Food Storage Rotation Ideas

Rotating Food Storage

Rotation your food storage is crutial to matain food freshness. If our food storage is not rotated then food will spoil and precious finacial resources will be lost. Here are some ideas to help you to learn to rotate your food storage. Remember only store what your family eats so you are using your food storage daily. Choose your own methods of rotating so that you use the older items first.
*The best way to rotate it is to use it.

*While using it, the best ways to rotate are simply to stock towards the back.

*Use an inventory spreadsheet that has the dates of each thing included.

 *Devise a recipe plan for the week so you can plan to incorporate your food storage into your meals.
 Keep a complete inventory of your food storage on the side of my fridge. Any time you use an item from your list,  put a little mark beside the item to indicate you need to purchase one more of that item. When you do your grocery shopping, check your food storage chart to see what you have used and add that to your list.
*Always date everything-even if it has a date on it with a permanent marker. Do not write it on paper labels as the labels may come off. Marking the date is the best way to make sure you use the oldest items first.

1.Pray the Lord's help in preserving food from damage. Pest, flood_thieves breaking in, ect.
2.Learn about shelf life for certain foods, beans, wheat and barley vs canned tomatoes and powdered milk.
3.Mark/date pkgs., cans, each and every item with permanent marker.
4.Giving thanks for the keeping: ROTATE AND USE.

*Keep your food storage in a cool, dark place to extend the shelf life.Sugar, beans and whole grain will last indefinitely if stored this way.

*Dried foods that are past thier expiration date may still be useable. Dried milk may taste funny after 3 years but it can be used in baked products. Pinto beans will go hard after 10 years but they can then be ground into wonderful bean flours with many uses.


1. Label the tops of all your #10 cans with an abbreviation of what is in the can and the date. That way when you look in the top of the box, you can easily pull out the item you want, without picking up 5-6 cans at a time.

2. On the outside of the box, make six check boxes, and when you take a can out, check off one of the boxes so you can easily know from looking on the outside how many cans are in each box.

3. Unless you absolutely have to, do not mix up your items, carrots and rice in a box, wheat and oats in the same box. Etc. Keep all items in order with date and put newest in the back or bottom, and oldest up front. It is too hard to look through every box for the can of oats that is the oldest.

4. Alphabetize. I have everything in order from A-Z. As neatly stacked as possible.

5. Write it down,  when you use an item, keep a list handy in your storage room, or on fridge to write down what you used or took out of your supplies. Then replace it the next time you go shopping.

6. Store essentials first, then make a menu and add to your family’s tastes, and nutritional needs. Get your grains and essentials first, then add canned fruits, Veggies, meats, etc.

7. Store a few treats, puddings, cakes, etc. for the children. They will need a birthday cake and candles! These things can be easily rotated.

If we serve 2 to 3 meals each week using food storage, we will completely rotate our food storage every 2 to 3 years, we will save money on store bought foods, and our families will be healthier.

D&C 89:14,16, 17 then 18-20.(if you eat the wheat, you are promised health, wisdom, knowledge, treasures and the destroying angel will pass you by). Hard to beat that deal the Lord has offered us!

Hint: If you grind red wheat on the right setting and boil it, it's the exact same thing as "Zoom" or "Ralston" wheat cereals. It makes a great breakfast that tastes good (especially with a little brown sugar) and really lasts you. It's an extremely cheap and efficient breakfast.

Hint: A pressure cooker is an awesome thing for beans, if you can get one.

*Before rotating food storage items, it is imperative to have or make an inventory of food on hand. For many years I thought I had a year supply. When I finally got around to making a complete inventory, I discovered that I was way off in my guestimate. After making my inventory, I used a suggestion we've all heard before _ make a simple two-week menus, then figure how much food is needed. Make two lists, one food items and the other non-food items.
*Allow your food storage to bless the lives of others before it goes bad. The portion that doesn't get rotated and is about to expire can be donated to food kitchens and other various charities.

Here is a free on-line food storage tracking system.
http://www.trackmyfoodstorage.com/