875 B
Rotating Stored Food
A store you never rotate is a store that quietly expires.
First in, first out
Run your pantry on FIFO — first in, first out. New purchases go to the back; the oldest stock comes forward and gets eaten first. Date every container with a marker on the day it enters the pantry, not the day it was manufactured.
The single most common failure is a deep shelf. If you cannot see the back row, you will not rotate it. Use shallow shelving, gravity-fed can racks, or bins you can pull all the way out.
Shelf life by category
Wheat, white rice, rolled oats, and dried beans stored cool and dry in sealed containers with oxygen absorbers last 20 to 30 years. Brown rice does not — its oils go rancid in about 6 months at room temperature.
Canned goods stay safe indefinitely if the seal holds, but quality declines after 2 to 5 years.