So you bought a bunch of emergency food storage (smart thinking!) and now you’ve got to figure out where to put it and how to store it. Let’s keep it simple. Here are some suggestions:

1. Where - Store the food & water in a cool, dry place. This one you have heard over and over, but it is the rule of thumb for storing your food & water. Two things cause your food to loss nutritional value and spoil: oxygen and moisture. Hence the dry place. Keeping your emergency storage cool slows down spoilage dramatically. The cooler, the better. Make sure you have your emergency food storage stored in such a way that it has little or no contact with air.

Basements are perfect for food storage because they maintain a steady cool temperature year round. But many people across the country don’t have basements, so storing your food at room temperature (typically 70° to 75°F year round) will be just fine. I know a lot of people that store their food in cases under their beds or in closets. To achieve maximum shelf life, store in an environment with a temperature of 60°F or lower and humidity of 10% or less.

Just make sure you can get to it when you need it and it won’t get damaged.

2. How – I recommend keeping your food & water off the ground and in the original packaging as much as possible. By keeping the food off the ground on shelves or stacked, you will prevent the food from being damaged by somebody stepping on it, dropping it or kicking it. You also want to keep your food in a place where you can get to it, but that isn’t in the way. If you dent a #10 can it may affect the seam of the can and thereby affect the shelf life.

Also, by maintaining as much of the original packaging as possible, you will prolong the shelf life. So, if you buy a bunch of food in #10 cans, keep the food in the #10 cans. You may even want to keep them in the cases that they were shipped to you in. You can repackage your food zip lock or even vacuum sealed bags, but it will reduce the shelf life.

Here are some ideas on how to store specific products:

Storing Freeze-Dried & Dehydrated Foods: If stored under proper conditions, freeze dried food will last 30 years, and is very low maintenance. Freeze dried food is not as sensitive as other food items, and is quite durable. As long as it is stored at constantly at less than 70°F to 75°F, it will stay fresh and nutritional for 30 years. Make sure it is not in the sun and that cans stay in good condition. Even after 30 years, the freeze-dried food is still good to eat; it just begins to lose nutritional value and flavor.

Storing MREs: Military Meals are a bit more temperature sensitive than freeze-dried food. For optimal shelf life, MREs need to be stored in the coolest place you can possibly find for them. If stored consistently at room temperature (70°F to 75°F) they will last up to 5 years. MREs are perfect for grab-n-go storage. They are not near as long term as freeze dried food, and they do not need any cooking or preparation whatsoever. MREs are extremely durable and withstand a great deal of punishment and remain undamaged. They are great for camping, outdoor activities and emergency survival situations. (CLICK HERE to view the Storage Shelf Life Graph)

Water Storage: Here are a few tips that we recommend to do in order to maximize your shelf life as well as dealing with some back aches.

1. When you store water use a Water Preserver – Water Preserver is designed to treat 50-55 gallons of water and extends the shelf of the water to 5 years! I’ll take 5 years over 6 months any day.

2. Store water in smaller containers– A 5 gallon stackable water container will slightly more expensive up front, but you will rotate the water much more easily and easy to use carry in a grab & go situation.

3. Keep you water storage in a place where it is easy to rotate the water – Have a drain close by or access to the outside where you can dump your water and easily replenish it with new water. Just remember that the Water Storage needs to be in a cool dark location to minimize the growth of bacteria in the water.