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Fit out the pantry and link to cold storage

The pantry holds the household's dry and canned food reserve. Its temperature, shelving and layout decide how long food lasts and whether rotation actually happens.

How

1. Keep the pantry cool and dry. Clemson extension suggests about 65 to 70 F (18 to 21 C) and keeping food away from ovens, hot water pipes and heating ducts.
2. Use sealed glass, metal or rigid plastic containers for cereals, flour, spices and dried fruit, as Clemson advises against insects.
3. Fit adjustable shelving sized with the shelf length calculator below. Use shallow shelves (one or two containers deep) so nothing hides at the back and first in, first out is easy.
4. Put heavy items like water and tins on the lowest shelves.
5. Choose a chest freezer for bulk frozen food. ENERGY STAR says chest models are usually more efficient than uprights and that manual defrost models use about half the energy of auto defrost. Site it with air space around it and away from heat.
6. Link to the root cellar or cool store in living-13 and to refrigeration in thermal-25. Keep an appliance thermometer in the fridge and freezer: CDC says a full freezer holds food safely about 48 hours without power and a half-full one about 24 hours.

Safety: Discard thawed or warm perishable food as CDC advises.

Do these first

• living-9
• thermal-25

Sources

1. Food Storage: Pantry (HGIC fact sheet). Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home and Garden Information Center, accessed 2026-11
2. Freezers. ENERGY STAR (US EPA and DOE), accessed 2026-11
3. Keep Food Safe After a Disaster or Emergency. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed 2026-11
4. Boltless Steel Shelving sell sheet (models 5244BL to 5247BL). Safco Products (manufacturer datasheet, hosted by WebstaurantStore), accessed 2026-11

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