My Favorite Food Storage Gadget!

One of the hurdles that many people face when thinking about food storage is wondering where to put it. I have stuffed it in the hall closet, under the bed, really just about anywhere I could think of. You do what you have to when you want to accomplish a goal, and I made it work for as long as I could. The main problem that I had is that I would forget where I had put things, and by the time that I had found them, it was already past the expiration date.

Then I saw a commercial on BYU television that changed my life in terms of food storage. This commercial showcased the most wonderful system! It was a free-standing rack that held cans. Lots of cans! The neat thing is that you load the new cans into the top of the appropriate row, and you use from the bottom of the row; therefore, you are always using the oldest food first.

I ordered my unit from a company called "Shelf Reliance". They have units in various sizes, and they even have little racks that fit on your existing pantry shelves. I won't lie to you -- it definitely was what my budget would call an "investment piece", but I figured that if it helped me to keep my food storage from going bad, it was worth the money. Plus, I waited until they had a sale, and I got a really good deal on it. They do have sales from time to time, so I would advise that you check with them often.

There are other companies who sell "first-in, first-out" can rotation devices. If you want to shop around then I would suggest searching the internet for "food storage racks" or "food can racks". I cannot vouch for this particular item because I have not tried it personally, but there is a site that has plans to build your own -- great if the ready-made rack is cost prohibitive for now. (I would love to know about anyone's experience with this.)

Whichever option is best for you, there is organizational help for food storage out there!