If you’ve been stocking up on canned foods and other shelf-stable items for your long-term storage, then you know the difficulty of finding enough space for it all. The best storage conditions will keep foods cool, dry, and away from light, but in reality, those conditions aren’t possible in every home. Here’s a quick list you can use to evaluate your own storage space.

– Quality is best maintained in rooms with minimum exposure to light, heat, moisture, and air.

– Store food on shelves or on a raised platform rather than directly in contact with concrete floors or walls.

– Avoid storing items next to certain products such as soaps or fuels; this will prevent the spread of odor and other possible contaminants.

– Of all possible factors, temperature has the largest affect on food storage. Canned goods will store 2 to 3 times longer at 70°F than they will at 90°F.

– Store foods in opaque containers or dark cupboards to cut down on the harmful effects that light can have on your food.

– The moisture in the air can shorten the shelf life of your food. Containers should have airtight seams and lids. If you’d like to guarantee that air won’t come in contact with your food, use duct tape as an additional seal.

– Rotating your food storage into your regular meals is a great idea. Supplementing two meals a week with food storage items will allow for a complete rotation of a year’s food supply every three years. It will also help your family become accustomed to the items you have stored. Shelf Reliance’s Food Rotation Systems makes this goal easier than ever to achieve, and right now, you can save 20% on any system.

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If you can’t find an area in your home that meets all of the items on this list, there’s no need to despair. Just know that the shelf life of your items might be a little different than they might be under the ideal circumstances. This might take a little adjusting in terms of food rotation.

Be sure to visit Shelf Reliance to see the newest sale prices for THRIVE Foods and the Food Rotation Systems you’ve been wishing for!