Best rotating methods?

[marylp]

Hey Guys!! I've been away for awhile, but glad to be back, really missed you guys and your wisdom. Here I am again seeking your advise. Tell me what you think of this idea for rotating my food supplies and what you do. I keep my food in a separate spare room in the house. Right now in my pantry in the kitchen I have only canned foods that expire in 2008, I disregard the month, the last week of 08, we bring out any canned items that expire in 09. The spare room has shelves that are numbered by year, I have 09, thru 12. We moved the cans to another room because we were getting a canned item that expires in 2010, when another was right there expiring in 08. When you have kids thats just the ways things go. Everyone knows not to take anything from the spare room unitll the end of the year where only upcoming year items are to be removed and brought to the pantry. Do you think this is a good idea? Do you have another method that I may want to look at? Any help would be great!! Thanks guys!! Mary

[Sourdough]

When I open a case, I take a heavy magic marker and write the expire date on top, as 7/09. then I pretty much disregard the date, but do eat oldest stock first.

[crashdive123]

Mary - for the amount of food that it sounds like you have stored - your rotation method seems to work just fine.

[marylp]

Thank you so much Crash!! I was wondering what everyone else was doing.

[Rick]

Mary - When I purchase stock of any kind, it goes in the back of existing stock. That makes the older stuff move forward so it will be used first. I like anyone that has a put together a plan as good as yours. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.;)

[crashdive123]

Mary - I don't store quite as much as you. I have a good amount of rice, dried beans, dried peas, etc. that have a very long shelf life. I keep those in 5 gal buckets and don't worry too much about rotating them (yet) The items that have a shorter shelf life I rotate as Rick stated.

[SARKY]

Hey Mary - For canned goods, I built a box that allows the cans to roll to the back then dow and roll forward. since the newer stuff is loaded in the top and the older stuff is ready to pull out of the bottom, I never have a problem with rotation of canned goods. If you need plans for this, let me know.

[Rick]

You can actually buy a gizmo like that.

http://www.organizeit-online.com/images/2653%2012%20can%20beverage%20dispenser.jpg

[Sarge47]

Hey Mary - For canned goods, I built a box that allows the cans to roll to the back then dow and roll forward. since the newer stuff is loaded in the top and the older stuff is ready to pull out of the bottom, I never have a problem with rotation of canned goods. If you need plans for this, let me know.
I just checked all of your posts & didn't see an "intro"; c'mon, as a former "SERE" instructor you know better than that.:cool:

[Sarge47]

You can actually buy a gizmo like that.

http://www.organizeit-online.com/images/2653%2012%20can%20beverage%20dispenser.jpg
They got one for Twinkies?:rolleyes:

[crashdive123]

Not needed for Twinkies.......as they have a shelf life of 1000 years.

[wareagle69]

lets use an example cream of mushroom soup, i keep three cans upstairs in the kitchen and the rest downstairs when i use upstairs stock i bring 3 up from the sore sownstairs the put it on my grocery list and when i go into town i buy more especially if on sale then put downstairs in the back of the stocked cans already there.

[Riverrat]

Mine is similar to others on here, I date the cans, or whatever, with a black marker, then put the newest cans in the back, using the ones out front first, rotates stock and very rarely is any out dated this way.

[crashdive123]

When dating cans (Hope posted this a while back) it is best to date the can (and list what it is) in case the label comes off.

[wareagle69]

i have standards i would never date a can

[Sourdough]

What can would want to date you.......????:):rolleyes::) Well maybe a Ammo Can..........:p

[canid]

here's a question:

if the can's not damaged, can you actually tell the difference between fresh and 15 year old creme of mushroom in the can?

[crashdive123]

Yes - well maybe. Several years ago I had some Progresso soup that had been stored about 2 years beyond the expiration. When I tried some of it, the taste made in inedible to me. This may have been caused due to the storage location (outside shed) that got hot in the summer. Since then, I don't store canned goods in my outside sheds and am more careful about rotating the canned goods that I store.

Edit: The soup had a distinctive "metal" taste. I did not get sick from it, just did not care for it.

[Sourdough]

Yes - well maybe. Several years ago I had some Progresso soup that had been stored about 2 years beyond the expiration. When I tried some of it, the taste made in inedible to me. This may have been caused due to the storage location (outside shed) that got hot in the summer. Since then, I don't store canned goods in my outside sheds and am more careful about rotating the canned goods that I store.


Crash, Do you have a crawl-space....under the house....?

[klkak]

OK, This is how the wife and I rotate our canned and dry foods.

Debra buys allot of everything and keeps our pantry full.

Daughter comes over and takes several bags of food home with her.

We started putting all the newly bought stuff in the back and all the older stuff in the front on the shelves.

It's a great system. Our canned and dried goods are never around for more then a couple of months.

[crashdive123]

Crash, Do you have a crawl-space....under the house....?

No I don't --- slab foundation. You raise a good point though. Maybe a shallow "basement" under a storage shed. Something to think about.

[trax]

Not needed for Twinkies.......as they have a shelf life of 1000 years.

Not needed for twinkies because of the speed with which they are consumed, no chance for storing them.

[Sourdough]

No I don't --- slab foundation. You raise a good point though. Maybe a shallow "basement" under a storage shed. Something to think about.

Would be interesting to stick a thermocouple in the ground, or stick a piece of 4" ABS down 3'. Anyway I wonder what the average Temperature is down 3' or 4' it has got to be cooler. Just a research project for now....?:)

[crashdive123]

It is definitely cooler. I dug a dry well for my rental this summer (washer discharge) and am going to do the same for mine. I used a 55 gal sealed plastic barrel. The hole was about 8 feet deep, and was cooler. Thanks for the idea.

[chiggersngrits]

i have standards i would never date a can

even if it's a #10?

[crashdive123]

even if it's a #10?

Now that there's funny, I don't care who you are.

[crashdive123]

Sarge - Move to Homestead Gardening & Food Storage