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This is an example of how your freezer should be stored.

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This is an example of how your freezer should be stored.

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This is an example of a correctly stored pantry.

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This is an example of a correctly stored pantry.

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Many types of bacteria can grow on animal products, so it's important to safely handle and store all types of meat.  To store raw meat and poultry you need to put it in clean, sealed containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge.  Make sure to write the date down because you do not want to eat any meat after the expiration date. If your meat is discolored, has a strong odor, slimy, or has a torn package, do not eat those meats.

Meat should be stored in a refrigerator that is 40 degrees F or below and your freezer at 0 degrees F.   This helps retain nutrients and keep food fresh.  As soon as you purchace your meat it should be placed into the fridge or freezer.

Meat will last much longer in the freezer.  For example, ground meat and premade patties will last 2 days in the refrigerator, but 4 months in the freezer.

When cooking your meat, make sure it is cooked all the way through.  If you do not cook it all the way through then you could get a disease such as salmonellosis, brucellosis, or trichinosis.  One source of infectious organisms is bacteraemia, the presence of bacteria in the blood of slaughtered animals.   These diseases make 76 million people sick a year, put 325,000 in the hospital and kill 5,000.

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Many types of bacteria can grow on animal products, so it's important to safely handle and store all types of meat. However, the different rules for handling different types of meat can be confusing. It may be perfectly safe to eat some meat a week after it was prepared or to freeze it for later. Other types should be thrown away after only a few days.

Safety issues are associated with everything you may eat. A healthy kitchen depends on your knowledge of safe cooking and storage practices.

Never buy meat that's past the expiration or sell-by date. Also, buy meats at the store after you've found all your other items to decrease the time the meat is out of refrigeration.

Follow these specific guidelines when selecting certain meats:

Avoid any beef or pork that's dark brown or discolored, has a strong odor, or feels tough or slimy.

Avoid any poultry that looks faded, has a strong odor, or feels tough or slimy.

Avoid any fish that's faded or discolored, has squishy or slimy flesh, and has a strong fishy or ammonia-like odor.

Avoid any meat that's in damaged, leaking, or torn packages, as it's likely been exposed to the air and harmful bacteria.

Wash your hands frequently when preparing any type of meat, fish, or poultry. Bacteria can quickly spread between your hands and meat. Always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling meat, whether it's raw or cooked.

Because bacteria can spread easily, prepare the meat on a surface that's separate from all other cooking materials. Keep vegetables and other ingredients away from meat, especially if you aren't cooking them together in the same dish.

Try to use separate cutting boards, clean all cooking utensils after they touch raw meat, and use different utensils to serve food after you've prepared it.

Uncured, raw meat generally lasts safely for around three days in the refrigerator. If you plan to keep uncooked meat longer, freezing it is your best bet. Seal the meat in an airtight package before freezing. Then, it can usually be frozen for at least several months.

Safe freezing and refrigeration time also depends on the storage temperature. Keep your freezer as close to 0°F (-17.8°C) as possible. This helps retain nutrients and keep food fresh. Keep your refrigerator at around 34°F (1.1°C), just above freezing, to effectively prolong the shelf life of foods.

Below are general guidelines for how long basic meats can be kept safely if they're stored properly.

Cooking temperature affects both the taste and safety of food.

The rare to well-done spectrum refers to the temperature at the center of the meat, which is best checked using a meat thermometer. These can be found at kitchen supply stores and in most grocery stores. Typical cooking temperatures are:

rare: 120-125°F (48.9-51.7°C)

medium: 140-145°F (60-62.8°C)

well-done: 165°F (73.9°C) or higher

From a safety perspective, hotter temperatures at the center of the meat are safer. However, safe cooking temperatures vary for different types of meat.

Safe cooking temperatures for different meats are:

Poultry: 165°F (73.9°C) for whole or ground poultry. Poultry should never be eaten rare. Undercooked poultry can spread salmonella and other diseases. You should always cook it thoroughly.

Ground meats: 160°F (71.1°C) for ground meats such as beef, pork, and lamb. While whole cuts of meat typically have most bacteria on their surfaces, ground meats may have bacteria mixed throughout. Therefore, they must be cooked to a higher temperature than whole cuts of meat.

Whole meat: 145°F (62.8°C), and the meat should be allowed to rest for at least three minutes before eating. The resting time gives the heat more time to kill any bacteria.

Pork should always be cooked to at least the high end of medium because it can carry potentially dangerous worms and parasites.

Beef has a wider safety range, but lovers of rare meat are safer sticking to steaks, roasts, and chops.

Fin fish: 145°F (62.8°C) or until the flesh is opaque and separates easily.

Fish has a wide spectrum of safe cooking methods, depending on the type and quality of fish you're cooking. The cooking method you use is also extremely important.

Check the cooking instructions for different types of fish. Fish should generally be cooked all the way through, but medium-rare may be acceptable for certain types. Raw fish, such as sushi, should be eaten with caution. It must be sushi-grade fish that's prepared carefully to reduce the risk of contamination.

When cooking different types of seafood, look for the following to make sure that it's cooked:

In fish: The flesh should not be see-through (light shouldn't pass through it at all), and it should be very easy to cut with a fork, with the flesh falling apart.

In clams, oysters, and mussels: The shells should be open and any that don't open should be thrown away.

In scallops: The flesh should be rigid and not at all see-through.

In shrimp and lobster: The meat should be shiny and not at all see-through.

Don't leave any cooked seafood out for longer than two hours. Keep it refrigerated or insulated with ice if you're planning to eat it later.

Replace sponges and kitchen towels regularly. Washing your dishes and cutting boards with dirty sponges and towels can spread more bacteria. Bacteria and other disease-causing pathogens also grow on sponges and towels over time, so make sure to clean your sponge thoroughly every other day and replace it about once per week.

Don't ever eat or even sample anything raw (besides some fish) or questionable. Bacteria can grow in enormous numbers on bad meat, so even a small amount of uncooked or spoiled meat can spread bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli. When it comes to meat, poultry, or fish, think, "When in doubt, don't." That is, if you're unsure whether it's safe to eat or not, don't eat it.

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Meat Safety: Selection, Handling, Storage and More.

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Many types of bacteria can grow on animal products, so it's important to safely handle and store all types of meat. However, the different rules for handling different types of meat can be confusing. It may be perfectly safe to eat some meat a week after it was prepared or to freeze it for later.

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Rules To Follow When Storing Food:

ALWAYS store raw meats in sealed containers, away from other foods(in the bottom of the fridge) to prevent food poisoning. Raw meats and poultry has bacteria that can contaminate other foods.

Don't store acidic foods in tin or iron cans. Tin and iron can leak into more acidic foods such as tomatoes or fruit juice, making them taste unpleasant and can have health effects.

How To Store Food Properly In The Fridge:

Top and middle shelves should have dairy products, ready meals, packaged foods, leftovers, cooked meats , and prepared salads.

Bottom shelf should contain raw meats, poultry, and fish all sealed in containers to keep them from touching or dripping onto other foods.

Salad drawer should consist of fruits and veggies.

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Knowing where in the fridge to store your food is a question that many people wish they knew the answer to. Refrigerating your food correctly is important to ensure that your food remains safe to eat and stop harmful bacteria spreading for raw to ready-to-eat foods. But what goes where?

How to Store Food in a Fridge:

(Please note that the diagram below was created for the purposes of a domestic fridge, with the bottom shelf being a vegetable drawer).

Ready-to-eat foods, such as dairy products, ready meals and packaged foods, leftovers, cooked meats and prepared salads. These should all be covered or kept in sealed containers to prevent contamination. Ready-to-eat foods are stored at the top of the fridge, away from raw foods so that harmful bacteria cannot transfer from the raw food to the cooked food.

Raw meat, poultry and fish in sealed containers to stop them touching or dripping onto other foods. Raw meats should always be stored at the bottom of your fridge to prevent cross-contamination. Ensure that each item is wrapped or in a sealed container so that it doesn't come into contact with other foods.

Fruit, vegetables and salad vegetables that have been washed prior to storage. Make sure that your fruit, vegetables and salad are wrapped in paper or plastic with air holes to keep them protected from any contamination. For salads and herbs, try wrapping them in a damp paper towel before storing to prevent them from drying out and to keep them fresher for longer.

Food Hygiene Tips for Your Fridge

Remember that your fridge should be set at a temperature between 0-5°c so that the rate of food spoilage is slowed and harmful bacteria cannot multiply. At this temperature, your food will be kept safe to eat.

Also remember to keep an eye on use-by dates. Any food that has passed its use-by date should not be eaten as harmful bacteria has had chance to grow and make the food dangerous to health. Foods past their best-before dates can be eaten as this is only a mark of quality, not safety.

General Rules of Refrigeration

Make sure that the refrigerator is never overloaded. Whilst cramming that last piece of food into the fridge may seem a good idea at the time, you are in danger of blocking the cooling unit that will chill your food. There is also a danger that the fridge door could not be properly shut, leaving you food that is unfit to eat the following morning! Air needs to be able to circulate around the food.

New stock should always be placed behind old stock. Yes, the rules in a commercial kitchen should apply at home as well. Ensure you eat the food in the fridge based on the use by date in order to prevent food wastage which ultimately hits your wallet!

Open cans should never be stored in the refrigerator as this may result in chemical contamination, especially acidic food such as fruit and tomatoes. If you wish to put canned food in the fridge, ensure that you put the food into a container that is suitable for chilling first.

If your fridge temperatures are too high, it may be the result of overloading, the blocking of cooling units, or the thermostat being set too high. If your fridge does not have a thermometer built in, we recommend that you purchase a fridge thermometer to monitor the temperature. Remember that the correct temperature is- 0-5°c.

Further Food Hygiene Resources

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Storing Food on Fridge Shelves - What is the Correct Order?

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Knowing where in the fridge to store your food is a question that many people wish they knew the answer to. Refrigerating your food correctly is important to ensure that your food remains safe to eat and stop harmful bacteria spreading for raw to ready-to-eat foods. But what goes where?

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Dos and don'ts to follow when storing food in pantry's:

Store legumes, seeds, grains, herbs, dried fruit, pasta, cereal, flour, sugar, bread crumbs, nuts, etc. in closed containers. Example: Glass jars or Tupperware

To extend storage life and clear out some pantry space, you can store flour, spices, nuts, some grains, and seeds in your freezer

Make sure to go through your pantry often and throw away all expired foods or use almost expired foods soon.

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We all know the benefits of a well-stocked pantry. It's essential for menu planning organization, helps maintain a healthy diet full of real foods, and saves you money by allowing you to stock up when food items are on sale.

But if food is not stored properly and is allowed to spoil, where is the value in buying in bulk? None whatsoever. That is why it is important to know how to store pantry food for maximum shelf life.

Waste in the average North American kitchen is at an all-time high. The numbers are shocking. Too much food is being thrown away. Is it coming from your kitchen? If so, you may be eating well, but you are certainly not spending less.

In the theme of our continuing Eat Well, Spend Less series (spearheaded by the whip-smart Jessica) I thought we'd take a look at keeping all those groceries fresh and properly stored, and thus, keep more cash in our pockets.

Contamination = Cash Lost

Food spoilage occurs when:

items are poor quality or damaged when purchased

items are just plain old as the hills!

items are stored incorrectly, allowing for damage to occur

What is damaging our food? Heat. Cold. Air. Light. Moisture. Smells. Critters. Any one of these factors can ruin our hard-earned food, and all can be prevented.

Ever since I witnessed my cat hunt down a mouse at 3 am, I've taken no chances with my pantry staples. Ingredients are rarely left in their initial packaging and great care is taken to store items properly. I'm not interested in losing a bag of organic steel-cut oats to ants or other foreign invaders!

How to Store Pantry Food for Maximum Shelf Life

Above is a snapshot of my pantry and the simple methods I use to combat food spoilage. As you can see, I don't consider plastic bags or cardboard boxes effective for long term food storage. Dry ingredients need to live in a hard container like glass, hard plastic or metal and I use a combination of all three.

I'm a big fan of 'containerization', which is basically, Using Containers to Organize Your Kitchen Simply & Aesthetically, as I've already covered. Containers help organize because they group items and help combat the sprawl that tends to happen behind closed doors - and drawers.

Plus, by confining items to one place, they make clean-up less of a chore because that container can quickly be removed and washed under. They also combat many of those dangerous elements to our food such as moisture, air, and critters.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Glass Jars

Most of my dry pantry items are stored in glass jars. So are a lot of fridge and freezer items, for that matter. They are absolutely my storage container of choice and here's why:

They're affordable.

They're reusable and recyclable.

They display contents so I can find what I need in a glance.

They are airtight.

They have a rustic, country look to them that suits my kitchen.

Food I store in glass jars: grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, dried herbs, dried mushrooms, dried fruit, cereals, flour, pasta and more.

Tupperware

It's hard to beat Tupperware when it comes to durable, airtight pantry storage. They are not as cheap as basic glass jars, but how many jars offer a lifetime guarantee?

I hosted two Tupperware parties several years ago, which more or less financed the Modular Mates I use. I love them for stuffing pretty much anything in, but mostly for those items that tend to get scattered over the pantry such as crackers, granola bars, dried fruit, and the like.

Large Tupperware containers allow me to maintain an orderly pantry so that any potential furry intruder will be bored - and hungry! The larger hard plastic containers help make cleaning much easier and keep the pantry sprawl to a minimum.

Food I store in Tupperware: flours, sugars, granola bars, chocolate, crackers, bread crumbs, ground nuts, and more.

Tins

Large or small, square or round: tins are ideal for containing small, easily scattered items like dried yeast packages or tea bags. Tins also provide a dry, dark, and airtight space, and one that I like to store some of my Asian ingredients in for maximum shelf life.

The drawback to tins is that you can't see what is inside, and items can go unnoticed for some time if you're not careful.

Foods I store in tins: Coffee, dried chilies & spices, seaweed, rice noodles, rice papers, tea, yeast, gelatin, and more.

Pantry Items to Store in the Freezer

Many foods should be kept in the freezer to extend storage life, especially during the humid months.

Flours

Nuts

Spices - especially ground spices

some grains such as wheat germ and flax

Seeds - sunflower, sesame, etc

Ground spices retain their condition and quality best when stored in an airtight container in the freezer. Similarly, nuts and flours stay fresher for longer when kept cold. I store these items in glass jars in my chest freezer.

Final Thought: Food for Others

When so many exist daily with so little, we're fortunate to have a stocked pantry. Hunger Awareness Week starts May 31, 2011 here in Canada, when food banks across the country will mark the day to raise awareness of the solvable issue of hunger in Canada. Find out how you can make a change and make a difference for Canadians in need.

In the US? One in six Americans are fighting hunger. Head to Feeding America to find a food bank in your area and plan to make a donation the next time you stock up on groceries.
Is there anything wasting away in your pantry right now?

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Eat Well, Spend Less: How to Store Pantry Food for Maximum Shelf Life

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We all know the benefits of a well-stocked pantry. It's essential for menu planning organization, helps maintain a healthy diet full of real foods, and saves you money by allowing you to stock up when food items are on sale. But if food is not stored properly and is allowed to spoil, where is the value in buying in bulk?

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This is an example of the correct ways to store foods in the fridge.

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This is an example of the correct ways to store foods in the fridge.

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You should cool your food slightly at room temperature before refrigeration.

Make sure your food is packaged into freezer bags so that it does not become freezer burnt.

When you have large packages you need to make sure that they don't freeze together in a clump.  In order to do this, you should take the food out of the origional container and wrap each piece individually.

You should never put hot food into a freezer because it will have to work harder to cool.

Your food will expand when it freezes, so make sure the container will not bust.

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Most of us organize our freezers with the best of intentions: " This time," we think, " I'm going to keep it clean, well-maintained, labeled, and up-to-date."

Then life happens. We get a deal on a club pack of chicken thighs and after cooking four for dinner, we chuck the rest in the freezer. We fill a container of tomato sauce too full, and it expands and cracks. We're in a rush, so we toss a still-hot half-gallon jar of soup in there. We succumb to inefficient air circulation and freezer burn. And it all started out so well.

We've all committed such heinous freezer crimes from time to time, but luckily organizational experts and Bon Appétit staffers, test kitchen manager Brad Leone and assistant food editor Claire Saffitz____ talked us through the basics of freezer organization and maintenance, from wrapping to storing to thawing. For better food and a more efficient machine, don't make these common freezer mistakes.

1. <del>Freezer Bags Are Amazing!</del>

Well, yes. Freezer bags are amazing-but they're not all you need. If you toss loose goods directly in a plastic bag, the quality will greatly diminish, and you'll notice ice crystals on the food almost immediately. Both Leone and Saffitz wrap everything tightly in plastic wrap before packing it in a freezer bag and-this is really important-removing as much air as possible. "A vacuum sealer is really best," Leone says. He also advises against freezing in glass-it has a tendency to expand and break. Instead, store your food in durable bags or takeout containers. Saffitz points out one great reason to store in bags instead of containers: They take up less space in your freezer if you freeze them flat (not in a squishy lump blob), and they'll thaw quicker, thanks to the increased surface area. There's one more important step you have to take before you freeze your food: Label everything clearly with the contents and date. No matter how much you insist you're going to remember that container is full of marinara, in four months you'll have forgotten all about it. We guarantee. Use a marker that won't rub off and tape that won't lose its adhesive quality in the cold.

2. <del>I Can Deal with This Frozen Brick of Chicken Breasts Later</del>

Score! You got a sweet deal on a family-sized pack of chicken, a jumbo bag of shrimp, or you hit the blueberry jackpot at your CSA. Freezing the portion that you won't use immediately is a smart move, but doing it right means a little extra leg work. Essentially, your goal in freezing large packages is to make sure they don't all freeze together in a clump -otherwise, you're defeating the purpose. For meat, doing it right means taking it out of the original packaging and wrapping each piece individually (remember, in plastic wrap first). If it freezes together, you'll have to thaw it together, and then you'll be stuck eating chicken breast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week. For fruit or other potentially sticky items that you won't use all at once, freeze them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet first, then transfer them to a tightly sealed bag.

3. <del>I Can Skip the Fridge and Go Right for the Deep Chill</del>

Phew-you just spent an entire afternoon simmering tomatoes down into a gorgeous pasta sauce. You smell like garlic, you're hot, and you've got a sink full of dishes? Wouldn't it be nice to pack it all in containers, stick them in the freezer, and forget about them until four Sundays from now, when you've got a lasagna craving? Not so fast! Never put hot food in a cold freezer; the appliance will have to work harder to cool it, and the goods already in your freezer will experience an uptick in temperature in the meantime. We call that a lose-lose situation. Let food cool completely before freezing it.

4. <del>Boy, You Can Cram a Lot in This Sucker</del>

For those who want to preserve food but don't pickle or can, the freezer is a lifesaver. But don't rely so heavily on it that you cram in more than it can handle, Saffitz advises. There should be ample room for you to navigate the goods (Read: You shouldn't have to totally unpack it every time you retrieve something) and for air to circulate. If you find yourself constantly stuffing in more than your unit can hold, or if you get hit in the head with a half gallon of ice cream every time you open the door, it might be time to invest in a second freezer. A large chest freezer that lives in a basement or laundry room can change your life-or at least the way you buy food.

5. <del>This Fish Smells Funky But I Don't Have Time to Cook It, So...

</del>

According to Leone, food that's about to hit its expiration date should either be tossed or consumed, not frozen. Because freezing inevitably degrades food's quality over time, starting out with a questionable product is just asking for trouble: By the time you thaw and unwrap that fish, ground turkey, or milk, it'll likely be past the point of no return-and you'll probably wind up tossing it anyway. **

6. <del>Fill 'Er Up!

</del>

We've all been there: You're packing away the last of that chili, and you've got exactly one quart container left. There's almost too much soup, but it winds up being a perfect fit-filled to the brim! Done and done, right? Ah, if only life were so simple. If you cap that sucker off and stick it in the fridge, it'll expand as it freezes and will bust through the container. This is an annoyance if it's plastic and a danger if it's glass (see tip number one for a shard-free freezer experience). Leave a couple of inches of room at the top of each container, and you'll eliminate the problem. All out of containers? Eat a bowl of chili.

7. <del>Triple-Frozen Is as Good as Triple-Washed, Right?

</del>

So you took out a pound of ground beef on Monday. It's Thursday and you still haven't cooked it-and you have dinner reservations tonight, plus a weekend getaway planned. You'd like to put it back in the freezer, wouldn't you? Tough noogies. Thawing and refreezing will seriously degrade the quality and texture of the meat, say Saffitz and Leone, making it "unappealing," "weird-tasting," and just plain "bad."

8. <del>Freezers Are for Meat and Mom's Cookies, Only

</del>

You can-and should-be making creative use of your freezer. While ground chuck and chocolate-chip cookies freeze beautifully, they're not the only things you can store there. " Foods that are high in oil content, like seeds, nut flours, and nuts, should be kept in the freezer," Saffitz says. She also suggests keeping whole-wheat flours in the deep chill zone, because the wheat germ has more oil than refined white flour.

9. <del>I Never Remember to Take Out the Meat in Time-Hot Water'll Do the Trick

</del>

Eek-don't do this. Not only will thawing a piece of meat in hot water invite bacteria, Leone says, it'll partially cook the meat around its edges, leaving you with an unappealing gray hue and funky, mealy texture. A better idea? Plan ahead and thaw it slowly in the refrigerator-set it on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet or plate to catch any condensation or drips as it comes to room temperature. If you absolutely must thaw in a hurry (although we really do advocate eating eggs for dinner tonight and having that roast tomorrow), submerge the meat in a bowl of cold running water.

10. <del>No One Will Know I Replaced Half of This Vodka with Water and Put It Back in the Freezer...

</del>

Remember this life tip from Saffitz: Water freezes. Alcohol doesn't.

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When Freezers Attack: How to Wrap, Store, Organize, and Thaw Your Frozen Goods

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Most of us organize our freezers with the best of intentions: " This time," we think, " I'm going to keep it clean, well-maintained, labeled, and up-to-date." Then life happens. We get a deal on a club pack of chicken thighs and after cooking four for dinner, we chuck the rest in the freezer.

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Attic

Crawl Space

Garage

Shed and Barns

These places are not good places to store food because they all have differences in temperature - hot during summer, cold during winter- and they are places that rodents and other pests like to stay.

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By 'Above Average' Joe

In most of my writing to you, I have been pretty adamant about the need for proper food and water storage but after looking through past articles I feel I have been pretty lax on just exactly how and where you need to store these items.

Unless you live in a 6000 square foot house with your own personal bunker, you probably don't want to have sacks of grain or hundreds of cans of food lying out in the open.

The trouble is, in order to have enough food and water to withstand a prolonged disaster you need a ton of space and the ability to organize that space to still be completely functional.

Your average pantry will only hold so much in it and still be considered functional. Because of this, you may need to get a bit creative when it comes to food storage.

Check out some of the suggestions below:

Take a quick walk through of your home and make note of any dead space. Dead space is any area of your home which has no functional use. Some of the more common dead spaces include:

In your food pantry - Sounds pretty simple right? Unfortunately most pantries are no longer just for food storage. Many people have taken to storing nonfood items in them such as unused pots and pans, large kitchen gadgets, crock pots, paper supplies and more. These items can always be stored somewhere else that food shouldn't be stored (like in a garage or shed). Clear out everything except food from your kitchen pantry.Your first goal of a food storage program is to fill up your everyday kitchen pantry and make sure that you rotate out any old food before you dig in to the newly bought canned goods.Make it weekly task to go through the kitchen pantry to insure that anything nearing expiration is in the front of your pantry. Whatever is nearing expiration should be included in your dinner tonight.

1. Under beds - this is a nice dark and cool space. Under beds are perfect for #10 cans. Buy a bed frame which can be elevated just a bit to accommodate boxes containing #10 cans. Depending on your particular bed, you can purchase a set of bed risers that for less than $10.00 will give you an additional 6 inches or more of vertical space under your bed.

2. Speaking of beds, if you have a large headboard you can pull out your bed from the wall just far enough to store a few 5 gallon buckets of food or stack up some more #10 cans if you are short on space. Stack food up to the height of the headboard, then cover it with some extra pillows or blankets to hide the food and make the space more presentable.

3. Closets floor space - the space on the floor under need the coats and linens. There is often a few feet of vertical space above a closet shelf. You can stack boxes fairly high above the shelf or even install a secondary shelf to hold more. Before you put anything up for storage, be sure that you test the shelf to make sure it can support what you plan on placing on it.

4. Under bathroom sinks - often the space is unused or cluttered with items that would be better suited elsewhere. Make sure any food stored under a sink is in water proof containers, just in case you spring a leak.

5. Behind your couch - most couches tend to have a slight incline in their backs to help make them more comfortable to sit on. This results in several inches of dead space at the bottom of the couch that can readily be used if your couch sits against a wall.If your couch is in the middle of a room, you can store bags of rice, sugar or anything flat can be stored in under bed storage containers that will slide right under your couch.

There are an amazing amount of places that can be re-purposed to store your food and gear neatly and efficiently out of the way, without sacrificing your ability to get to them when you need them.

There are also quite a few places that should NEVER be used to store food like:

1. The attic. The summer heat in the attic will likely cause any stored food to go bad. Depending on your location the attic may not even be a safe place in the winter.

2. Crawl space. Crawl spaces often get way too hot in the summer and susceptible to rodents.

3. Garage- Follows the same rule as the attic and crawl space. To get the longest life out of your food stores they need to be kept at the lowest possible controlled temperature.

4. Do not bury food. The moisture will eventually compromise the container. Rodents or pets may dig them up and eat them before you can. Or worse you will lose track of the location. How many squirrels do you think remember where they bury all of their acorns?

1. Sheds and barns - Gets too hot in the summer not secure against rodents and other pests. Also may be a prime target for people that are hungrier than you after a disaster.

2. Near fuels and other chemicals. This can be dangerous as the fuel can ignite and burn your food supply. Also many foods will pick up the smell and taste of the chemicals they are stored near; this is not pleasant or safe.

3. At the Grocery store - Never fail to have food storage before a disaster strikes. Relying on the grocery store to supply you is just plain stupid. Any time a a large storm approaches or anything else happens that scares people you can expect that grocery stores will be stripped bare within hours and it could be days or weeks before they are restocked.

When it comes to storing your food, don't take chances. You can live for quite a while without food but you will be a whole lot more comfortable if you aren't forced to miss a meal because you didn't store it correctly.

Want to know more? Check out these related articles from our site:

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How to Store Food Properly | Survival Life

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By 'Above Average' Joe In most of my writing to you, I have been pretty adamant about the need for proper food and water storage but after looking through past articles I feel I have been pretty lax on just exactly how and where you need to store these items. Unless you live in a 6000 square foot house with your own personal bunker, you probably don't want to have sacks of grain or hundreds of cans of food lying out in the open.

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This is an example of freezer storage bags for meat.

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This is an example of freezer storage bags for meat.