.


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

I have something very similar to that for my rolling shelves. Its great cause you can put the shelves where you need them. The shelving themselves hold a lot of weight with no problem. We also have them in the deli I work. Have about 400 lbs worth of meat and cheeses on multiple shelves and the store has been open for about 14 years now, using the original shelving. At home, I put the bulkier items on those types, like my five gallon buckets, oils, coffee cans, ect.


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## SheepdogPRS (Oct 8, 2017)

We have the commercial wire shelving (from restaurant surplus) in the garage and in my shop. It is six feet high and 5 feet wide with 24 inch deep shelves. I will be adding the wall mounted racks and 20 inch deep wood shelves for more adjustable shelves like we have in the pantry and spare bedroom. I heat and cool both the garage and shop so we don't worry about freezing or high temps in the summer.
I don't live in earthquake country any more but everything taller than 3 feet gets anchored to the walls. Habits like that are hard to break.


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## Robert Heggestad (Feb 5, 2018)

hawkmiles said:


> Guys,
> 
> Due to some remodeling, I now have a room that we can dedicate as a pantry. It'll mostly be food but will also have hygiene stuff, first aid supplies, etc..
> 
> ...


Put a dehumidification device in place.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

one square foot of shelf will hold nine quart jars. That said, my last serious store room was in an unheated root cellar, very damp. I used Wal-Mart plastic shelves, the 4-high Plano ones (wanted to avoid rusting metal shelves or molding wood ones. They worked like a champ, and each shelf held one case (12 cans) of canned food, which I got from the local canning company for $6 a case. Rotation was simple, I just wrote on each cardboard box what was inside, and when it was put in. Rust on cans (under humid conditions) controlled by a light coat of mineral oil. All I can say was with the mineral oil (just enough to show a fingerprint when cans were handled) is that canned goods remained good to eat 6 years, without it they rusted in three years. The plastic shelves were cheap, readily available when I needed more, and I am still using them after 12 years. They also come apart for easy transportation and storage. For taller items, I put them on the top shelves. Dry goods were stored in mylar with oxy absorbers, in pails. Since the temp of the storeroom, even outdoors and unheated, hovered between 48 and 58 degrees at all times (I know because I had a hi-low thermometer and checked it) even when summer temps were 100 degrees and winters were -20 degrees. I sure miss that root cellar! Thinking of putting one in where I live now, even if I have to hand dig the darn thing. Oh yes, I use those plastic shelves in my current pantry/store room. (Since they are in the dark, the issue of the plastic degrading due to UV exposure is moot.) It's kinda small (10 x 10), but I love it just the same.


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## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

I haven't been on here in a while. Turned out nice. This is dark stained oak supported by 3/4" black iron pipe. It is 18" deep and 8' long. There is another 8' linear feet in progress.


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## mrghostwalker (Sep 17, 2009)

obg12 said:


> Not picking on your spotless storage room but just the kind of pic I've been looking for,anyone that stores stuff in glass needs to ask their self what's going to happen if the ground ever shakes real hard for any reason ??


I have my glass jars in low cardboard boxes- the kind the jars come in when you buy them (or cut some down. Then I cut pieces of cardboard and slip them between the jars to act as dividers so that they don't rattle against each other if there's a big shake.


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## Renee (May 30, 2019)

I have also heard using old socks cut up to put around jars and glass ware so they don't rattle and crash


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## Siskiyoumom (Apr 29, 2017)

Living in quake prone land we have our home canned jars only one one jar high with a wide adjustable front wood bar to keep the jars from being shaken out in a quake. We have cardboard dividers between rows of jars or we heed the jars in the original boxes with card board dividers. The shelves are bolted to the wall studs. We take the rings off the jars since it makes it easier to check if a lid has failed. The lowest shelf is five gallon bucket height, then two two shelves of jars, the one to two shelves of lighter weight products in totes and bins. We rotate food stuff with newest purchased in the back of shelves.


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

PreparedRifleman73 said:


> Guys,
> 
> Due to some remodeling, I now have a room that we can dedicate as a pantry. It'll mostly be food but will also have hygiene stuff, first aid supplies, etc..
> 
> ...


If you have the room, put a 2 sided shelf in the middle of the room... made good use of empty space


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## pilandkeean (Sep 8, 2021)

When I am too sick to cook, there are canned goods in the pantry. When there is a wonderful sale on groceries, there is the pantry too hold it all. When the weather outside is horrible, I do not have to go out because there is the pantry. And, when I am feeling lazy and do not want to cook, there is the pantry!

Having a pantry saves me a lot of money and time and effort!

The pantry foods that we like best are canned roast beef in gravy, rice, spagetti (both sauce and noodles), olives, dehydrated soup mix (I get Bear Creek soup mix at the grocery store), string beans, chili, and cream of mushroom soup.

I also have extra things like oil and soy sauce and ketsup and so forth and so on.


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## pilandkeean (Sep 8, 2021)

pilandkeean said:


> When I am too sick to cook, there are canned goods in the pantry. When there is a wonderful sale on groceries, there is the pantry too hold it all. When the weather outside is horrible, I do not have to go out because there is the pantry. And, when I am feeling lazy and do not want to cook, there is the pantry!
> 
> Having a pantry saves me a lot of money and time and effort!
> 
> ...


no response


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## CountryLifeNaturalFoods (6 mo ago)

Any thoughts on what we should start carrying? We sell basically everything you'd find in your pantry (though we are 100% plant-based so not the meats or dairy products). We also sell buckets and other food storage things, but I'm wondering if we should update our product line with a food better storage options. Let me know if you have any suggestions! Thanks


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