One of the top categories of questions I get via email has to do with storing food. Many of those questions have to do with long-term storage. For the long-term, storing food in food grade buckets is smart because the heavy-duty plastic helps to keep out pests, light, moisture, and oxygen, four of the six enemies of food.
Plus, just about anything edible can be stored in buckets, whether in large or small volumes. Buying different types of food in bulk and then dividing it into smaller quantities is a cost-effective way to get the best of both worlds. Common items for this strategy are dry goods, such as beans, cornmeal, wheat, and rice.
You can read this article for a more thorough discussion about repackaging foods for long-term storage and also how to do it so your stored food has the longest possible shelf-life.
For the beginner, storing food in buckets sounds bizarre and mysterious. Let’s demystify this process.
Food Safety Precautions
Per the Utah State University Extension Service, any food product stored long-term in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers must contain 10% or less moisture content or there is a risk of botulism poisoning.
Tips To Store Food In Buckets
- Choose food grade buckets. That means making sure they’re made from food-safe plastic. You don’t want non-food-safe dyes, solvents, and chemicals touching your foods. See #4 if you plan to use mylar bags (or any type of bag) in the bucket.
- Size matters. Consider smaller buckets for foods consumed more immediately. Five-gallon buckets are great for longer-term storage. However, gamma seal lids allow easy pantry access to the larger size. See #15 for more on these lids. Just think about what makes sense for you. A filled, 5-gallon bucket can be extremely heavy to lift, so if you don’t have that kind of upper-body strength, look for smaller buckets. This post about choosing appropriate food storage containers can help in your assessment.
- A mylar bag can be used as a liner in any bucket. This provides another layer of protection against food and light and come in different sizes. Large sizes can become liners but you can also use smaller-sized bags, fill and seal them, and then have multiple small packages of food. I buy mylar bags and oxygen absorbers from this company.
- Even if you’re only using them with mylar bags right now, food grade buckets are more versatile. They offer more food storage and processing options in the future. Brining, carrying water, or collecting and storing fresh produce, for instance.
- The process of oxidation ruins food, so include oxygen absorbers in mylar bags. As their name indicates, they literally absorb the oxygen inside a container. The amount needed depends on the size of the container but also the headroom allowed and the size of the food. Use the following general guidelines for deciding how many oxygen absorbers are good for most foods.
| CCs Needed | Size of Container |
|---|---|
| 100 cc oxygen absorber | Large canning jar, 32 ounces |
| 300 cc oxygen absorber | #10 can |
| 300 cc oxygen absorber | One-gallon container |
| 1500 cc oxygen absorber | Five-gallon bucket/container |
- Immediately vacuum pack unused oxygen absorbers in canning jars because as long as they are exposed to air, they’ll absorb oxygen until they are no longer effective. Canning jars provide a tighter seal than regular jars. Or try to order packages of oxygen absorbers in quantities you can reasonably use in one round of sealing. Consider enlisting a helper.
- Label the outside of each bucket with the contents, either with a Sharpie, a printed label, or a china marker. You don’t want to have to open each bucket and mylar bag in search of a certain food.
- If you use an iron to seal the mylar bags, check to make sure the seal is tight. The first time I sealed up dried milk in these bags, I was unpleasantly surprised to find white powder trailing along behind me as I carried them to the pantry. The cat loved it, though.
- Mylar bags can be resealed using new oxygen absorbers. Two advantages to sealing food in several smaller bags are that it helps with food rotation (using older food first and storing newer, fresher food for later) and the bags are smaller and lighter.
- Ask for free buckets and lids at grocery stores and bakeries. Purchasing from a reputable source is always an option also.
- To seal a lot of mylar bags, a hot-jaw sealer may be worth the initial investment. For a lower-cost option, try a hair straightener or an iron. Experiment to find the ideal temperature for sealing.
- Store buckets a few inches off the ground in a cool, dry location. Elevating them helps the whole container maintain the same temperature as the air in the room.
- In general, don’t stack buckets more than three high. Five gallons of food can be very heavy. If you want to go higher, consider reducing the stress on the buckets somehow to lessen the chance of failure. In earthquake-prone areas secure buckets to prevent toppling.
- Non-food items, such as toiletries, don’t need to be sealed in mylar bags. As you stock up on other supplies, you’ll love your buckets even more! They’re a great way to store toiletries, paper goods, and even clothing.
- If you plan on using some of what you’ve stored in buckets, invest a few dollars in Gamma Seal Lids. These have an outer ring that snaps on the top of an open bucket and then a smaller lid inserted within the ring and twisted until closed. The lids allow easy access to food stored in buckets yet provide an air-tight seal when closed; they can be used for years.
- Before closing up the buckets, add the empty packaging for the items inside. It answers any food prep questions when reopening the containers.
- Use a heat-resistant straight edge as an ironing board to create a seal on mylar bags. The width of the tool becomes the width of the seal.
- A rubber mallet makes short work of securing the lids on the buckets.
- Conversely, store an opener with your buckets. If you store food in buckets, then you need a way to remove those lids when the time comes, right?
Watch a demonstration on how to store food in buckets
Do you use food grade buckets (or non-food grade) for long-term food storage? What are your favorite how-to tips?
Originally published August 25, 2021; updated and revised by Team Survival Mom.
When I started asking stores and bakeries for buckets they were plentyful, not so much anymore. I started buying white food grade buckets and lids at the Home Depot. We use mylar bags with 02 absorbers inside. 10 gallon buckets really saved our bacon when one single mouse got into our food pantry, the sruff he got was newly purchased items I had not gotten into the buckets. Will never make that mistake again and we now have Decon on the floor of the pantry room.
That's spot-on info. And you're absolutely right about using an iron to seal bags; I've had the same problem and found that you cannot pack as much food inside mylar bags when using a iron because you need extra space for sealing the bag closed to combat this very problem.
I found that using my hair straightening iron for sealing mylar bags works best.
If I am using food grade buckets and my bulk peas beans and pasta are in plastic bags from company do I need Mylar or just o2 absorbers
Gail, if you are storing food in those buckets with an air-tight lid, there is no reason to also store the food in mylar bags. However, mylar is more resilient over time than those plastic bags. Oxygen deteriorates food, so adding a few oxygen absorbers would be a good idea. My best recommendation is to pour the dried foods into smaller mylar bags to make food rotation easier and then add a 300 cc oxy absorber to each bag. THEN, store those in the bucket. 🙂 For truly long-term storage, this is the best plan.
So I vacuum sealed 25 lbs of wheat berries with 2 absorbers each bag is 2 lbs,put them in a mylar bag inside a food safe bucket , ican only get about 12 lbs in a bucket, can I use something like a Rubbermaid bin,they are sealed good ,but to only get12 lbs in a bucket is going to become quit expensive, any other idea’s thank you Glenn
Yes, a Rubbermaid bin with a tight-fitting lid will be fine. Make sure you don’t have any rodents around, because I personally watched a squirrel doing his best to chew through the plastic lid on one of our food buckets!
very helpful! thank you 🙂
Those labels on your buckets are so helpful. Did you print them yourself?
-When I seal my bags with a iron, I use a metal masons level that has multi-metal ridges on one side. This creates multiple seals, and insures that the bag is truly sealed.
-If there is a very small amount of air left in your sealed bag by the next day, don't worry. Most air is composed of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 21%), and argon (about 1%). The oxygen absorbers, absorb only oxygen. The air leftover is likely nitrogen and is nothing to be worried about.
I do the mylar bags exactly the same with a metal leval & a hot iorn & vaccume most of the air out with a small vaccume b4 sealing! We do a double seal as well , just to be absolutely sure its well closed & going to stay that way. We also pack some in smaller bags, (seal a meal type vaccume sealed )of 5# each or less depending on the how much of the item is used each time you cook.
(Think no refergeration & how fast would it spoil or become contaminated with bugs or critters) You could easily loose those expensive 5 gal buckets of food, once opened>
Thanks, good info, brings me to a question though, I have some food stored in mylar bags (with absorbers) in Home Depot buckets too. The question, I've heard yes and no about; whether Home Depot buckets are food grade. This video indicates they are. I started out using them but switched away from them after reading one of the articles that says they aren't food grade. Any additional information would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Mary, home depot buckets are not food grade buckets (meaning you can't put food directly in them for storage). That being said, as long as the food is inside a mylar bag within your home depot bucket you are ok.
Thanks Anthony, the food in mine is sealed in mylar bags, I have worried about it, but have so many of them I guess I'll just leave it as it is. Again, thanks!!
If you use Mylar bags, OA’s in a Home Depot bucket do you need a Gamma lid?
Sondra
Sondra, the Gamma lid is to make it easier to get into the bucket each time you use it. It’s also a lot easier to just screw the Gamma lid back on than to use the lid most buckets come with.
I bought food grade buckets at Home Depot this week. Had to order the lids.
Where do you guys find the best deals for buying in bulk?
Hi Lindsey, there are so many great companies out there, that offer many products and have great customer service, etc., but to me, Honeyville Grains always wins out. It doesn't matter if you order a lot or a little, total shipping on your order is always $4.49 and they email you specials about every other month. While they don't have everything, they do have MOST everything!
I don't know where you live, but for some bulk items, you could check out stores that have buckets of things like millet, rice, oats, etc. that you scoop out. I bought a lot of macaroni from Thrive when it was on sale, but even then, it was only a little less money than the macaroni in the bulk bins at Sprout's, a chain of natural grocery stores. You might also call an LDS church and see if they can suggest where you might buy wheat, beans, or whatever, since a lot of their members do food storage.
The LDS Church runs something called a Bishop’s Warehouse, which offers good quality bulk items at good prices. They sell to everyone, not just LDS members. The one nearest me is only open 2 half-days per week, so definitely call first. They have information online about what, where, and how much. I also have purchased grains from True Leaf market. Another interesting source for bulk foods is https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ .
Lowes is carrying food grade buckets with lids for about $5 a bucket. At least they claim its food grade.
I buy my food in bulk from a local co-op store. I get 5% off for buying in bulk then a additional 10% off for being a member. Membership only cost me a 30 dollars a year.
The LDS church has food storage down to a art. LDS churches in most major cities have a have their own food store called a Bishops Warehouse. This is where most of their members buy there food in bulk, they even have sealed #10 cans of most of your basic foods, such as wheat and rice . The Warehouses also conduct classes that teach you how to pack your food away for long term use. The great part is non-LDS members can shop at these stores too, and most items you buy are almost at cost (big savings!). Just do a search online to find if one is near you.
This link will help you find the location of the LDS Bishop's Storehouse that is near to you. http://www.providentliving.org/location/map/0,125…
Lisa, Anthony,
You two are right, the LDS canneries are the least expensive. The closest one to me is an hour away and until recently had stopped selling outside of their membership., They have just started back and I'm going in a few weeks. It is typically about 1/3 of Honeyville prices. Still, Honeyville is a deal compared to other retail outlets. I really like Aldi too!
If you need food grade buckets, go to the fast food establishments and ask them for their pickle buckets. You can usually get them for free.
if I could ask, how do you get the pickle smell out? I just bought two from a deli shop (they donate the proceeds to the local firefighters so I don't mind the small purchase amount).
I\’ve heard it\’s nearly impossible to get the smell out. You might try setting them out in the sun, putting some wadded up newspaper in them or maybe some baking soda to absorb the smell. If that doesn\’t work, use them for non-food items.
The sun has worked the best for me including pickle jar lids. You just have to be patient. Also if you are putting the food into mylar bags before putting into the buckets it should help if there is still a faint odor. Just my opinion. Plus I really like pickles!!! LOL
Charcoal is good for odors
pool shock removes the smell.
I ordered buckets and lids from Gamma Seal. A little pricey but easy to reseal. I am not using a Mylar bag inside. If you want to take a portion out it is a hassle with the bag. Unsealing, sealing ect. Think I am making a mistake not using the Mylar?
There’s a guide for food-grade bucket underneath the buckets if they are food grade or not look for those numbers Canadian Tire sells the buckets and the lids so much cheaper than Amazon and their food grade
I have some buckets and am planning on getting dry ice, I have read about a cubic inch of dry ice, on the bottom, with dissolve and force all Oxygen out. Don't completely seal the bucket, leave the lid partially opened to let the lighter, unwanted elements out. I have 300 pounds of rice to put away.
Sierra Dave
If the bucket has a #2 in a triangle on the bottom …..it is food grade.
I have been wanting to start preparing for awhile now and finally managed to convince my husband, even though he says "I'm crazy" but, I have a quick question, I"ve got the food grade bucket, 20 lbs of flour and i'm stumped…is it possible to use the dry ice method with flour, like put it on the top of the flour in a coffee filter or something? I"d like to get the oxygen absorbers but, with my husband not to keen on this food storage I need to find another way…
Any hints would help!
Don\’t use dry ice with powdery foods. First, place your flour in moisture proof containers and place them in the freezer for 7 days. That will kill any microscopic insect eggs. Flour has a shelf life of only a year or so. Oxygen absorbers and storing it in a cool, dry place can help extend it, but not by much. Next time, buy wheat, which has a shelf life of 20-30 years and find a wheat grinder on ebay or in a second hand store, like Goodwill.
I have done the same thing as Don and have the same question: I am storing food in the Gamma buckets without a mylar bag. Is this a problem? I have researched online but have not find any comments saying that it is safe to use a gamma bucket without ua mylar bag.
I’m doing same thing, never had a problem
It is safer to use a mylar bags. Lids can get air go through.
You might want to check your local WalMart store. In eastern Washington and central Oregon, they are selling Aguasson Farms #10 cans of dried and canned emergency food. The prices are great compared to shopping on line and it will also encourage them to continue to bring it to other parts of the country. So far, no luck in Texas.
They are selling these at Walmarts in Western WA too
I saw or read that other people used dry ice to remove the oxygen, If you were worried about the oxygen absorber wearing out you could have a bucket with dry ice in the bottom and the oxygen absorbers in a colander above mas the dry ice melts (not sure if that is what dry ice does), but anyway the dry ice give off CO carbon dioxide which deplaces the lighter oxygen. So what you are doing is creating a bucket of carbon dioxide.
We've found that a flat iron (hair straightener) works great for sealing mylar bags. Much easier than a regular iron.
Ooooh. I like that idea!
You can also use the hand warmers that hunters use instead of the oxygen absorbers.
take lowes bucket with sealable lid, drill hole in the side near the top insert a valve stem (like you use in a wheel)hook up a vacum pump to a set of air conditioner manifold guages and run hose from valve stem to guages and pull a vacum on it for about 10 to 15 min. when finished close the valve on the guage leave everything hooked up for 10min if needle on guage stays in vacum you have no leaks and all air has been removed.
I can afford food grade buckets, but not mylar bags–can I still use the buckets? will pasta, grains, and wheat berries still have a very long shelf life?
Yes, you can use the buckets on their own. Just make sure you include either oxygen absorbers or the dry ice method to eliminate oxygen. Also, put those dry goods in air-tight containers and then into the freezer for at least a week to kill any insect eggs that might be present. Pasta doesn’t have the same long shelf-life as grains but is still a good item to have stored.
I just bought a lot of beans and rice. Can I put the beans in a food grade bucket with lid into the freezer first to kill the bugs (for a couple weeks)? Or can I just throw the beans in the heavy paper bag they come in, into the freezer for a week? Thanks for your help.
The one thing to be careful of with the freezer technique is moisture. If moisture gets into your container, now you have an environment that is conducive to mold growth. I recommend putting the rice and beans into smaller containers (smaller than the bucket) and then freezing them for a week or so. Then, put them in the bucket. You might even want to add some oxygen absorbers as well to deplete the bucket container of as much oxygen as possible. That will also help kill off any remaining, live insect eggs.
Yes it will. I’ve been using this method for years. When I put my food in buckets without Mylar bags I sprinkle some de (diotomatious earth) it helps rid of any insects. Hope this helps GOD BLESS!
I’ve been stockpiling Idahoan potatoes and such, and wonder how to best store them. If you take them out of the boxes, you could put the potatoes in the mylar bag, but what about the packets of sauce mix? I’m confused…help!
Another way to get smells out of buckets is cat litter. Use the kind for multiple cat households put a pan in the bottom and add cat litter. You can leave it open or put a lid on it.
I’m not sure if someone else has asked this but I would like to be using this food from time to time. Being in the south I know I would use the red kidney beans and rice almost weekly. (I’ve made attempts to get prepared before and it always stalls out with the end of hurricane season but with the threat of hurricane Isaac this year I’m back at it.) Anyway my mother will only support it if we can benefit from it sooner rather than 10 years from now. My question, finally, is if I would be using it so much the mylar bags would just get in the way right? I’m not even sure if you can open and close them again in the same place. So the Gamma Seal lids and an oxygen absorber in the 5 gal bucket would be best? But then that means not the home depot questionable food grade buckets right? So many questions but I would hate to go to all the trouble and lose five gallons of food at a time! Thanks.
I think the best solution for you is to package a percentage of your food for long term storage and the rest of it for short-term use, say within a year or so. Use smaller containers and forget about the oxy absorbers for the food you’ll be consuming. Use mylar bags/buckets for the stuff you want to set aside and then, as you can, add to the long-term stash as you’re able to.
Regarding your question about resealing mylar bags, yes, they can be resealed. Just make sure to use fresh oxy absorbers each time and to inspect the sealed opening to make sure it’s well and truly sealed.
Why would anyone put this much food away for long term storage (over a year)? For what are we preparing? I live in a city, is that why I’m confused?
Prepare for job loss or economic meltdown. A year is daunting but start buying 1 extra day’s worth of food each week. Your favorite canned items or boxed items. Store though so pests won’t get into them.
The way I always did it was long term storage on all my buckets and then we just had one of each type with an accessible lid. So the Gamma lids, while wonderful, are really only needed on the one bucket of wheat, beans rice etc that you are currently using. Everything else could just have a sealed lid that opens with a lid lifter – then when you use up the “open” bucket, move the Gamma lid to another stored bucket of wheat and replace the regular lid. You can even color code them – different colors for wheat, rice, beans etc.
I used to buy lids with a place to punch an opening under a screw on lid that exactly fit a regular canning jar lid. So we only punched the hole in a few, and then moved them around as we opened new buckets. Gamma lids would be treated the same way. Just a way to make life easier and still save some money.
Are oxygen absorber still required if you’re using the five buckets and the gamma lids
During an employment crunch once we spent ZERO dollars on food for the entire month. Used my beans, rice and wheat, the garden started coming in (glad the job loss wasn’t in the dead of winter) and we got invited out a couple of times to eat at other homes (by folks who didn’t even know we were broke). The children (four of them 3 – 12 years old) didn’t gripe because they didn’t go hungry and I even made dessert a few times – I’m not even sure they noticed.
By forgoing all grocery expenditures, we were able to keep the power on, although we did have to give up the phone, which was really hard as we lived far away from family and 30 minutes from town, but sometimes life IS hard. For a few months on either side of the zero month I bought a few 10# bags of potatoes and a few veggies, but I am really aware of the zero month because it was such a blessing to have survived with what we had in the house.
That’s been over 20 years ago, but I would imagine other families are facing the same thing today. I’ll never give up on putting away food, because I’ve experienced how important it is. (My mother calls it squirreling away – every time I can peaches.) And did I have everything I wished for?r – absolutely not – I just got really creative with what I did have.
If you have a Fire House Subs by you, they sell their 5 gallon buckets for $2 a piece and the proceeds go to a fund to help firefighters, police and EMS.
I purchase my food grade buckets from a local bakery. They cost me about $1.50 with lid and depending on what is available they are either 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon buckets. I prefer the 2.5 gallon ones as a 50 pound bag of product will go into two buckets easily and I can carry them easier.
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Just so you know, when I saw this picture on Pinterest, I thought it said “Cats” instead of “Oats.” I immediately thought “I sure hope that’s cat *food* and not actual cats…” 😛
About a year and a half ago I filled ten bags in ten buckets with a few different things. Pasta, rice, beans, sugar, oats, and dog food. I have heard mixed reviews on that subject because of how oily it is.
Today we ran out of dog food and I have been wanting to use the food before it goes bad (if it goes bad). It is important to know that since making these bags we have changed dog foods and I always HATED the smell of this brand. Wet cat food and canned chicken doesn’t offend me as much as this popular dry dog food. Don’t ask me why. I can’t tell if this smell is different than it used to be (because its been a while since we have purchased this brand) but the dogs didn’t seem to mind it.
BUT I couldn’t open the mylar bag. I tried to peel it apart and eventually I started ripping holes in it so I just went ahead and cut it below the sealed line. So now I have a mini mylar bag. (after ten minutes of trying to open the bag and making the little holes bigger and bigger I just attacked it with scissors) So I have heard that there bags are reusable which is great. But
HOW OH HOW DO YOU OPEN THEM?! Did I put too much heat on it while sealing or something? Any ideas?
Today, I talked to a company that sells oxygen absorbers and they told me that the oxygen absorbers activate the moment you open their package and expire within 6-10 minutes, meaning they’ve absorbed all the oxygen they are able to. Only if I was the Flash could I stand a chance of getting them all loaded into prepped mylar bags and sealed before they expired. Unless someone can prove differently, I’m seeing these as a huge waste of money and an exercise in futility.
I order oxygen absorbers on ebay, when I get them in I open them and quickly put them in a small mason jar. When I get ready to fill my jars or Mylar bags, I’ll have bout 5-10 jars ready. I’ll ad oxygen absorbers & I’ll have my son come behind me and seal everything quickly. Never had a problem with sealing anything.
Oxygen absorbers! Very good idea. I’ll need to look into carrying these.
Cheap coffee works the best to get the pickle smell out. I use between 1-2 cups per bucket with the lid on in the sun for a couple days. I tried reusing the coffee in the next batch of buckets and it wasn’t nearly as effective.
Another good way to get pickle smell out is wash with soap and water, sterilize with Clorox wipes and leave open for a couple of days
If you are lining up twenty bags in a row, then you are right. You will not get them sealed quickly enough. Only put O2 absorbers in a few bags at a time. For the remaining absorbers have a mason jar and lid handy. Preferably one just large enough to hold the remaining absorbers without much free space left over. They will absorb the remaining oxygen creating a vacuum in the jar and still be viable. Then seal up your bags and prepare a few more bags for sealing. Open the jar. Pull out what you need and close the lid immediately.They can be stored long term in this fashion. The next time you have a need for some, as long as the lid doesn’t click (there is still a vacuum) the oxygen absorbers are still good.
Have found using FoodSaver canister for O2 absorbers, open it after every few jars/bags to retrieve more then seal it with FoodSaver. Helps to get 02 absorbers with indicator that changes color when saturated.
I have a question. I dehydrate a lot of my own food. I have tried sealing and using mylar bags. My problem is that food that has been dried and has pointed edges ends up poking a hole in the bag no matter how careful I am. I am looking for something I can store the food in that will be airtight and that I can put in oxygen absorbers. I would like to find some that are only about 2 gals, instead of the larger 5-6 gal. size. Can you suggest something? Thanks.
I like the 1.5 gallon Mason jars for shorter-term storage. Use a Food Saver vacuum with the canning lid attachment to suck the air out after filling with food (negating the need for oxygen absorbers). If you warm the lids before sealing, the vacuum seal will stay good longer. Moisture-proof, air-tight, and insect/rodent-proof.
I have a quick question, I just filled my buckets with the mylar bag lining and added my O2 absorbers, then sealed the bags quickly with my mylar bag sealer. But 2 of my buckets are collapsing in a bit. Do I need to re-seal those buckets/mylar bags? Or will they still be fine for long term storage?
Your buckets are collapsing? Does that mean they are falling apart? The sealed mylar bag is separate from the bucket, so it should be no problem to lift the mylar bag out of the bucket and place it in another one — or just store the mylar bag on its own. Make sure it’s labeled and dated!
A number of comments have been made about freezing flour or other powdery items for seven days to kill insects. Barbary Salsbury in her book Preparedness Principles researched and tested the freezing of items to kill insects and their eggs. It only works if your freezer is actually at 0 degrees F. Otherwise, you have an insect infestation just waiting to happen.
So how would you kill the possible insect eggs in flour?
Put the flour in tightly sealed canning jars and then into the freezer for at least a week. The cold temperatures will kill any insect eggs present in the flour. Before storing at room temperature, add an oxygen absorber, and the lack of oxygen will kill any remaining eggs.
These are great way to store food for a long time, just be sure to place those buckets in a cool dry place so that it can be preserved for a longer time.
Can i store my food inside a mylar bag then inside Lowes 5 gal. Buckets?
Would they be considered food grade buckets?
This is extremely helpful thank you so much. Most of the posts n blogs I have read make buckets seem so complicated. Thank you again
Just a tip from personal experience freezing your grains before sealing your buckets kills the weavels living in the grains; So you don’t end up with an unpleasant surprise when you open your buckets and If you have extra oxygen absorbers you can save them in a mason jar you just have to remember to work fast enough
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I store rice, oats, beans ect. In buckets without Mylar bags. I use oxygen absorbers accordingly. My question is I put my knee in center of bucket and lift lid up on one side and it lets out a lot of air, is this normal? Should I do this or not? I’ve done this to my buckets over and over. It keeps doing it. Thanks!
Is a resealable lid good for leaving some storaged food in the bucket (even once it’s been opened)?
That would depend on whether or not the lid seal was compromised in any way when you opened the bucket. We’ve had buckets with such tightly fitted lids, that we could only open them with a couple of hand tools and ended up denting the lids. Gamma Seal lids are excellent for providing a very tight fit AND access to your food whenever you want.
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Flour for example can I put it in zip lock bags then store in a 5 gallon bucket? With oxygen absorbers?
No to the ziplocs. They aren’t airtight and will leak over time. Keep in mind that you need to protect food from oxygen, light, heat, humidity, and pests. Ziplocs protect against none of that. With flour you’d be better off storing it in smaller mylar bags, maybe the gallon size, small size buckets, and/or canning jars.
if I use a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with one und or two pounds of different foods mark, can I open it the bucket that is and take what I need than reseal the lid, or does it hurt the food once open.? ok than if I put rice in a 5 gallon bucket and only need a single serving is the rice still good? or can I put cans of food in 5 gallon bucket with an absorber can I do that
Every time you open the bucket and the food is exposed to the air, oxygen will get into the bucket, and can deteriorate the food over time. If you plan on using everything in the bucket within 6-8 months or so, no problem. But if you’re planning on storing it long-term and only accessing the food every now and then, you’ll need a different plan.
Here are a couple of suggestions. Pour the food into smaller mylar bags, put an oxygen absorber in each bag, and then seal the bags with a hot iron. Your bucket will contain several of these pouches and when you open the bucket you won’t have to worry about anything.
A second option is to just use smaller buckets. You can get them in 1-gallon size, and for a lot of people, that’s a better choice than the 5-gallon.
You asked if you can put canned food in a bucket. Certainly, and since the food is inside sealed cans, you don’t have to worry about oxygen or anything else other than heat affecting the quality of the food.
Can I store white flour and rice in a food grade bucket with no mylar bag? How long will it last? Also does all flour and rice have eggs in it? So if its stored long term will it always get bugs in it? If so how do I prevent this? I’m new to this. I live in Australia and we dont have all the stuff America has for prepping.
Hi Latoya. Yes, you can store flour and rice in buckets without the mylar bags. The mylar adds another layer of protection against pests and light but isn’t necessary. Insect eggs are microscopic and are just a fact of life in the food processing plants. I’d recommend you take small amounts of the flour and rice — put it in large canning jars or something else that will keep out moisture — and then put them in the freezer for a week or so. This should be enough time to kill those microscopic eggs and avoid them from hatching. Past advice was to add bay leaves to these foods but there’s no evidence this does anything at all to deter insect eggs from hatching.
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I know many have asked a similar question, but I’m just not clear on this.
I have food-grade 5 gallon buckets that I’ve put gamma type lids on. I’ve put rice,
beans and mixed beans in various buckets. Recently I bought food grade DE to
add (think I heard I have to mix it well into the food). But then I was told that I need
oxygen absorbers (so there isn’t any eggs or bugs) and mylar bags. Since I have the
gamma lids (heard that they don’t totally seal) do I need both the OAs and the mylar
bags–for long-term storage? I’m still going to use the DE since I already bought that. It is understood that if I would open it up for some reason, I would need to add more OAs. Help! I feel like I’m going in circles. Thank you!
Arlene, if you’re mixing food grade DE into your dry foods, that will kill insects and eggs. The oxygen absorber will protect your food from oxidation and can also kill off bugs and eggs. If you were to choose just one method, I’d recommend using the correct number of absorbers in lieu of DE. Mylar bags are excellent protection but, still, you’ll need to use oxygen absorbers.
So I bought a 50 lb bag of rice, I put it in ziplock storage bags and put them in my freezer…(will it absorb moisture, if so, what is my cheap alternative and what will happening it does?)…at this time I don’t have any mylar bags…can I take this rice out of my freezer in a week and pour it into the 5 gal food grade bucket, and seal it? …hopefully I’ll have the oxygen absorbers by then….will it keep for at least a year?… a few years ago we stored rice at my brothers in 5 gal buckets without doing anything, so I guess I better go see what shape or mess I have, any idea on that as well
I live in a very warm climate and will try to keep our long term storage food cool but it wont be room temperature. I do know this will shorten the storage duration. Is there any thing I can do to try to lengthen the storage duration when packing the food in buckets. I do understand being cool, out of sunlight, and dry are requirement but the ambient storage temperature could be as high as the 90s during the summer months. Please let me know. Thank you.
Mary, where are you storing your food that it will reach temperatures of 90 or more? Would it be possible to create space in air conditioned parts of your house and store it there? Under beds, behind furniture, on closet shelving, etc.? Read my article about enemies of food storage to learn how to protect food from other elements that deteriorate it, https://thesurvivalmom.com/the-6-enemies-of-food-storage/
I was wondering how long will Mikes& ikes and Hot Tomales candies last, using mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and put in airtight food grade buckets.
I want something sweet( like candy) when I have to break into my storage food besides Beans and rice, pasta, and the essentials after the SHTF.
That’s a type of candy I’ve never tried to preserve for long-term, but I’m guessing storing them in a vacuum-sealed canning jar would work well. Drying out and becoming hard would be the main concern. Try using a vacuum-sealer and then check the candy in 3 or more months. If it’s sealed from air and is fine in that time span, I would think a longer length of time wouldn’t matter.
A cheap/free source of food safe buckets is your local grocery store bakery. Ask for empty icing buckets and take home and wash.
You can also ask for empty pickle buckets at high school concession stands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6E5e2cjwq8&ab_channel=Jim%27scoolstuff
You may want to revise your comment about Gamma Seal Lids – They are not as airtight as one might think. Just thought I’d mention it.
Thanks, Wayne. Using a mylar bag with a bucket/Gamma Seal lid is the gold standard when it comes to long-term storage.