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We Turned a 12x20 Shed into Our Grocery Store | Pantry Tour — Key Takeaways

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We Turned a 12x20 Shed into Our Grocery Store | Pantry Tour

Roots and Refuge Farm21mOct 4, 2026

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To build serious long-term food storage in a hot/humid climate, insulate a shed well, run climate control, and use a chest freezer to kill insect eggs in bulk grains before mylar/bucket storage.

Key takeaways

One 50 lb bag of dry beans feeds a family of five for only 8 days on calories alone

One 50 lb bag of dry beans feeds a family of five for only 8 days on calories alone

  • Demonstrates how much bulk storage is needed for real caloric needs — 12-14k cal/day for their household
  • They go through over 50 lb of wheat berries per month just making bread

DIY mini split cost more in repairs than a professionally installed unit with warranty

DIY mini split cost more in repairs than a professionally installed unit with warranty

  • Bought DIY mini split, spent more fixing it than the purchase price
  • Professional install would've included 10-year parts warranty; they're using a $100 window unit as backup

Figure caloric needs per person first, then reverse-engineer food storage quantities

Figure caloric needs per person first, then reverse-engineer food storage quantities

  • Calculate daily calories for each family member (adult male, female, children) before buying
  • Their household needs 12–14,000 calories/day, so a mountain of buckets is actually minimal

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In this video

  1. 1mBuilding, Power, and Climate Control Setup
  2. 4mInterior Workspace and Freezer
  3. 7mCalorie Math and Grain Storage Philosophy
  4. 11mShelf Tour: Oils, Herbs, Cleaning Supplies, and Paper Products
  5. 16mAzure, Canned Goods, and Bulk Pantry Staples
  6. 18mRoot Storage, Future Goals, and Reflections on Creative Food Storage

“One 50 lb bag of dry beans covers the caloric needs of a family of five for eight days.”

— Jess

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