Where do I keep my food storage? Behind a false wall

Image source:  IKEA.com

Can you see the food storage in the photo above?  

No you can't?

Good, that is the whole idea.  Your food storage is organized and out of sight behind a false wall. 


(okay there really isn't any food storage behind that exact false wall, but there will be when you build it.)


Hiding food storage behind a false wall is a great idea for those that have no traditional place to put it.  If you live in an apartment, a home with no basement, or if you just have limited existing storage space than a false wall might be just the solution for you.

My favorite way to build a false wall comes from IKEA.

Do you like IKEA?  I do.  They are cleaver and they use space well.  

I have watched the video below like a hundred times.  It shows how to build a walk in closet from readymade IKEA shelving.  Now if you can use your imagination for a minute and think about how instead of installing racks to hang your clothes on think about shelves to store your food storage on.  I think you will love this idea. 

If we use the ideas in this video and apply it to food storage than you can have; a false wall with shelving for your food storage all built on a limited budget and built in an afternoon.   AWESOME!

I think this would work so well in a guest bedroom or what about in a family room.  Instead of using the exposed side as a headboard you could tuck an entertainment center in there.  

Where will you put it?  

Winner Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the Cansolidator giveaway.

The winner is...

Jennifer Lane. 

Jennifer you have 48 hours to claim your prize. 
E-mail me at heather@teamshelfreliance.com
 

Apfel Strudle--Pastry for dinner these are my kind of people

 Do you store apples in your food storage?  Real fresh apples?  If not it is time to start!  

If you are new to root cellaring produce for the winter, than apples are great places to start.  Everyone likes them and you can make delicious treats out of them.  

 source: GimmeFood :)

 This fall I thought 3 boxes of apples was enough to last my family through the fall and early winter.  We have already eaten through 1 ½ boxes and I haven’t even made any apple sauce.  I guess I’ll need to find more apples to add to my food storage. 

I store my apples in my cold storage but they can also be successfully kept in a garage, root cellar, or any other cool area of your home. 

My sister spent time as a foreign exchange student in Germany.  While she was there the Grandmother of the family made many traditional foods.  Apfel strudel was one of her favorites and she brought this home to share with our family. 

I call it by the German Apfel instead of the English Apple because this is NOT a frosting covered pastry you find at the doughnut counter.  It is a slightly sweet apple filled pastry.  It is served as a main dish along with a green salad and a vegetable it is dinner. 

Over the years one of the major problems we have had when making this has been that all the juices leek out and burn.  

Don’t you hate that?

This year when I told my sister I wanted to make it she said

“Why don’t we add some sour cream powder, I bet that will keep the juices in”

So we tried it and it worked great! Isn't she cleaver?

Apfel Strudel 

Printable Recipe
 
Dough:

2 1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened

½ cup milk, at room temperature

Filling:

2 tablespoons soft butter

¼ cup sour cream powder

1/8 cup Currants (optional but delicious)

1 cup brown sugar, divided

6 large apples, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to the lowest temperature about  125 degrees, than turn oven off.

Mix flour and salt, form into a well and add butter and milk.  Mix well until combine.  Knead the dough until elastic, and smooth.  Form into a ball.   Place dough in a greased oven safe bowl.  Allow to rest in the oven for 30 minutes. 

 Remove from the oven.  Divide the dough in half.  Place half the dough on a piece of parchment and roll out.  The dough should be soft and easy to work with.  Roll it until it fills a cookie sheet size piece of parchment.  Spread dough with melted butter.  

Place apples, currents, brown sugar and sour cream powder in a bowl. Toss to combine.   Pile ½ the apple mixture down the center of the dough.

Fold the edges (all 4 edges need to be folded up) of the dough up meeting in the middle.   Brush the crust with melted butter. 

Repeat process with the second half of the dough.

Bake 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.    

Where Do I Put My Food Storage? C’s Cleaver Use of Space

Sometimes when I look at photos of other peoples food storage I sigh and think “but I don’t have a pantry/root cellar/storage room”  (okay I do really have a storage room but no pantry)I could never do something like that.   That is why I love this idea.  Everyone has some kind of space and with a little ingenuity you can use the space more effectively.

Side Note: You might have noticed that at the end of each of the "Where do I put my food storage" posts there is a form you can fill out to share your photos or ideas.  C from A Matter of Preparedness shared her some of her great ideas. I'd love it if you would share your ideas too.

C repackages her food storage staples from number 10 cans into these plastic  containers (which are gallon sized so hold the same amount) .  By doing this she was able to fit considerably more items on her shelf.  

Take a look--her pantry now holds more than TWICE as much!

Now she can 16 containers on the same shelf that previously held 7 number 10 cans.  WOW!.   This is due to the fact that the containers that she is using are taller and skinnier and SQUARE thus using the space more effectively.  Because they are square she is able to lay them on the side and stack them.  I love square containers they are an efficient use of space.   The containers she uses are from Alison’s Pantry, ($10.99 for 4) I love how she labeled the top of each one so she can easily tell what is what.

Take a look at the entire pantry. 

C has also been busy organizing her freezer.   I think we have all been frustrated when we open the freezer and can’t find what we are looking for.  C has containerized and labeled everything. 

This makes it much easier to find what she is looking for and to see what she needs to stock up on.  I really like having an organized freezer because than when you find a great deal on something like chicken or beef you know if you have room for it and if you need it or not.  

Thanks for Sharing C!  If you have a great idea on where you store your food storage please share it with us! We’d love to see your pantry, freezer, cold storage, root cellar, or anywhere else you store food.