Originally Posted by bellson
Just to add some spice to this thread.
I bought a bunch of the Gamma lids back in 1998-1999. I stored Rice, Beans, spices, etc. in them with the gamma lids. The rice and beans were just left in the 5-10 lb. bags that they came in. The spices were vacuum sealed using a kitchen vacuum unit. Into the pails in 1998-1999 it all went, then into the garage (S. Cal, so never gets over 80f.).
We just finished the last of the rice (we opened these in 2010, so 11 years old by that point), and compared the rice, beans, spices, etc. to "fresh" product. No difference in taste, texture, etc. I think that age helps some beans, like pintos and peas. Just to head everyone off, no O2 absorbers either.
So, the exculpatory statement "This was in So. Cal., the temp and humidity is not that bad here. Your results may differ".
I have decided to keep random gear like batteries and the like in these round 5 gal buckets w/ gamma lids, and move the long term food like rice, beans, etc over to the square buckets. I also plan to buy extra square lids just in case so that the buckets could be re-used if needed. The squares do store in about 25-30% less space, and the bags that you buy the grain in fit pretty good.
I am also moving toward the Whole Nutrition bucketing system, where you pack a bucket with say, rice, beans, canned meats, powdered eggs, oatmeal, vitamins, etc. The idea is that one bucket will last one week for a family of 5. That is just 50% over starvation rations, so about 1800 calories a day. But with little activity, it will suffice. As time goes on, I will add to it to improve the diet to 3600 per day. The initial plan is 2 months, and then extending to 6 months, etc. My biggest fear is water. 1/2 gallon per day is the target, per person, so 2.5 gallons per day, 90 gallons per month. Again, near starvation levels.
Sadly, the recent demise of my sister has provided a monetary boost to assist me in getting things back on track. The sadness is that I would trade it all away for another 10 minutes with her. Even if I had won the big lotto, I would trade that as well. Take a minute, all of you who read this to think on this...And take a few minutes more to tell all of your family and friends how much you love them, and how much you care. Life is too short. Leave nothing unsaid. Leave nothing undone.
I want to give a special shout-out to those who bought stuff from me in the past few months. Because of your kindness, I was able to be with my sister for a day before she passed, and we had a good talk. I am not able to do much right now, but all of you have a chip from me that you can cash at some point in the future if you have need. Thank you.
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