Repurposing Non-Food-Grade Buckets for Food Storage
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Can you use kitty litter or laundry soap buckets to safely store your food? Repurposing non-food-grade buckets will work just fine IF you provide a protective lining between the food and the container.
In this video, we share some helpful tips to safely use repurposed containers to increase the shelf life of your dry goods.
*Wallaby Mylar bags bit.ly/3ga2au8 Use the promo code PROVIDENT5 for $5 off (my favorite if they have the sizes you need)
*Pack Fresh USA amzn.to/2YSO5MA (these come in a variety of sizes and we have had great success with them).
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To learn more about how to package food storage at home visit:
How to Package Dry Foods in Mylar Bags for Long Term Storage
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I cut up a old bunk bed set and made shelves for my food storage pantry
I'm so glad you went over this! My neighbor out 10 kitty litter buckets for bulk trash. I grabbed them and washed them out hoping they'd be good food storage buckets!
We use these liter buckets to store our 72 hour kits down in the basement. Keeps the moisture, dust and critters out and has a handle for an easy grap. They stack amazingly well too. We also use these to collect manure from a nearby farm to keep our van clean and they carry easily out back to our garden. I use them for collecting weeds and carrying garden tools and storing garden gloves. We label them on the shelves and store items in the workroom like ropes, tape, paint sticks, etc. These have amazing uses in spite of being non food grade. I couldn't believe I'd spent so many years placing them out for recycling.
I wash my litter bucket out with a mild detergent. Then I set them in the sunlight outside for a bit to help with the smells. Also just sitting it outside in the rain ,as long as it's emptied regularly, works great for cleaning out that smell. The little buckets are a great free resource for us as we have cats. Also they are square and stack neatly.
I use these buckets for the animal food. I also use them to store things in the shed. Clothing, blankets. but wondered about human food. Thanks for the infp
Reusing the kitty litter buckets is also a fantastic idea .... it is a great "Hiding Place" for your essentials in case you ever have a home invasion. Don't think "robbers" will want to steal your "kitty litter".....LOL 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Dog food buckets are nice too
Thanks for the tips .
Those kitty litter buckets are handy! We NEVER toss them out! 👍🏻. Side note, I’m sure you are aware but perhaps someone else reading this might not know this, brown sugar is simply white sugar with molasses in it. Because you can store both of those ingredients long term you can mix some up if needed and simple store the ingredients. Versatility is an added benefit 😉
WG FROM THE BRONX HELLO 👋 EVERYBODY:: Well Thank you guys for clear some ideas for me..👍
I've used the cat litter buckets as planters, we drill holes in the bottom and now my pepper plants have a home :)
we have been lining our kitty litter containers with aluminum foil or using a 5 gallon mylar bag- (not sealed) - we then load the mylar bag(just roll the top down) or foil containers with our food that are in food saver bags - this way we can reuse the mylar bag-it is just a barrier for the kitty litter scents -we also store things in smaller sizes because there is just 2 of us - so they fit great
started doing this during covid= had a very hard time getting the food safe buckets- but we had a bunch of kitty litter containers- always saved for mixing dirt and fertilizer for the garden- save about 12 between fall and covid outbreak- glad I kept them
Wow..now to find someone who uses that litter
Rodents can chew through tidy cats baskets to. I had one with birdseed in it on porch and it had a hole chewed in It. So keep a check on them.
I buy laundry soap at Sam's. The empty bucket is perfect for storing jars of food in. When I run out of space on shelves, in the bucket. Then stack them on top of each other. So many uses for the buckets.
I have lots of cat litterr buckets and I often wondered if I could use those. I'm so glad you brought this up. I am blessed with lots of food storage buckets now. Love your Channel.
Glad I stumbled onto this because the mylar bags stored inside my kitty litter buckets is exactly what I have been planning to do, but could not find good information until now. Thank you! Now I can move forward with my plans!
Before I learned about air absorbers & mylar bags, I repurposed kitty litter pails, non-food items like crafts, put liquid in their original bottles (oil or apple cider vinegar, etc. Gotta love handles). Then we got chickens! :) For chickens we modified buckets (line of buckets with 2x4 scrape board) used as nests. All kitty pails were cleaned out soap water, then used white vinegar, dry. (The vinegar got rid of the smell of the original contents.)
I brought home a bunch (10-15) of those yellow ones from a friend’s place out of state. Then I held an emergency kit (earthquake, power outages) making party for my friends. Those things are bright yellow, so very easy to spot with a flashlight 🔦 wherever you stashed them. Because they are square they easily stashed/stack into the corners of closets, (I have 6 stashed 2 high x 3 deep in between a writing desk & wall corner covered with a neutral color old blanket - nobody notices them), & bonus is because they previously held 35 lbs of kitty litter they are strong. Next project is to make a harness for a spare & rig up some sort of pulley system to raise groceries to my 3rd floor unit in the event of a prolonged power outage.
Love your ideas! Genius! I used my litter buckets for everything!
Thanks for the idea! I have them piling up in my hallway and don't know what to do with them!
In the five gallon buckets for example there is 4-6 inches of wasted 5 gallon mylar bag. I fold it down to check amount of excess beyond that needed to seal the top, and cut it off and cut into reusable sizes for smaller things, like my dried herbs and saved seeds. When without a helper I use the black metal heavier file clips from my office to temporarily hold the bags closed while sealing them. I will seal about 2/3rds of the large bag tops before putting in an oxygen absorber and squeezing out excess air.
Kitty litter can be high in lead and other heavy metals. Even if the buckets were labeled food safe, I would not be comfortable with using them.
Great question! Thanks for addressing this!
I get food grade buckets from Rosauers Bakery
So here’s my thought on something not to put in a perfumy litter bucket, and that would be soda crackers. I say this because at one time I had soda crackers too close to some boxes of dryer sheets and the soda crackers absorbed the perfumy dryer sheet smells and the crackers tasted terrible!
I don’t know if washing would 100% eliminate the smell of the litter, but consider that when deciding what would be a good candidate for the bucket.
Cardboard boxes. I use cut open and sliced to fit cardboard boxes (usually leftover after we move) to line the wire shelving in our pantry. It's not the prettiest solution, but it's definitely budget friendly :D The last time we moved I decided to leave the boxes whole to help stop my canned goods from "migrating". I have a really low tech storage system and sometimes my diced tomatoes try to shift over into the black beans. The cardboard boxes help avoid that.
I use Lowe’s bucket because they are dark and block even more light. I personally wait until my Mylar filled bags get hard to make sure the oxygen absorbers worked correctly before adding to bucket. I personally think Mylar in smaller 1 gallon bags are way better than food grade 5 gallon bucks without mylar. Thanks for sharing great channel.
I saved five gallons of soup for a whole year in one of these
I repurpose them for growing container gardens.
I’ve been growing in mine too 👍
About kitty litter..... I care for a LOT of cats--I basically run a rescue/foster organization--which means I go through litter by the truckload. I've discovered hardwood barbecue/heater pellets to be a much cheaper option that performs better than cat litter. A 40 pound bag is $5.49 at Lowes. The pellets are easy to scoop solids out of, and they break down into sawdust as they get peed on, which makes knowing when the box needs changing much easier to determine. Only use the pellets that are 100% compressed hardwood sawdust (no additives!) so theyre way less dusty and have a really natural clean woodsy scent. I swear by them.
Great use for those non-food grade buckets!
I have pried the top off of Tidy cat buckets and will drill drainage holes to use for planting.
My concern is that the plastic is not food safe so what do you think I could line them with so soil is not in direct contact?
Question for PP or anyone: For dry goods that come in their own boxes or bags, is there any advantage/disadvantage of storing several in mylar bags STILL in those packages? I'm thinking for single folks or couples who eat less, removing one smaller sealed package, then resealing the rest in the big mylar bag [with a fresh O2 absorber] seems more sensible than having a big bulk container of food.
Thanks for the info! I've used them to collect and store rain water off of my roof for watering the garden during drought. I open the lid when it rains & then close it. However, the plastic breaks down in the sun after a few years so it's probably not UV resistant. I've also used them to grow garden plants or store potting soil. I've been wondering if they were good for food storage and really need something after getting a freeze dryer. Now I know it's possible. I have quite a few on hand!
I repurpose all kitty litter plastic containers. The green jugs I’ll sterilize and store water. Those boxes are great for packaged goods.
I clean, air dry and save those large, plastic, Ocean Spray cranberry juice bottles and their caps and then fill the bottles with either granulated cane sugar or dollar store Himalayan pink salt. For bottle labels, I cut out the label from the product's original paper bag or plastic pouch and use clear mover's tape to attach to the juice bottle. I use a Sharpie marker to write "salt" or "cane sugar" on the bottle caps too. I like how tightly those rectangular juice bottles fit on a shelf or in the bottom of a closet with minimal air space between them. They can also store on their side in the shallow space under a sofa or a dresser/chest of drawers. I also like that I can keep those used bottles out of the landfill.
Yes, thank you. Have used the Lowe's buckets because it is difficult now to find the food grade buckets. Will be using the cat litter buckets soon. We do have the 5 gallon & the 1 gallon mylar bags & lots of oxygen absorbers. Used to get the used frosting buckets from Walmart's bakery section BUT they don't save them anymore. They said they pile up when no one asks for them - so they just throw them in the dumpster now. Judi
I use cat litter jugs to store water to wash with and flush in case of power outage. If things get really bad, I have a couple of emergency water purifiers/ filters for the consumption of that water.
I do the same thing!
Does anyone know how to take the labels off the buckets?
What happens to dry food stored loosely in a regular non food grade bucket that is sealed?
I bought food grade plastic bags that are made to use for brining meat and fermenting to line my non food grade buckets then I packaged all of the food in mylar with 02 absorbers in the mylar bag. This seems to meet all of the criteria for food safety. What do you think???
I use bay leaves in every bucket will keep bugs and mice away
Thanks for clearing that question up for me! I have a cat so using the cat litter bins would be very useful for me.
I’ve been using kitty litter buckets for a long time and yes I put my noodles in them.
Thank you for everything you share with us! You make us better.💝
Look at the bottom of the containers, it tells you what they are made of. The same plastic is used for food containers. I put packages of foods in my buckets.
Also, I buy the 20 lb jugs of kitty litter and wash and reuse these for general purpose water storage, not drinking, unless it is an emergency, then, I would filter and purify before drinking.
I have the tall stand up wrapping paper holders. I now use them for storage of flour and sugar milar bags.
got a friend who brings me buckets and lids from her store that would be tossed, I clean then before putting my mylar bags or spice containers in them
Thank you Provident Preppers 😃
I get my buckets from bakeries, some places have given them to me for free, others charge 1$ a bucket. But I like that they’re food grade and have an airtight lid.
You guys always brighten my day!
Thanks for answering a question that I had. I was given 6 cat litter buckets. I was wondering if I could put them to good use for food storage. Now I know.
BEST VID EVER!!!!!!!!!!! Omg whomever “Doug” is thank u for this request! I have 9 of these and was about to sell them!
Besides bothering employees at Sams club. These are constantly thrown away
That is a good idea. And they are stackable. 👍✌️🌻🌻
I purchased quite a few large, black, heavy-duty plastic home storage boxes for my cans of food & mylar bagged goods, however when they arrived I noticed they have a verrrry strong plastic-y smell. Despite everything being sealed I'm worried the smell might leach into the mylar & cans. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.
@@TheProvidentPrepper Thank you so much. They are wonderful strong boxes so I was quite disappointed, but your idea gives me hope!
We majorly decluttered and ended up with a lot of empty totes. We use solid colored ones to store preps. It makes sure that the maintenance men for our complex don't know that we prep.
What a neat idea! Thank you for sharing!!
I can't say for sure in your area - we're in Canada - but here the regular orange Home Depot and the blue Lowe's buckets are both food grade.
For example, Home Depot sells the orange ones for about $4.00. They also carry what they call food grade, white buckets for a couple of dollars more. If you flip them over and compare, you will see that both are marked identically. They both are manufactured by the same company, both are HDPE and both have the number 2 in the arrow triangle.
Regardless, any food that we store in them is still in sealed mylar bags. We also add a few bay leaves to each bucket to discourage bugs and mice should they happen to get inside.
So far so food ... fingers crossed.
I wonder about pool chlorine buckets. Too much harsh chemical even for Mylar bags?
My tidy cat bucket has #5 PP on the bottom. This means food grade? Can i store boxes of pasta after washing? How do you recommend washing? Dish liquid?
Thank you. I appreciate it. Planning on getting mylar bags for some of the long term items.
Awesome info. Thanks for the link on Myler Bags
Those cat litter buckets are also great in the garden.
i see many many familiar buckets! (i have cats)
i *prefer* food grade buckets even for mylar bag storage, *but* i have totally used other buckets! the kitty litter buckets, being rectangular, actually store more efficiently!
White buckets only it’s my understanding the color will eventually leach into your foods
Honestly, the white buckets have to have chemicals (coloring) to make them white, so I’m not sure if this distinction really matters. 🤷🏻♀️
Do you have any experience reusing bakery buckets that have been thoroughly washed and dried. I want to use Mylar bags with O2 absorber, but I’m concerned that my food still might end up tasting a little bit like chocolate frosting or raspberry filling no matter how much I wash it. Will the 5mil+ Mylar bags prevent the food inside from tasting/smelling like the bucket? Also is it safe to mix foods in the same bucket? For example Mylar bag with 02 absorber with oats in it then throw a bunch of individually wrapped chocolate bars (not in mylar) on top. Will the oats taste/smell like chocolate??? Thanks for all your wonderful advice!
Hmmmmm Can't see having everything Taste like chocolate is being a problem. LOL!! 😉
Thank you for sharing great tips my friend and i told Jonathan if it would be possible to store mylar bags in a old 50 caliber ammo box and it is air and water proof . And he sad that it would be possible to do so.
I bought some 7 mil mylar bags and oxygen absorbers came with them and I'm here to tell you those are some TOUGH STURDY bags. Not gonna use any other bags any more. Thanks for sharing!! Wallaby 4 me!!
@@TheProvidentPrepper they sure are.
@@TheProvidentPrepper and the prices are very reasonable for such excellent quality.
I guess I'm overly cautious/paranoid - I use a food-grade bucket, lined with a black plastic bag, and fill it with mylar bags of food. The idea of using random buckets makes me very nervous!
@@TheProvidentPrepper - Food never touches the bags, I use them to add an opaque layer to shield contents from light, as white buckets particularly don't do such a great job of blocking light.
Obrigada! 🇧🇷🇧🇷
What about color totes
Can you use Rubbermaid colored totes with lids
Great just wanted to make sure I was ok, now just need more space. I grew up kinda doing this but I took it to a new level
I recently got several gallon jars, two with no lids. Any suggestions for making an airtight lid?
@@TheProvidentPrepper , yes, glass pickle jars from GFS. I even messaged the company, and went to the local GFS store!
I have a gallon jar/no lid I use for making apple cider vinegar. You can cover the top with cheesecloth, coffee filter, etc. when it’s ready to use pour it into a vinegar bottle or mason jars.
, thank you. I’ve not made apple cider vinegar before. ❤️
Thanks for your advice. It has been helpful. Can unopened cardboard pasta boxes be placed in these buckets without mylar bags? I thought I noticed some blue cardboard pasta boxes being stacked in one of the non-food grade buckets?
@@TheProvidentPrepper Oh, thanks for answering! Good to know I could use it for short term storage. Long term will be separate. Okay. I'm getting the basics. 👏
@@TheProvidentPrepper With your help. I'll be watching! Best wishes.
Ugh. Let me reiterate what you said about rodents eating through mylar bags. 😳 AND they eat holes in cardboard, and can get into tubs with loose lids to shred pictures, papers for nesting and make babies very fast. Avoid that issue from the beginning, folks.
@The Provident Prepper I have a heavy plastic bag of rice and was told I could slit open the bag and put an oxygen absorber in it and seal for storage in a plastic bin so in effective the packaging from the grocery store would serve as a Mylar bag substitute and it being placed in the bucket would block it from light, thereby saving money. Is this a good substitute?
@@TheProvidentPrepper okay, than you so much! Yes, that makes sense! You get what you pay for indeed!
Bugs bore holes in plastic easily.
A rodent ate thru my tidy cats liitter box when I stored it in a barn , it had cat food in it.
@@TheProvidentPrepper They ate thru the cover it is not very thick.
Are vac seal bags ok? Also great video👍👍👍
Thanks!
Original packaging often breaks down, chemically.
I laft my bunz off when I first saw this 😂🤣🤔🖖
If you have cats you shouldn't have rodents.
Why is brown sugar a short term item?
@@TheProvidentPrepper so it goes bad when it gets hard? I just took a knife abd scraped what i needed off the block. * confused as i don't use a lot of brown sugar
Hi, can we use paint buckets 🪣 to store food while using a mylar bags?
We use these liter buckets to store our 72 hour kits down in the basement. Keeps the moisture, dust and critters out and has a handle for an easy grap. They stack amazingly well too. We also use these to collect manure from a nearby farm to keep our van clean and they carry easily out back to our garden. I use them for collecting weeds and carrying garden tools and storing garden gloves. We label them on the shelves and store items in the workroom like ropes, tape, paint sticks, etc. These have amazing uses in spite of being non food grade. I couldn't believe I'd spent so many years placing them out for recycling.
We use these liter buckets to store our 72 hour kits down in the basement. Keeps the moisture, dust and critters out and has a handle for an easy grap. They stack amazingly well too. We also use these to collect manure from a nearby farm to keep our van clean and they carry easily out back to our garden. I use them for collecting weeds and carrying garden tools and storing garden gloves. We label them on the shelves and store items in the workroom like ropes, tape, paint sticks, etc. These have amazing uses in spite of being non food grade. I couldn't believe I'd spent so many years placing them out for recycling.
We use these liter buckets to store our 72 hour kits down in the basement. Keeps the moisture, dust and critters out and has a handle for an easy grap. They stack amazingly well too. We also use these to collect manure from a nearby farm to keep our van clean and they carry easily out back to our garden. I use them for collecting weeds and carrying garden tools and storing garden gloves. We label them on the shelves and store items in the workroom like ropes, tape, paint sticks, etc. These have amazing uses in spite of being non food grade. I couldn't believe I'd spent so many years placing them out for recycling.
We use these liter buckets to store our 72 hour kits down in the basement. Keeps the moisture, dust and critters out and has a handle for an easy grap. They stack amazingly well too. We also use these to collect manure from a nearby farm to keep our van clean and they carry easily out back to our garden. I use them for collecting weeds and carrying garden tools and storing garden gloves. We label them on the shelves and store items in the workroom like ropes, tape, paint sticks, etc. These have amazing uses in spite of being non food grade. I couldn't believe I'd spent so many years placing them out for recycling.