I just swapped out my MRE supply. It's a 7 day supply, not too bulky. I rotate them on 36 month basis and I've decided I want to up the cycle time to at least 48 months, if not 60 months. Cooler storage = more shelf life. I know that.
Here's the problem. I really don't have a "cool dry place" to store them. My woodstove is in the basement, which is wonderful, but the basement is 75+ degrees all winter long. My attic is cool and dry in the winter, but an inferno in the summer (130+ degrees). My garage is too hot and too cold no matter what time of year. I don't really want to spend the time hauling from place to place, I have a small house and allocating space is a big issue.
We are seriously thinking of digging a "root closet" directly out from my basement under the garage slab (garage is attached) - but I'm wondering if I'm missing some obvious ideas here. Can't involve electricity.
Way back in the late '70s, my Christian Service Brigade leader took us on camping trips where we used dairy milk cans buried in the ground in the shade. In the middle of summer, the butter and milk stored quite well. You could consider something similar like a large ammo can (think mortar shell cans). MREs are wrapped in heavy plastic in the first place so moisture conditions shouldn't be much a problem. You could bury this under a exterior stair perhaps or create a buried box in the shade someplace. Then cover the hole with a plywood cover and a chunk of sod to conceal it.
Previous Topic
Index
