Best Can Storage Racks For The Disorganized Pantry

When it comes to storing survival food, things can get cluttered fast.

Stacking cans of food on the ground or using cardboard boxes or plastic crates is a disorganized mess.

Not only does it look terrible and take up lots of space, but it can also compromise your food supplies.

Because good organization practices are crucial to avoiding food expiration dates!

How can you expect to make it through any emergency if all your canned foods make you sick?

You won’t.

Sure, you can invest in the best survival gear money can buy. And amass a stockpile of survival food to make a doomsday prepper jealous.

But it won’t help in an emergency. It’s in a messy, unorganized heap.

That’s why it’s so important to organize all your emergency backup resources.

Canned foods have been a survival food staple for decades. Why? Because canned food is shelf-stable, it lasts a long time. Plus, canned meats and veggies are nutritious and calorie-dense.

AND canned food is a relatively cheap calorie to invest in.

But canned goods at scale take up a lot of space, especially when stocking up for an emergency.

The solution? Can Storage Racks.

Can storage racks are an easy, cost-effective, organizational method for storing many canned goods in a small space.

That’s why today I’m going to share everything I know about can storage racks, specifically:

• 4 Reasons Why YOU Need Some Can Storage Racks

• The Wisdom Behind The “First In-First Out” Strategy

• Best Can Storage Racks On The Market Today

• How To Track Canned Food Expiration Dates

Note: Click here to see our top can storage rack recommendations.

4 Reasons Why YOU Need Can Storage Racks

Obviously, keeping your pantry well organized is the top reason to use a can storage rack system.

But it certainly isn’t the only one:

1. Can Storage Racks Keep Cans Off The Ground

Keeping your food off the ground is a basic rule of storing food – even if it’s in a can.

Vermin, floods, and accidents can compromise your survival supplies down there. Keeping food off the floor helps to keep it dry, and vermin are less likely to create their own private hidden snack bar.

2. Can Storage Racks Make Organization A Breeze
Most can storage racks allow you to check “expiration dates easily.” And they also give you a quick visual reference for how much food you have left.

You won’t overlook the fact that you’re running out of green beans or canned corn. And thus, you can restock well before you run out.

Plus, if you decide to get a “First In First Out” (FIFO) racking system, you’ll consume the oldest cans first (more on FIFO can storage below).

3. Racked Food Is Safer For Everyone
Keeping your cans on racks ensures they’re out of the way and not creating trip hazards.

Everything on the floor can become a serious trip hazard. And if your cans are carelessly placed on a high shelf, they can also make for a falling hazard.

But if they are on a rack engineered to hold them right, they are safe and sound (and so are you).

4. More Cans Per Pantry – Even Tiny Ones
This hearkens back to “good organization practices.” With a canned goods storage rack, you can fit more cans in the pantry than if you pile them up randomly.

More food inventory per square foot is an easy win.

This can also free up space in your storage areas to fit more key food supplies besides cans (like sacks of rice and beans).

The Wisdom Behind The “First-In First-out” Strategy

One of the most frustrating and wasteful experiences is discovering mid-emergency your food stockpile has gone bad. And while “expiration dates” and “best by dates” are a myth (especially with canned goods), they will eventually go bad.

That’s where a stockpiling rotation strategy comes in. To stockpile food for a future emergency, you must rotate all your foods. And yes, this includes canned foods.

So to protect your food investment, we recommend FIFO can storage racks.

First In, First Out racks are designed to use older cans first but also allow you to add newer cans without reorganizing everything.

With regular can food storage racks, when you add new canned goods to the front of the rack, older cans get left stuck in the back. These often get forgotten about and get older by the day.

FIFO storage racks can fix this age-old problem.

They’re designed to add new cans to an upper row while old cans are removed from a lower row. So as you remove cans, the entire inventory shifts to present the oldest can for use first.

Stockpile rotation is built into the design!

If you’re getting prepared and have a choice between 2 can food storage racks system, always choose the FIFO rack.

Best Can Storage Racks On The Market Today

Here’s the deal, nowadays, there’s an overwhelming number of can storage racks choices on the market.

Some are big, some are small, some are heavy, and some are light.

But no matter the style you prefer, you should figure out ahead of time how much food you want to store before you buy.

Then once you have your goal number, it’s time to go shopping. Here’s a list of the best can storage racks we like the most:

1. Our Top Pick

FIFO Can Tracker Stores 54 Cans

These FIFO Store Racks are my favorite when it comes to can food storage.

This one can hold up to 54 cans of food, and it's light at only 4 pounds, 15 ounces.

The only downsides are:

• Plastic racks are more susceptible to damage
• And it won't stack as well as some other options

But it's one of the only FIFO can storage systems on this list! 

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Watch this short video review to see how these will work for you:

2. Our Budget Friendly Choice

DecoBros Supreme Stackable Can Rack Organizer

These DecoBros Stackable Racks are very popular for several reasons.

First, you can buy as many as you need or as many as you can fit and simply stack them one on top of one another.

Each rack can hold up to 36 cans, and the rack is built so that when you pull one can out and the next rolls in to replace it.

It’s made from heavy gauge stainless steel. So this device is durable and requires minimal set-up. And at 6.2 pounds, it’s the lightest; most compact can storage rack on this list.

All that, in combination with the affordability of this rack, makes it one of your best options.

However, the biggest CON is it’s NOT a FIFO rack.

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3.

FIFO Cansolidator Pantry Plus Organizer

With this Pantry Can Organizer, you can build your perfect organized pantry in one step.

THIS is a First in, First out (FIFO) system, so you'll avoid those expiration date blues... and NOTHING will get lost or go bad.

Store, rotate, and organize up to 60 stacked cans that are 4” in diameter or less. Attach more Cansolidator food container systems on top of one another or side by side to increase your storage.

Here's what a couple of reviewers had to say:

• I loved it; my cupboard is more organized and tidy. I Know which one to pull out and use without having to check through the expiry dates.
• Our 2nd purchase of this storage 1st in-1st out system. Contrary to reports, it was easy to assemble and adjust to different can sizes. Units can be conjoined side to side if you have long shelves or stacked one atop another.

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Video Review Of These Racks:

4.

SimpleHouseware Stackable Can Rack Organizer

This canned goods storage rack can store up to 36 cans.

One nice feature of this rack is it includes 6 adjustable dividers to accommodate different can sizes.

It's a sturdy rack once assembled and has a chrome finish to prevent rusting.

Again, this one is not FIFO either so you have to remove older cans in order to place new cans behind it - except for the top shelf, of course.

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5.

Organize It All Deluxe 3 Tier Storage Rack

These racks are small and simple but effective. They have a slanted design to ensure the cans will roll to the front of the rack when you remove one.

It includes small rubber stoppers at the feet of the rack to prevent slipping.

The biggest downside to this rack system is it's not first in first out unless you have access to the backside of the rack.

So if that's important to your canned food stockpiling plan, pass on this rack and get a FIFO one instead.

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6.

Can Rack 200 Food Storage Organizer

The biggest option on this list, this can rack storage system can hold up to 200 cans at one time!

It's designed with adjustable spacers to fit different sizes of cans.

The FIFO Can Rack is made with a “first-in, first-out” system which again, allows you to easily rotate through your older cans first.

It's even stackable!

So if you’ve got the space, place one of these units on top of another to increase your can storage capacity to 400 cans!

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Here’s a video review of the FIFO Can Rack 72 (which is a slightly smaller version of this same can rack storage system):

How To Track Canned Food Expiration Dates

Honestly, there isn’t much in the way of maintenance when it comes can storage racks.

They don’t have any moving parts, so you don’t have to worry about changing out the oil, or charging batteries.

What is helpful, though, is to keep a log of what you have, what you need, and when your food will go bad.

I recommend this for all survival food storage spaces:

You should keep a clipboard hanging in your pantry or even on the can storage rack itself. That way, you can keep track of what you bought, when you bought it, and when it will expire.

This is an easy way to make sure your supplies remain fresh. It’s also the best method for ensuring you never run out.

This method makes quick work of restocking your canned goods cache.

Thus, you’ll avoid letting your precious foods expire and running out in an emergency. And by keeping an accurate inventory, you’ll prevent overstocking on too much of one food category.

Sure, creamed corn is good, but you don’t want to accidentally end up with 1000 cans of it.

If you do, you’ll be on a strict cream corn diet in an emergency, which will get very old fast.

Final Thoughts

Maintaining a healthy supply of canned goods is a wise step toward prepping basics. But it won’t do you much good if your can cache remains chaotic.

Buying a can storage rack is vital to any food storage system.

• It offers you a compact way to store cans in a small space.
• It makes it easy to track what you have and when it expires.
• And it grants you fast access to the food you need when you need it fast.

You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for an industrial-kitchen-sized can rack. A smaller, stackable setup will work just fine.

But it’s critical to have the proper can storage racks to protect your canned good for years to come.

I hear many stories from our readers about how they forgot about their canned goods, and now they’re decades old. They as me if they can still trust them and worry whether they are edible.

The good news is you can avoid this fate with good organizational practices. And that starts by investing in high-quality can storage racks.

Will Brendza

P.s. Are you ready for the tough times ahead?

Find out now by taking my short Readiness Score Quiz - it’s absolutely free. Once complete, you’ll know exactly where you stand on the “fragile” vs.” resilient” spectrum.

So click here to start the Quiz….And don’t worry; the questions are so easy a 3rd grader could answer them. Click on the image to begin the Quiz and find out once and for all if you're part of “The Fragile Masses” or “The Resilient Few.”

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