Visit or call your local bakery, grocery store, fruit growers, and other businesses that use food grade buckets. Usually you can buy them for a couple of bucks each, or sometimes even free! Skip the pickle buckets though...unless you like pickle-flavored everything.
Mylar Bags for Free
Reuse any mylar bags from prepackaged food like chip bags, cookie bags, or anything else that comes in a mylar bag. Put your items in the bag (food, matches, fire starters, important documents, etc.) and seal them up. Mylar bags for long term food storage - Of course you could buy individual mylar bags, but did you know you could also cut them up and custom make any size you like? You can buy gallon sized or 5 gallon sized mylar bags for even more savings. The LDS church offers a great deal on oxygen absorbers. So there you have it - the skinny on mylar bags. :) Okay, Let's talk plastic. What are all those acronyms and numbers on the bottom of all plastic containers? They refer to the type of plastic used. Which ones are safe and which ones should you avoid? When looking at plastic, just remember this jingle - 5, 4, 1, and 2; all the rest aren't good for you. Any other numbers try to avoid - this includes plastic picnic utinsels! So if you see those numbers on the bottom of plastic containers, you're relatively okay. HOWEVER, PETE (1) (or PET) plastic, is the worst of the best because it leaches a high amount of estrogen-like chemicals (this includes BPA-free plastics!). PP (5) is the safest, then HDPE (2), LDPE (4), and finally PET / PETE (1).
Sources I used to come to my conclusion: "How to Recognize the Plastics That are Hazardous to You" http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/11/plastic-use.aspx Most Plastic Products Release Estrogenic Chemicals: A Potential Health Problem That Can Be Solved: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1003220/#t2 Plastic Packaging Resins http://plastics.americanchemistry.com/Plastic-Resin-Codes-PDF |