So Much to Store... So Little Space

So I had intended to write this before I moved.  But moving is quite an undertaking in and of itself.  Moving across the country is a monstrosity we don't want to discuss further ;).  Clearly, I simply didn't get around to it.

Basically, I wanted to share, briefly, that a lot of space is not a requirement for creating a home store of food.  True, it may seem like it is.  And absolutely true, it is probably nicer and more convenient to have a dedicated space for all of one's home store.  But there are ways to store a lot in not so much space.  I know, because I did it.

Prior to moving, our apartment was under 1000 square feet.  When we first moved in, there were two of us.  We doubled our family size in the 3.25 years we lived there.  And we were running out of space.  But that didn't sway us from our goals in regards to having a home store and being prepared.  It just required that we be a little creative.

My first suggestion is a can rack of some sort.  I happen to have a very capable husband who likes to create and build.  So, for Christmas one year, he made me a can rack.  If you don't have the time or desire to make your own, you can buy one!  In fact, THRIVE Life sells them in a variety of sizes, and they are fantastic!  In time, once we have a home of our own (we are currently staying with family and all our stuff is in storage), I fully intend to get one of these for my #10 cans!  You can check them all out at my website:  www.thrivelife.com/thriveingnilla (follow that link, click on shop, and choose "food rotation systems" on the left-hand side). 

 So that's a picture of my can rack.  And you can see I used the top of it for other storage of food.  Plus a shelf in the top of my closet was full of open THRIVE. By the way, did I mention we kept all that in the closet in our bedroom?!?  Haha.  Like I said, not the most convenient, but it's where we had the space.  So it's what we did.

These are the buckets that hold our bulk basics.  Flour, sugar, oats, rice, macaroni, powdered milk, etc.  These were in the living/dining area under an overhang from the kitchen counter.  Visible, but out of the way.  One time, the property manager stopped by, and, seeing all these large buckets, thought we were painting.  Hahaha.  We told him it was food.

 This was a bin in our closet in the master bedroom that held unopened bulk items (things we bought at Costco, like oats, sugar, flour).  We always keep a back-up.

 This was an old cabinet that ended up in our possession.  I used it for open THRIVE -- mostly pantry cans.  It could be shut and was therefore not super visible. 

 This is what under the bed looked like.  This was under my side of the bed.  The next one was under my husband's side of the bed.  We even stocked up on baby formula!

 And this was the bottom shelf of some long (and in many ways otherwise useless) shelving in our bathroom.  About half of the shelf was behind a wall, so it wasn't easily accessible.  So I decided to keep our "rainy day" extra THRIVE Life cans there.  These were ones I wouldn't open immediately, but they were there for use if needed. 

So yeah, it was probably less than idea.  Well, it was.  But it worked.  I truly believe that, if you are committed to doing something that is important, you'll find a way to make it work.  And for us, having a home store is important.  I'm grateful we could find ways to store all our food.  But I'm definitely looking forward to having our very own house and having a space that is just for this purpose!

Happy THRIVEing!