I received a bit of a jolt when entering a local food storage store in search of 5-gallon food grade buckets for several bags of rice and beans I recently purchased for emergency prepardedness. Over SEVEN dollars for a bucket and lid. And we aren’t talking gamma lids, here. Nope. We are talking just the plain old hammer it down with a rubber mallet type of lid.
As I stood there doing the math for the 10 buckets, mylar bags and oxygen absorbers I would need for the long term storage of my vittles, I also thought of how many more bags of beans and rice I could purchase for that $70.00 I would paying for buckets.
You can’t eat the buckets, boys and girls. And then, as if to add insult to injury, I turned the buckets around only to find the store’s logo covering the bucket from top to bottom. It has always been a pet peeve of mine to have to pay for stuff that serves as advertising for a company. Think about it. If I’m going to be advertising for them, shouldn’t they be paying me?
But I digress.
I’ll admit. I did purchase 4 of the overpriced, logo blasted, desperately needed buckets. With my medically fragile son, I’m not able to get out as often, and I really needed those buckets. I justified my purchase by telling myself I only purchased four instead of the ten I truly needed.
And, as I walked out of that store, I proclaimed to all who could hear, that I would never, ever pay through the nose for a plastic bucket again. While I consider myself pretty lucky that my Mom was the only person close enough to hear my proclamation, once uttered, it still needed to be fulfilled.
My 5 Gallon Bucket Research
Bakeries will usually give out empty frosting buckets. Yay! for free buckets, but yikes! for cleaning out the greasy frosting residue. I’ve found that by making a solution of Dawn dish soap and vinegar then spraying it inside the bucket helps clean the frosting out.
Fast Food Joints will often give out empty pickle buckets. However, the smell of pickles will pretty much forever be in these buckets. A friend even power washed his buckets out to no avail. If you are using mylar liners in your buckets though, the smell of pickle shouldn’t be an issue.
Lowe’s carries 5-Gallon Commercial food grade buckets for $4.50 each.
My local Walmart carries food grade buckets and lids for $2.97 and lids for under $2.00. I found them in the paint section, but I looked and they had food grade written right on them.
Look on your Local Classified Ads. Often people sell 5-gallon food grade buckets and lids they are no longer using.
5 Gallon Buckets Too Much Work?
What? You don’t want to wash out your own buckets, and the smell of pickles makes you shudder? Nearest WalMart too far away? Amazon will deliver your 5-Gallon Food Grade Storage Buckets right to your door step!
Some of you may not need to store food in the type of bulk that would require purchasing 5-Gallon Food Grade Buckets. I get that. For you prepackaged freeze dried food would be the perfect option. Light weight and good for up to 25 years, Thrive Life offers the best quality in Freeze Dried foods that I’ve found. Through Thrive Life you can create your own food storage pantry, saving both time AND money.
How do you store your long term emergency food?
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Miss Tammy you’re awsum! Did u know u can get the buckets, altho square in shape, more easy to store, at a fruit place in payson for only .50 for bucket & lid . . Just need to clean it out
I agree with you about paying to advertise for a company. It bugs me, too. Our family owns a BBQ restaurant and they sell their pickle buckets for a few dollars a piece. I don’t know how you get that smell out, though.
My mom used pickle buckets to store everything. The smell can be removed by putting baking soda in it and sitting outside in the sun for 24 hours. Then wash well and use. At least that’s what my mom said. I haven’t had to try it because I use hers.
Great idea for preparedness. 5 gallon buckets are a perfect emergency food resource and this is a fine article explaining them!