Food rotation is one of those important things to keep in mind when storing food. Sure, a 15-gallon drum of rice will last virtually forever (if my Y2k stash is anything to go by), but it’s probably a good idea to rotate through whatever you store every few years.
When it comes to canned goods, there are zillions of can ‘rotation shelves’, ‘organizer shelves’, and other can distributors. I had a can organizer that I bought years ago when they were up at CostCo. It has served well for a number of years but, as of late, I’ve kinda ramped up the inventory of canned goods. This means I need to have more cans positioned so that the oldest ones get used up first. So, it was time to expand on the modular can organizer.
First step, clear off a run of shelving:
Next step is to unbox these guys:
Grab a couple cans off the shelf to make sure the spacing is correct, and start assembling. The whole thing snaps together like Lego so…no muss, no fuss.
Finish assembly, slide into shelf, and start adding cans…oldest go in first:
I then ran a second row across the shelf next to it, but since it’s pretty much identical to this one there’s no point in documenting that.
Now, yeah, you can buy some cheaper units. And, if your even halfway talented with a saw and a hammer you can fab up something on your own. However, what I was after was modularity.This unit can be configured for variable width to accommodate different size cans, they can be linked together to form one long continuous run, and, very conveniently, they seamlessly integrated with the existing unit I had which was about 15 years old. So…very backwards compatible, which is nice.
You can order of Amazon if you’re so inclined.
Given how much I’m spending these days on beefing(!) up the food storage, the last thing I need is to waste money on cans of food getting shoved into a dark corner, being discovered years later, and having to be discarded because they should have been used up years earlier.
How’s your short- to mid-term food storage coming along? I’m feeling pretty good with what I have so far. I need to fine tune a few ‘luxury’ items I want but….starve to death? Not a chance. However, for practicality’s sake, it would be nice to take about half of this and move it to the Beta Site.
I’ve had that exact can organizer in my wishlist for a while now. The only issue is that my pantry shelves are exactly 16″ deep and the unit is 16.5″ deep. I’ve been trying to decide how badly that 1/2″ of extra depth sticking out will bother me every time I walk into the pantry. I’m a stickler for details like that. I should probably just bite the bullet and get it…
Looks like an nice system – I’ve been planning a homespun version of that for a while, but I think your point on modularity ‘trumps’ my leftover 2x4s. Are you at all concerned about it being made of plastic?
Well, the firts one of these I have has lasted 15 years, as I said, so…no.
CDR, sorry for hitting this again, but have you tried stacking these units on top of one another? Description says you can, but curious how stable it is?
Many thanks!
I have not simply because I dont want to narrow (so to speak) my choices when it comes to shelf distancing. In other words, I prefer lots of smaller shelves than one larger shelf.
Thanks! Just ordered 2 units on your recommendation. They should give you a commission.
Indeed. And I am grateful!
Fortunately, I have an automatic foodstuff’s organizer – a wife, who’s much more organized than I! 🙂
As for the state of our stores: long-term is squared away, but the recent lock down exposed flaws in our short-term supplies – especially various condiments and veggies. The condiments were easy, and we’ve used frozen veggies to fill the gap. Still, we need to garden more. But, because of our climate we probably need something like a hoop house to extend our season. Always something to do…
Nice, but I’m too d*mn CHEAP! I use the “start at the upper right and move back till the end, then left to the next row till done. Then start on the next flat down (I usually buy everything in complete flats and wait till one is done to buy its replacement). Meh… Works for me!
Regards.
Since I transitioned from storing food to using food, it became time to reorganize my shelves and relocate most of the stores to somewhere more convenient to the kitchen. (my storage conditions are bad, really bad, but I just accept that I’ll have losses and deal with it)
I have a very similar system from FIFO that I hadn’t installed because it’s bulky compared to just stacking flats of cans. I finally installed it and then ordered more for the system. I’ve got about 6ft of it and I like it alot.
My shelves are deep enough that I’ve been stacking the canned meat behind the organizer. I can get to that space from the end of the shelving run, and from the other end. I do have some items that I can’t load into the organizer, so I still have flats of cans, and I have slots that aren’t filled completely so it’s not super space efficient. It is very convenient and easily lets my spouse pick something if she wants, without venturing into the back of the garage. That alone is a plus.
WRT the secondary location, I moved everything home when it looked like there might be serious travel restrictions. I’m just about to the point of moving some stuff, bulk buckets mainly, back. I don’t like having everything in one place and it looks like we won’t be locked in anytime soon.
We’ve barely touched storage food, as I’ve been able to get food drops from Costco and our local grocery chain thru Instacart. The order is never complete, or exactly what I’d have picked, but dealing with one person vs a store full is worth the costs and annoyances.
nick
Amazon is the enemy.
Whatever you say, pal.
I think he means Bezos is the enemy.
Perhaps. You’d think if someone was going to make a blanket statement like “Amazon is the enemy” they might actually state WHY they think that. Kinda silly to think that I’m suddenly going to cancel my Amazon Prime account because someone I never heard of said “Amazon is the enemy” and then didn’t follow it up with any actual reasons. Like Im supposed to suddenly change something in my life because someone randomly said “thats bad”.
You mean like the constant drumbeat of “Orange Man Bad” ? Although the idiots verbalizing it can’t summon up enough critical thinking to explain why?
Regards
Is there any risk to storing cans on their sides? Liquid inside will be in contact with the top lid when stored that way. I wonder if it might cause the seal to lose its integrity over time, resulting in a leak or compromised seal allowing in microbes. I cant find an answer. I figure the cans are lined to deter internal corrosion but the lid seems to be the weak point.
Been using those exact FIFO racks for years; mine total 600 can capacity. It’d be nice if they were cheaper all good FIFO food storage systems are spendy), but you get what you pay for, and I’ve not found anything else that offers the can size adjustability those do – large beef stew cans down to tuna cans, and everything in between.
Storage, especially organized storage, and especially organized and easily usable storage, is an ongoing challenge. If you’re sure you have it, but can’t find it – quickly – it’s worse than not having it because buying the one (or two, or three) that you can’t find consumed money that could have been invested elsewhere.
I keep telling myself I need something like this. And then I look at the price. $40 — the current price on the Amazon link — will buy a LOT of canned goods.
What is needed is a well-designed DIY plywood and 2×4 system. Something that combines the virtues of a FIFO system with the efficiency of a sturdy bookshelf-sized unit made out of cheap construction lumber. Say 30-36″ wide and 18-24″ deep, about 6-7′ tall?
Far cheaper than multiple $40 racks placed on a shelf that itself costs at least $40 or more, and which likely wastes lots of space.
In the meantime, my cheap-ass deep storage system remains milk-crates. 48 cans per 6-gallon crate, can be stacked as high as you can reach. And only a few dollars each at the industrial surplus store. You can even get brand new ones for about $12 each.
If you can find the type with the steel reinforcement band around the top, they can be stacked on their sides in bookshelf fashion. Not as space efficient as stacking vertically, but much easier to access. Add a layer of thin plywood or even heavy cardboard on the bottom to keep cans level.
As a bonus, if you think you may need to evacuate, they can be repacked for maximum efficiency in minutes, and then quickly stacked in the back of a pickup or van
I hadn’t considered milk crates. They aren’t as widely available as they were in my misspent youth…
n