Food Storage

Since I think everyone's had enough updates about my surgery I won't make a post about it (if you haven't - it all went well, legs hurt a little where they went in, heart is still doing silly tachycardic things, but that should hopefully subside after a few months, as the scar forms).

So, as I'm still in forced recuperation mode (meaning I feel okay, but am being forced to just sit around and take it easy until Friday), I decided to work on our food storage! - yikes

We have a good sized shelf full of food, but not enough, if we're being honest here. We're lucky enough to have a giant unfinished basement so we don't lack the space, just the somewhat important food.
I'm all about having a ton of the basics since I like to make things by hand anyway, so we have a lot of that, and then a bunch of awesome stuff from Shelf Reliance (love them). I don't have an inventory of exactly what we have though, so I decided to start there.

Enter some wonderfully prepared lady whom I found on Pinterest, of course.
http://preparednotscared.blogspot.com/2010/08/vital-records-food-storage-inventory.html

She has already created these great inventory lists: http://www.mediafire.com/view/?nn086b6tbt5cpmo
You simply write down each item you have on hand, then go through with a highlighter and color in the boxes for how many you have of each item (you can also highlight with a second color more boxes indicating how many more you'd like to have on hand) and with a sheet protector over it, you check it off as you use it. Then simply erase the check when you've repurchased it. So easy huh?!

So I'm breaking mine down into categories (Baking goods, Dairy, Fruit/Veggies, Meats, Misc.) and putting them each in a sheet protector on a clipboard (with a wet erase marker attached) to hang from my shelves.
I think it's even easy enough for my kids, who are often the ones bringing up the items to be used, so all they have to do is simply check it off before they bring it up!

Do you have any awesome food storage ideas or tried and true ways of organizing it all?
Now I'm off (totally bundled up - coat, gloves, scarf - it's freezing down there!) to start checking off what we've got, wish me luck!