Ctokmarkethousehold supplies: a guide to storing food and everyday essentials

An independent guide to household supplies and food storage. We sell nothing, give no medical advice and have no connection to the former website on this domain. In an emergency, call 112 or your local emergency number.

How-to

How-to articles

The first article in this section is about building household supplies calmly, without hoarding or anxiety. Below are seven steps, from checking what's already on your shelves to a document folder and the habit of checking everything regularly. Each step comes with a hypothetical everyday example. You don't have to do it all at once: supplies are easiest to build gradually, along with your regular shopping.

If you have to hide your supplies from yourself so you won't touch them, that's no longer a supply but a warehouse. Good supplies get eaten, drunk, used and restocked.

— Editor's note

Before you begin

  • You have a free evening to calmly go through your shelves and cupboards
  • You know who lives in the home and what each person usually eats, including kids and pets
  • You're ready to throw out spoiled food, even if it feels like a waste
  • You have paper and a pen, or notes on your phone, for the list

  1. See what you already have

    Start by checking your kitchen shelves, pantry and cupboards. Take everything out, check the dates and the condition of the packaging, and throw out anything spoiled. It often turns out you already have supplies; they're just scattered in different corners and half forgotten.

    Hypothetical example: several packs of the same grain, bought at different times, turned up at the back of a cupboard. The oldest goes to the front, and that grain stays off the list for now.

  2. Decide what goes into your supplies

    Write down the foods your family eats all the time and that keep for a long time: grains, pasta, canned goods, oil, tea. Leave out anything nobody likes, even if other people's lists recommend it. Add separate lines for water, light, the first-aid kit, documents and everything your pets need.

    Hypothetical example: the family doesn't eat canned fish but loves buckwheat and stewed vegetables. So those go into the supplies, not the "proper" set from someone else's list.

  3. Choose a spot

    Any place that's dry, cool, dark and free of pests will do: a pantry, a closed cupboard, low drawers. Don't keep food next to a radiator, by the stove, above the sink or on a sunny windowsill. Grains and flour are easier to keep in tightly closing containers.

    Hypothetical example: bags of grain sat in a cupboard above the stove and got damp from the steam. They were moved to a closed cupboard in the hallway, and dampness is no longer a problem.

  4. Set up rotation

    The rule is simple: first in, first out. Put new packages at the back, move older ones forward and use them first. That way your supplies are constantly refreshed, and nothing sits around until its date runs out.

    Hypothetical example: after the next shopping trip, cans with later dates go to the back of the shelf, and the ones that were there before go into dinners over the next few days.

  5. Prepare for power and water outages

    Keep drinking water in sealed containers and replace it by the date on the package. Keep a flashlight, spare batteries and a power bank, which you recharge from time to time, in one place. Candles only under supervision, though it's better to make do with a flashlight. Generators and camp stoves are never used indoors.

    Hypothetical example: the power goes out one evening. The flashlight is right where it belongs, in a drawer by the front door, with the batteries next to it, and the phone charges calmly from the power bank.

  6. Put together the kit and papers

    The first-aid kit holds dressings, a thermometer and medicines your doctor prescribed, along with their leaflets. Store medicines as the leaflet says, out of children's reach, and check the dates regularly. Put copies of documents and a paper list of important phone numbers in a separate folder: if your phone dies, the numbers are still at hand.

    Hypothetical example: while sorting the first-aid kit, some expired medicines turned up. They come out of the kit, and the question of whether to replace them goes to the doctor at the next appointment.

  7. Set a check day

    Supplies only work if you check them. Pick a recurring occasion, such as a change of season, a big cleaning day or the start of the school year, and on that day go over the shelves, the first-aid kit and the flashlights. While you're at it, refresh the water, recharge the power bank and update the list.

    Hypothetical example: the family checks its supplies at every change of season. It takes one evening, and the restock list usually has only a few items on it.

Common mistakes

  • Buying a lot at once because of alarming news
  • Buying food nobody in the family eats
  • Putting new packages in front and leaving old ones at the back
  • Storing supplies next to a radiator, by the stove or somewhere damp
  • Tasting food from a bulging can or food with mold on it
  • Keeping medicines in the kit that weren't prescribed or have expired
  • Lighting candles and leaving them unattended

Other approaches

  • If you have almost no space, start with one shelf or one box and keep only the essentials in it
  • If you don't want to gather everything at once, add one item from the list to your regular shopping each time
  • If you don't live alone, share the tasks: one person looks after the food, another after the water, flashlights and first-aid kit

Check yourself

  • All supplies have been checked, and spoiled or expired items thrown out
  • Food is kept in a dry, cool, dark place
  • Older packages are in front, newer ones at the back
  • There is drinking water in sealed containers
  • The flashlight, batteries and a charged power bank are in one place
  • The first-aid kit holds only what's prescribed and needed, all within date
  • Copies of documents and a paper list of phone numbers are in a folder
  • The next check day is set

Catalog of articles in English

This is where separate practical articles on household supplies for English-speaking readers will appear: storing grains and canned goods, keeping pantry pests away, preparing for outages and supplies for pets. Each article describes a general routine for an ordinary apartment or house and relies on package labels, not made-up quotas.

What the editors are working on

  • How to keep pantry moths and beetles out of rice, flour and cereal
  • Storing water at home: containers, location and rotation
  • A grab-and-go document folder: what to keep on paper
  • Your pet during an outage: food, water, carrier and records

Editorial rules

  • Articles in this catalogue are written separately for each language version and are not translations.
  • Some articles link to third-party websites, including gaming services; we do not control their content, prices or terms.
  • We sell nothing and do not publish advertising for shops, rankings, prices or reviews.
  • Questions

    Short answers about dates on food, water, light and heat, the first-aid kit, documents and pets.

  • Reference

    A glossary of household supplies: labels, storage and outage readiness in plain words.

  • Collections

    Ready-made paths for a small kitchen, a family with a baby, and a cabin or country house.

Sources

  • Labels and storage conditions on food packaging
  • General household preparedness advice from emergency services (general principles)
  • Ctokmarket editorial materials

Information is current as of the date it was prepared. Storage conditions and shelf life vary from product to product, so the label on the package is always your main guide. Your building management or local utilities will tell you about planned shutoffs and what to do during outages in your home.