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 just ends up as 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 key 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 its 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 so 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 you’re stocking up for an emergency.
The solution? Can Storage Racks.
Can storage racks are an easy, cost-effective, organizational method for storing a lot of canned goods in a small space.
That’s why today I’m going to share everything I know about can storage racks, specifically:
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4 Reasons Why YOU Need Some Can Storage Racks
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The Wisdom Behind The “First In-First Out” Strategy
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Best Can Storage Racks On The Market Today
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How To Track Canned Food Expiration Dates
Note: Click here to see our top can storage rack recommendations.
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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 easily check “expiration dates“. 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 stored 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 make for a falling hazard as well.
But if they are on a rack that’s 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 just pile them up randomly.
More food inventory per square foot is an easy win.
This can also free you up to 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. If you plan to stockpile a lot of food for a future emergency, you have to 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 having to reorganize 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 can storage racks fix this age-old problem.
They’re designed so new cans are added 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!
Seriously, if you’re getting prepared and have a choice between 2 can food storage racks system. Always choose the FIFO rack every time.
As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We're Giving Away Our #78 Item Complete Prepper Checklist. Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.
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 and 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:
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!
Watch this short video review to see how these will work for you:
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 if you don’t want to accidentally end up with 1000 cans of it.
If you do, you’re going to be on a strict cream corn diet in an emergency and that’ll get very old, very 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 a chaotic mess.
That’s why buying a can storage rack is a vital part of any food storage system.
- It offers you a compact way to store cans in a small space.
- It makes it easy to keep track of 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 so 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 still good or not.
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
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