Provident Principles and Practices
© David Edwards, 2008
© David Edwards, 2008
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PRINCIPLES: LDS leaders have acknowledged that we may face financial or space issues as we strive to obey the counsel to store food and non-food items. However, they have encouraged us to store as much as we can, given our circumstances (See, for example, the message of the First Presidency, 2007, in All is Safely Gathered in: Family Home Storage).
PRACTICES: Finding space for storing food, water, clothing, and fuel can be challenging. Where possible, store food in cool, dark and dry areas. A dry basement may be ideal. Avoid garages (unless air conditioned) and attics. Consider safety issues. Place heavy goods on concrete, on floors over a concrete slab, or on floors sufficiently supported to hold the weight. Storage near support walls is best. Some storage-space ideas are given here. You can find others as you ponder and pray.
Heavy-Duty Shelving. Strong metal shelving designed to hold objects of great weight is available through wholesale warehouses. Make sure that shelving is put together properly, close to or touching the wall (you may need shims under the front legs), sturdy after being assembled, and immovable after being loaded. 
Carpenters or others with skills and tools can make similar shelving using plywood or planks and 2” x 4”s (but be wary of termites). 
Shelving can be placed in pantries, rooms or basements; along hallways; or under stairways (an entrance to the space may need to be opened up first). Used pallet rack can be employed in a garage. 
Curtains on rods can cover shelves.
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Basements. On-floor options: heavy-duty shelving, buckets, stacked boxes of #10 cans or flats of canned goods on pallets, 55-gallon water drums on mats, mylar bags in lidded metal garbage cans.
In Closets. Boxes of #10 cans can be stacked in closets up to an upper shelf or even to the ceiling, if sufficient floor support exists. A single layer of boxes of cans or cases of water topped by a mat can provide a surface on which to put shoes, located below a shirt or dress rack. 5- or 6-gallon buckets can be placed one or two levels high in a closet. Back-of-door storage may work in some closets.
Under Beds. Cans on flats or in boxes can be placed under beds or cribs. Bed mattresses can be placed on stacked boxes of #10 cans. You can place plywood with rounded corners and taped sides on top of a layer of two dozen or so 5-gallon buckets and place a mattress directly on that.
Rooms. Boxes of #10 cans can be stacked in corners near support walls, if there is sufficient floor support. Nightstands, end tables or coffee tables can be made of draped storage containers. A layer of #10 cans in boxes can support carpeted plywood panels that together comprise a raised floor.
Garages. 55-gal drums can be set on pads on the floor. 
Custom wooden racks can store water drums horizontally. Items that can withstand temperatures in a garage can be stored on used pallet rack or on heavy-duty shelving. Some use A/C in a garage to make storage of canned goods possible there. 
Click on photos to magnify them and see details.
PRINCIPLES: LDS leaders have acknowledged that we may face financial or space issues as we strive to obey the counsel to store food and non-food items. However, they have encouraged us to store as much as we can, given our circumstances (See, for example, the message of the First Presidency, 2007, in All is Safely Gathered in: Family Home Storage).
PRACTICES: Finding space for storing food, water, clothing, and fuel can be challenging. Where possible, store food in cool, dark and dry areas. A dry basement may be ideal. Avoid garages (unless air conditioned) and attics. Consider safety issues. Place heavy goods on concrete, on floors over a concrete slab, or on floors sufficiently supported to hold the weight. Storage near support walls is best. Some storage-space ideas are given here. You can find others as you ponder and pray.
Heavy-Duty Shelving. Strong metal shelving designed to hold objects of great weight is available through wholesale warehouses. Make sure that shelving is put together properly, close to or touching the wall (you may need shims under the front legs), sturdy after being assembled, and immovable after being loaded. 
Carpenters or others with skills and tools can make similar shelving using plywood or planks and 2” x 4”s (but be wary of termites). 
Shelving can be placed in pantries, rooms or basements; along hallways; or under stairways (an entrance to the space may need to be opened up first). Used pallet rack can be employed in a garage. 
Curtains on rods can cover shelves..
Basements. On-floor options: heavy-duty shelving, buckets, stacked boxes of #10 cans or flats of canned goods on pallets, 55-gallon water drums on mats, mylar bags in lidded metal garbage cans. 
In Closets. Boxes of #10 cans can be stacked in closets up to an upper shelf or even to the ceiling, if sufficient floor support exists. A single layer of boxes of cans or cases of water topped by a mat can provide a surface on which to put shoes, located below a shirt or dress rack. 5- or 6-gallon buckets can be placed one or two levels high in a closet. Back-of-door storage may work in some closets.
Under Beds. Cans on flats or in boxes can be placed under beds or cribs. Bed mattresses can be placed on stacked boxes of #10 cans. You can place plywood with rounded corners and taped sides on top of a layer of two dozen or so 5-gallon buckets and place a mattress directly on that.
Rooms. Boxes of #10 cans can be stacked in corners near support walls, if there is sufficient floor support. Nightstands, end tables or coffee tables can be made of draped storage containers. A layer of #10 cans in boxes can support carpeted plywood panels that together comprise a raised floor.
Garages. 55-gal drums can be set on pads on the floor. 
Custom wooden racks can store water drums horizontally. Items that can withstand temperatures in a garage can be stored on used pallet rack or on heavy-duty shelving. Some use A/C in a garage to make storage of canned goods possible there. 
Click on photos to magnify them and see details.
Credits: Heavy-duty metal shelving, wood shelving, garbage can, under-bed storage, and wall storage photos are used by permission from a .ppt presentation called "Why Should You Be Prepared" by avfoodstorage as found at
http://www.ldsavow.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=436
Other photos are from homes of members of the DM Ward.
Additional info: www.byub.org/livingessentials/shows/15.asp;
http://extension.usu.edu/htm/faq/faq_q=465; Coming Soon: Dry Pack Canning at the LDS Mesa Cannery
