Dry storage for misc items

[G26man]

Storing wheat, beans, rice, etc. is usually covered quite well in a preparedness forum, but I'd like to hear about what other dry items people have stored in mylar bags/buckets or other methods. I'm going to be filling buckets/bags soon and my philosophy is to have multiple grains and possibly other items like spices individually bagged in each bucket. I've got gallon and smaller mylar bags with appropriately sized o2 absorbers so I could have for example rice, beans, wheat, sugar, salt, black pepper and other spices, etc. or a similar but different mix in each 5 gal bucket. I've been thinking about other things that I might like to add but not sure of their suitability for long term storage. I don't want to waste space on things that won't go the distance and I REALLY don't want to include something that could bloat or other wise rupture it's bag and affect the other items. I'd love to hear other's experiences with storing some of these items. Some that come to mind are:

Other grains such as corn, oats, etc. - Any reason why these would not be good for long term dry storage?

Vegetables - with a food dehydrator is this feasible for very long term storage? Is there not enough food energy for the bulk?

Spices - I'd like to make small spice sachets for each bucket of grains, but I don't think they make o2 absorbers small enough to be appropriate for each spice, so I'm trying to come up with a way I can keep several dry spices separated but in the same mylar bag utilizing the same O2 absorber - and not have them all taste the same years later.

Seeds - Heirloom seeds for establishing crops. I think these would store pretty well, just wondering how others have done it.

Vitamins/medicinal herbs - just how long will multivitamins or vitamin C tabs for example be of use stored this way? I know they will be more susceptible to temperature but other than that.

Drugs - Ibuprophen, etc. Any dry pill. Guess they would all vary greatly in shelf life, but just wondering if kept cool (say buried 6-8ft?) would some be useable 10 years later?

[TangoFoxtrot]

All good questions. I'd be interested in the answers myself.

[Protus]

Some that come to mind are:

Other grains such as corn, oats, etc. - Any reason why these would not be good for long term dry storage?

None i store pasta,oats,grits,coffee but ground and un ground, drink mixes, baking soda etc

Vegetables - with a food dehydrator is this feasible for very long term storage? Is there not enough food energy for the bulk?
The main issue is making sure the food is dry enough. That means a ton of energy put out for small batches ( unless you have a larger dehydrator). It can be done but again your moisture content will be the weak link in it vs commerically dehydrated.

Spices - I'd like to make small spice sachets for each bucket of grains, but I don't think they make o2 absorbers small enough to be appropriate for each spice, so I'm trying to come up with a way I can keep several dry spices separated but in the same mylar bag utilizing the same O2 absorber - and not have them all taste the same years later.

This is hard. I just went with 1 gallon bags and stored 1-2lbs of a spice at a time. Whole spices ( peppercorns for example) will last longer than ground pepper.) You can do this. I took a 1 gallon. filled it half way dropped in a 50cc O2, and sealed it. Then filled up the other half with a second spice and dropped in a 50cc O2, and sealed it. It stayed sealed. O nly time will tell(its only been 2 years since i did it as an experiment)

Seeds - Heirloom seeds for establishing crops. I think these would store pretty well, just wondering how others have done it.

In a gallon zip lock, in a small tote in my closet.

Vitamins/medicinal herbs - just how long will multivitamins or vitamin C tabs for example be of use stored this way? I know they will be more susceptible to temperature but other than that.

Ive rotated out multi vits and C that were 3+ yrs old. I used to be able to get multi vits that had a 3-4 yr shelf life. Then around 2010, they stopped putting "best buy dates/exp dates on them. Why i cant say. But normally since i would but in bulk i would be roatating out stuff a few years old.
YMMV with that

Drugs - Ibuprophen, etc. Any dry pill. Guess they would all vary greatly in shelf life, but just wondering if kept cool (say buried 6-8ft?) would some be useable 10 years later?

Cant say but had a buddy who knew a bit about this say that cool and dry and stuff would last a while. Most are good for 1-3 years in the store bought container. Im sure with propper packing and the right temps, you could extend the life a few years.

[quake]

As long as grains are dry, no problem with long term storage for them. Some do better than others - typically "hard" grains do better than "soft" - but all can be made to work to some degree.

For salt & sugar I simply leave them in their original package and heat-sealed in a mylar bag inside a bucket. No O2 absorber on those personally.

You may open a real can of worms with the pill & medication question. Some do lose potency, I really don't know if any go 'bad' or get dangerous. The bottle of aspirin we're using from now has a "use by" date of 2009 on it, and I can't tell the difference.

[Bolster]

Re drugs:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/04/02/drug-expiration-part-one.aspx

"Unless you have nitroglycerin, insulin and liquid antibiotics, you can pretty much be safely assured that your medication expires years beyond the date it says it does."

[G26man]

All great info, thanks everyone and keep it coming!