First off I am not sure if this is the right forum to be putting this in, but here it goes anyway.

I live in a small one story basement style house with very little storage room, which makes it hard to keep a lot of extras. Can anyone show me (pics) or give me ideas for storing preps & pantry items.

I was thinking of buying one of them outdoor Rubbermaid cabinets to put on my porch (enclosed & insulated). Would one of them hold up to the weight of a lot of canned goods?

Anyone have some creative ideas for the space challenged? TIA

Underneath beds is always good.  You can put a bed on cinderblocks to get more storage space.

Another idea is to build shelves around the top of your garage.  Most garages have about 1.5 to 2 feet of clear space above the garage door when the garage door is open.  This is the area where shelves can be put, you just need the garage door closed to access them.  Be sure and attach them to studs.  

I doubt those cabinets would handle a full load of canned goods.

I would try to maximize the storage space in your home.  For example, try to maximize existing cabinet space.  Buy extra canned goods and dry goods and rotate them.  Fill your freezer and refrigerator, and rotate.  Underbed storage is a great idea.

You mentioned you had a basement.  Build shelving along the walls and keep things off the ground.

Perhaps some other items could be stored outside on the porch so as to free up some space inside for food.

Quoted: Underneath beds is always good.  You can put a bed on cinderblocks to get more storage space. Another idea is to build shelves around the top of your garage.

Sounds like a good place, but that's were my gun cases are. Also in the winter I get mice, wouldn't want them to get in my stuff. I've had mice chew right through a plastic tote I used to hold dog food.

No garage.

Quoted: I doubt those cabinets would handle a full load of canned goods. You mentioned you had a basement.

Dang, I was hoping someone would say they had one & that it worked good for that. I guess I'll just have to go some where & look at the cabinets & judge for myself. I wanted to go the Rubbermaid way, cause the porch is unheated & no AC, so it gets pretty humid in the summer months. A particle board cabinet just would not hold up IMO.

No, no basement. It is a basement style home, built halfway under ground (3 of the walls are cement).

 Thanks guys.

The big ammo cans (120 lbers) will keep mice out and hold a lot of stuff (rice, beans, etc).  Plastic milk crates will work for cans but the tops get dirty (mouse poop) and you won't have water when you need it most to wash them off before opening.

I'm not sure what you're looking to store, I thought it was canned goods.  I've never seen mice chew through a tin can.

If you want to store dry goods (e.g. flour, sugar), you could can them yourself.  This is referred to as "dry-pack" canning.  You can buy a canner yourself, or, almost all Mormon churches have one.   I'm sure if you asked they'd let you bring your stuff to can to a canning get together.  

If I was you, I'd put the tin cans where you have the mice problem, and put other stuff that mice will hurt elsewhere.  Of course, this assumes you can't take care of the mice problem with poison, traps, or a cat.

Hmm, dry pack canning? Never heard of it, I'll have to do some searching & find out more about it.

I wonder if that would be the same concept of using canning jars & sealing the lids with a vacuum sealer? Besides the obvious fact that the cans would be tougher to destroy than the glass jars.

Thanks