Creating a Pantry

One of the first issues I ran into stockpiling my deals was where to put them all. I needed to organize some space for them. I really wanted to keep my food items in the kitchen. I had been piling them up out in the garage, but as the weather began to warm I began to worry about mice and bugs getting into them and heat and humidity affecting them.

Back in October our neighbor was moving and put out her son's school desk and book shelf with the trash. We grabbed them for garage work space and storage. We moved the book shelf into the corner of our dining room last month. A perfect fit! Then I pulled out some old sheers we used to have hanging in our living room. I measured and cut and sewed a pocket across the bottom just like the one already at the top to give the pantry privacy and a "contained" look. This cost us less than $8. We paid $2 and some for some cabinet pegs to hold up the shelves and about $5 for two spring rods to hold the curtain in place.

Voila! A new pantry! It is pleasant to look at and out of our way. It creates a lot of new storage for my food stockpile. It also gives me a nice place to put the green depression wear my grandfather gave me on our Florida trip a few years back.

This is proof that someone else's trash really can be someone else's treasure! It saved us money. We kept it out of the landfill, reused it and gave it a new purpose. The same can be said of the sheers. You might be surprised what you already have that you can get creative with and put to stockpile storage solution use! Check your closets, garage, shed, and even under your bed.

One last note... When you do stockpile make sure to check the expiration dates and put the items expiring first in the front so that they may be used first. Just like the store does.