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Blog

  • Freeze Drying Ahead, Captain!

    <p>I am very excited to announce we have become an official Harvest Right Freeze Dryer distributor.&nbsp; We are currently hard at work upgrading our space to accommodate one or two working freeze dryers.&nbsp; Our plan is to use them daily ourselves so we can become experts on using and maintaining them as well as providing great ideas for our customers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Our plan is to create a cooperative community of food storers in our local area where we will provide access to some great equipment including freeze dryers, a #10 dry canner like the LDS use, and some game processing equipment (we have a lot of local folks that hunt and raise game animals).</p><p>We are also dedicating some space for ourselves and other community members to offer classes around various food storage techniques, whether that be dehydrating, long term storage of dry goods, or freeze drying.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>We are very excited!&nbsp; Feel free to drop us a note if you are in Middle Tennessee and we will keep you up to date on our progress!</p>

  • Now Hiring: Warehouse Guru

    <p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Synopsis</strong>: Work in a laid back but busy environment on any number of different tasks.</p><p><strong>Pay</strong>:&nbsp; Starts at $8, $12 an hour at 6 months fully trained, $15 after a year if you're really good.&nbsp; $.25 raises for order accuracy, volume of work completed, and other milestones.</p><p>Shift:&nbsp; 8:30AM-5:00PM, half hour lunch.</p><p><strong>Requirements</strong>:</p><p>Must be able to lift 60lbs comfortably.</p><p>Must be computer-saavy, with no difficulty navigating web pages, printing out orders, filling out Excel spreadsheets, and creating documents.</p><p>Must be reliable; lates and absences will lead to very rapid termination.&nbsp; Please don't take the job if you can't commit to it.</p><p><strong>Responsibilities</strong>:</p><p>1) Order processing:&nbsp; Learn to process orders through Amazon, eBay and our website.&nbsp; Choose appropriate packaging and shipping method.&nbsp; Pack items safely and securely.&nbsp; Accuracy is of the utmost importance.&nbsp; </p><p>2)&nbsp; Case-lot kit packing:&nbsp; Build kits from various components for wholesale customers.</p><p>3)&nbsp; Warehouse Order:&nbsp; The warehouse is yours; keep it clean and organized.&nbsp; Combine pallets to create space.&nbsp; Throw out trash daily.&nbsp; Sweep regularly.&nbsp; </p><p>4)&nbsp; Other:&nbsp; Any other task that may be required of you.&nbsp; Most days it is very busy and there won't be any problem filling your time.&nbsp; However, some days it is slow, and you may be asked to weed-whack, go shopping, or do personal tasks.</p><p><strong>Other</strong>:</p><p>For someone self-motivated who wants to learn how a business runs, or how to start your own business, this is your job.&nbsp; I am willing to teach a committed employee how to do exactly what I did in starting and growing this business.</p><p>To apply, please email me a note at admin@discountmylarbags.com or stop by and see me at 490 E Church St, Lewisburg.</p>

  • Odor-Proof Packaging

    <p>You may have noticed I've started to add 'odor-proof' to the titles and descriptions of our items.&nbsp; To be honest, it wasn't something I paid a lot of attention to in the past.&nbsp; Because of the aluminum layer in most of our bags, and their 5-layer composition, they have MUCH better smell proof properties than any of the clear bags on the market.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>I am considering renaming our bags "the Everything Bag":&nbsp; oxygen barrier, moisture barrier, aroma barrier...I am even testing whether we can sous vide in them.</p><p>With the recent election, our (and everybody else in the prepper niche) sales have hit a bit of a slump.&nbsp; Digging into the market, however, I have found that we are already well-prepared to serve customers outside of that niche.&nbsp; The odor proof market, with little companies like Smelly Proof, Opsak/Loksak and a bunch of others on Amazon, are offering 3 mil clear 'odor resistant' bags for more (often a LOT more) than we charge for full 5 mil Aluminum Foil bags of even a larger size.&nbsp; They are also offering single layer barrier bags vs our 5 layer bags with a full Aluminum Foil layer.</p><p>We already serve customers in the pharmaceutical industry, animal feed companies, military munitions business, research laboratories, and tons in the food storage and prepper niches.&nbsp; If you need top quality odor proof bags, I hope you'll give us a chance to serve you as well!<br></p>

  • Offering Exclusive Overseas Distributorships

    <p>Over the years, I've received dozens of emails from folks overseas asking about selling Mylar Bags/Oxygen Absorbers in their country.&nbsp; With more help here at the warehouse allowing me the chance to thoroughly examine the process, I would love to extend the opportunity to no more than 1 business or individual per country to be the Official Distributor for Discount Mylar Bags/ShieldPro brand products.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>As with any business, there are challenges and risks associated with even a modest capital outlay.&nbsp; However, there is also the potential to create a very profitable niche business, especially because most countries don't have anyone focused on just selling food storage supplies.&nbsp; Sure, there are some folks that buy directly from the US off of eBay or Amazon (at a large premium), but there are very few places with a resident seller.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Being first into a market is a huge deal; there are dozens of competitor's in the US, and many folks have built significant businesses ($500,000 sales annually).&nbsp; That leads me to believe that places without much competition offer very fertile markets to an ambitious entrepreneur.&nbsp; We regularly get folks buying from us around the world, even when the price of shipping is $100 or more.&nbsp; Being able to offer products without a huge shipping cost would earn lots of business in many places (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia are three countries where I know there is significant interest in food storage and Mylar Bags).</p><p>All that said, the biggest hurdle to overcome is the capital requirement.&nbsp; If you are reading this and are interested in becoming a distributor for a well-known and liked brand, and have at least $10,000 in capital to get started (for inventory and shipping of pallets overseas), please drop me a line at admin@discountmylarbags.com to discuss your needs and goals.&nbsp; </p>

  • The 'Genuine Mylar' Question; does it mean anything?

    <p>I do my best to keep updated on what my competition is doing.&nbsp; I always make sure our prices are awesome and competitive and that we continue to expand our product selection to match what our customers are looking for.&nbsp; Recently, a competitor has started to advertise his bags as 'Genuine Mylar' Mylar bags.&nbsp; Now, I'm all for good marketing, but along with that, he trashes any of his competitors that import bags.&nbsp; I don't like to get into 'he said, she said' arguments with my competitors, as that generally doesn't help anyone.&nbsp; However, when a competitor starts getting into half-truths that could tarnish reputable companies (and not just mine), I feel the need to say something.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>This is what the competitor says in some of his ads (and this is one of the nicer ones):&nbsp; </p><p>"Is it REAL Mylar® ??? <br> <br> Mylar® is a brand name for a special film developed by DuPont and like Kleenex and Scotch tape, the name is now being used as a generic term to represent anything similar. Sadly, most vendors are selling foil-lined bags from China. However, there is a difference and these come directly from an official distributor for a REAL Mylar® manufacturer, who pays no shipping charges and can afford to compete with those selling inexpensive imports. <br> <br> Mylar® possesses many desirable properties including gas and moisture resistance, chemical stability, high tensile strength, and when laminated to aluminum foil, Mylar® provides a higher puncture resistance than any metallized polyester film. It should be noted that most other flexible packaging companies sell laminated structures with only 0.000285" thick aluminum foil, which provides very little resistance to punctures and tears."</p><p>Let's break it down and illustrate how many misleading statements there are in these two short paragraphs.</p><p>1:&nbsp; 'Sadly, most vendors are selling foil-lined bags from China'</p><p>Response:&nbsp; The company our competitor buys from imports Mylar bags from China regularly.&nbsp; I used to conduct business with both companies, and the bigger company would never actually tell me where they sourced their bags from, but tried to imply it was from the US.&nbsp; However, public records of said company show clearly they import MANY (if not most) of the items they sell.&nbsp; This was one of the reasons I decided to start working personally with a reputable manufacturer, as the lack of supply chain information provided by the supplier was scary.&nbsp;</p><p>A second point is that there is nothing inherently wrong with 'foil-lined bags from China'.&nbsp; I worked with several manufacturers in the US (as I VERY much love selling American made products when I can, and for the first several years sold only USA-sourced products), and I hate to say it, but it was constantly a challenge.&nbsp; Every one had trouble even building small orders.&nbsp; They included cut, torn and damaged bags among the good stock, and if I didn't catch those during packaging, the customer would end up with it.&nbsp; Their bags never had the same clarity and aesthetics as our current bags.&nbsp; And they didn't keep me updated if something was going to be late, and otherwise provided pretty poor customer service.</p><p>By contrast, our Chinese partner company ships entire containers of product to us without a single problem, where it was difficult getting even a single pallet 100% correct from an American manufacturer.&nbsp; Our Asian bags are almost 100% free of the defects that plagued our US-based manufacturers.&nbsp; And while it takes a while longer to ship something from Asia, when they say something is going to ship at a certain time, it does.</p><p>2:&nbsp; 'Mylar® is a brand name for a special film developed by DuPont and like Kleenex and Scotch tape, the name is now being used as a generic term to represent anything similar.'</p><p>This is true.&nbsp; Most 'Mylar bags' don't include any Mylar.&nbsp; The website where my competitor buys his Mylar bags from doesn't list Mylar (BoPet) ANYWHERE on the technical specification section of their website, so I'm not sure why he is convinced he is selling Mylar and no one else is. Plus, a fun fact for those keeping score, Mylar film is now ONLY made by a <a href="https://www.dupontteijinfilms.com/">multinational partnership between Dupont and a Japanese company named Teijin.</a></p><p>One other thing to remember is that Mylar was developed in the 1950's.&nbsp; There are many comparable, or better, films on the market today than Mylar that have been developed over the last 60 years.&nbsp; In the end, it is the results that matter.&nbsp; Our products have as good or better barrier rates to moisture and oxygen, contain genuine Mylar films, and are constructed in the exact same way, as any product with 'Mylar film'.&nbsp; </p><p>If I had to guess, that is what it actually comes down to, and why our competitor says these things.&nbsp; There's no getting around it, importing is less expensive than buying American.&nbsp; To cover that fault, they need to convince you that the extra money you are paying if you buy from them (for essentially the same product with the same protection) is worth it.</p><p>3:&nbsp; "Mylar® possesses many desirable properties including gas and moisture resistance, chemical stability, high tensile strength, and when laminated to aluminum foil, Mylar® provides a higher puncture resistance than any metallized polyester film."</p><p>Again, this is true.&nbsp; However, you could just as easily say 'PET films possess many desirable properties including gas and moisture resistance, chemical stability, high tensile strength, and when laminated to aluminum foil, PET films provide a higher puncture resistance than any metallized polyester film."&nbsp; All PET films have these same properties, they are not unique to 'name-brand' Mylar.</p><p>The last part of the sentence is also misleading.&nbsp; Foil-lined bags (which includes all our ShieldPro 5 mil+ bags) are made by a different process than metallized polyester bags (our Econ line, for example, is metallized polyester), and they are not intended to be equivalent products.&nbsp; It's like saying 'That Hummer has better crash resistance than that Honda Fit'.&nbsp; The Honda Fit is still an awesome little car that's not trying to be a Hummer.&nbsp; If you're storing food for a few years, why would you pay extra to put it in a bag that costs twice as much when it will last just as well and be just as edible in a lighter bag that costs half?&nbsp; We sell millions of Econ bags because for many folks, they provide the protection they need at a price that is very affordable.</p><p>Interestingly I will note that the company supplying bags to our competitor also sells millions of metallized polyester bags, because they are a different product line for a different type of customer.&nbsp; Again, this is just a case where our competitor doesn't carry an inexpensive line of bags, and so needs to steer you to his expensive line.&nbsp;</p><p>4:&nbsp; "who pays no shipping charges and can afford to compete with those selling inexpensive imports."</p><p>As I mentioned, the supplier in question imports huge quantities of bags and products (again, there is nothing wrong with that), and this quote leads me to believe either my competitor doesn't know that, and potentially may not even understand where his products might be coming from.&nbsp; Basically, our competitor is buying from a wholesaler, not working with a manufacturer, and that is why they can't get their prices as low and need to come up with misleading advertising to sell products.</p><p>At the end of the day, I want everyone to prep, store food and water, and otherwise be prepared to take care of themselves and their families.&nbsp; Thus, I will always do my best to be straight up with you, even if it causes you to not buy something from me.&nbsp; If you have any questions about this article, storing food, our manufacturing process, or anything else, please let me know.&nbsp; While I won't share a few trade secrets (such as the exact manufacturing specifications of our best-in-class bags), the rest of my business is an open door for you to look through and understand.&nbsp; So please drop me a line with questions, comments or suggestions to admin@discountmylarbags.com.</p>

  • The Advice and Beans Long Term Food Storage Plan

    <p><em>The Advice and Beans Long Term Food Storage Plan (well, medium term!)<br></em></p><p>First, let me state up front, I’m not claiming any of this as my personal inspiration. In fact, this plan takes bits and pieces from several sources, including the LDS, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26field-keywords%3Djames%2520wesley%2520rawles%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&amp;tag=adviandbean-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957">James Wesley, Rawles</a><img style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adviandbean-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="1"> and my mother’s common sense. You might also find it odd that I sell <a href="http://shop.adviceandbeans.com">long-term storage products (oxygen absorbers and Mylar bags)</a>, and yet I’m not going to push the ‘buckets and beans’ approach to food storage.</p><p>That’s because while I think rice and beans have their place in a looooong-term storage plan, such as if you decide to store 1-2 years of food or more, for any plan 6-months or less, it’s only honest to admit you can probably store your everyday eats and be just fine. That doesn’t mean you should store <em>just </em>your regular diet, but it will most likely make up the bulk of your storage.</p><p><em>So what’s the plan?</em></p><p>1) <strong>Plan first, store later.</strong></p><p><a href="http://adviceandbeans.com/?p=466">If you read my post from Monday</a>, you know that I made some horrid early food storage mistakes. These stemmed mainly from a lack of planning. As you read through the whole plan, think about what your most common meals are. For me, breakfast is the same 5 days a week, a bowl of Special K and some Apple Juice. Dinner is pasta, chicken, or meat and potatoes at least 5 times a week as well. Thus, when we shop, we pay special attention to finding good deals on those foods.</p><p>Next, thing about how you are going to organize your food. If you buy in bulk like I did, you can rapidly fill up some shelves! (We’re at 4 and counting)</p><p>2) <strong>Have something available to eat…right now. </strong></p><p>It is incredibly important to have a certain amount of ‘portable and painless’ food in your plan. Emergencies and disasters can be exhausting, and having to think about cooking right at the beginning is just one more unnecessary burden.</p><p>My wife and I meet this in a couple of ways. First, have a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26field-keywords%3Dmre%2527s%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&amp;tag=adviandbean-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957">couple of cases of MRE’s.</a><img src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adviandbean-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="1"> These are not the C-Rations your dad or grandad told you about that they ate in the military. While they are not gourmet, I rather enjoy most MRE’s. If someone is picky about hot food, make sure you get the one’s with heaters, as they are only a tad more expensive.</p><p>I also now store food I can readily cook with my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26field-keywords%3Djetboil%2520%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&amp;tag=adviandbean-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957">Jetboil Camping Stove</a><img style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=adviandbean-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="1">. Things such as Progresso soup, cocoa and coffee.</p><p>Finally, we always have on hand, sealed in plastic totes, various snack packs, Oreo’s, ritz crackers, and peanut butter. Again, nothing is gourmet and we wouldn’t want to live on it long-term, but we have a variety of filling, family-friendly food.</p><p>These types of foods provide plenty of nutrition and calories for a short-term emergency up to perhaps a 7-day power outage. The MRE’s are also convenient if you have to send someone out for some reason, as they are self-contained and have a high calories count. (Typically 1500-2000 for civilian MRE’s)</p><p>Some other foods that you could store for this purpose, but that we don’t (in quantity at least) are Slim Jim’s Mean and Cheese packs (an easy 200 calories that doesn’t taste horrible and is not just meat), power bars (these need to be rotated faster than you might think though), and dry soups such as Cup-a-Noodle (assuming you also store a method to boil water if the power is out)</p><p>2) <strong>Don’t switch your diet if you don’t want to.</strong></p><p>While my wife and I now rather enjoy cooking with our ‘beans (and wheat, and oats) and rice’, after doing an examination of expiration dates, I’ve come to the conclusion we didn’t have to.</p><p>By checking expiration dates, you will know how much of a given food you could store without worrying about any of it going bad. For example, if you eat 6 cans of green beans and canned corn per week, and the average expiration date is 2 years away, you could store 600 cans of green beans and canned corn and never worry about it going bad! Next, take a look at your peanut butter. I eat the Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter and it has a relatively short shelf life, around 6 months. I eat about 1 can per month. In my basement, I have 6 cans stored. However, my wife eats regular Jif, which has almost a 2 year shelf life, so we store more of hers than mine.</p><p>If you do this for every food that is in your pantry, you will find that you can keep larger stocks of 70-80% of your regularly groceries and avoid some of the hassles associated with ultra-long term food storage. Obviously the one challenge is perishables. For me, that means I also store dry milk, a grain grinder so we can make flour if we need to (whole wheat is much better for you anyway!) to bake bread, and sufficient water to cook with.</p><p>3) <strong>Make sure you rotate.</strong></p><p>Our food storage set-up makes it very easy to rotate our foods. When I need peanut butter, I just go downstairs and get it. When I come in from the grocery store, it is right next to our food storage racks. I simply drop off all my food storage food and take the rest of the perishables upstairs. Usually it sits on the floor til the weekend when my wife or I go down to properly organize it.</p><p>Some folks might not have such an easy set-up, but in order to not waste food, some method should be established where you are always eating the oldest.</p><p>4) <strong>Buy some of each.</strong></p><p>Don’t do what I did, and make sure if you decide on a 6-month food storage plan, you don’t buy just 6 months of green beans on one grocery run, 6 months of peanut butter the next, etc. That is a surefire way to make sure you only have half-a-pantry when something bad does happen. </p><p>5) <strong>Buy in bulk and on sale.</strong></p><p>While this might sound like it contradicts point #4, it doesn’t really. This rule really took effect for us after we had a good base of food storage. Once we were in a position where we didn’t go to the grocery store every week, when we do go to the store, we are now much more able to focus on items that are on sale. </p><p>However, even earlier on if you see a great deal on one particular item and you have the cash to purchase it, don’t hesitate. For example, I was in Walmart last week and I saw Apple Juice 96oz containers on sale for $1.50 (regularly $2.06). While many people might walk out with 1 and save themselves $.56, I know I will drink it and thus bought 10 and saved $5.60. Sure, it takes up some space, but we’re set up to do it and I’d rather not go back 2 weeks later and find that the price is now $2.25! Also, at $15 it is definitely a good portion of my allotted food storage money, but not enough that I didn’t also pick up some extra canned peaches (also on sale).</p><p>At your regular grocery stores, find out where and when the deals are. For example, I religiously check <a href="http://www.publix.com/bogo/">Publix’s buy-one-get-one page</a>. If you have access to a Costco or Sam’s Club, take advantage of both buying in volume and at lower prices. Aldi’s, Dollar General, and Sav-a-Lot are also local venues where we find great prices.</p><p>6) <strong>Include something sweet.</strong></p><p>This is a must! Chocolate chip cookies, Thin Mints, or some M&amp;M’s all store well enough in cool environments to last a minimum 3-6 months. Both adults and kids need some normalcy during an emergency, and something sweet definitely fits the bill. For something that lasts a little longer, consider jello (if you know you’ll be able to make it) or hot cocoa.</p>

  • The Five Basics of Prepping and Survival

    <p>For me, basic prepping and survival comes down to 5 things:</p><p>1)&nbsp; Water</p><p>2)&nbsp; Food</p><p>3)&nbsp; Shelter</p><p>4)&nbsp; Fire</p><p>5)&nbsp; Light</p><p>Sure, there are other things you'll want to have when preparing for a survival situation...first aid, medications, guns and ammo among other things.&nbsp; But at the end of the day, prepping water, food,shelter, fire and light will serve your core needs, equating essentially to the bottom tiers of Maslow's Hierarchy.&nbsp; </p><p>The first two, water and food, you will die without very quickly.&nbsp; Dehydration can kill in as little as 3 days.&nbsp; Starvation takes a bit longer depending on metabolism and activity levels, and many folks could likely go 3-4 weeks without eating, although you will continually weaken without nourishment.</p><p>Shelters' necessity level depends a good deal on the climate you live in.&nbsp; While it may not be necessary for a while in mild climates, hypothermia can kill faster than even lack of water.</p><p>Fire is the basic and most important tool of mankind, offering warmth (shelter), light, the ability to cook out many of the impurities in food, pasteurization of water, and a hundred other uses.&nbsp; While fire may not sustain life, it is invaluable in preserving it.</p><p>I often debate with including 'light' on my list, and I can see reasons for not including it.&nbsp; However, I usually do because light is an intangible benefit for humans.&nbsp; Without it, we are helpless for much of the day (night).&nbsp; Our ability to create light is one of the differentiators between man and animal, as we are not required to live by the cycles dictated by the sun to many other creatures.</p><p>So whether you are just starting your prepping and survival plan, make sure you have the 5 bases covered, starting with water.&nbsp; I know many individuals and groups who skip around and prep haphazardly (At one point I was one of them); however, working without a plan, and missing any of the above could cost you dear.</p>

  • MOLT (Moisture, Oxygen, Temperature, Light) - The Enemies of Long Term Food Storage

    <p>One of the most frequent emergency preparedness questions I get asked is 'how long will food store?' if I use Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers. I don’t try to be evasive, but sometimes I can’t come right out and say a specific period of time, whether that will be 1, 5, 10, 20 or even 30 years, which is the claim that many survival and preparedness sites use as the longest food will store. The reason is that there are multiple factors that go into whether your food will store poorly or well long term, and the packaging is just one piece of it. I definitely don’t want my families livelihood or another families survival threatened if I say ‘yes, your food will store 5 years’ and then 5 years from now someone opens their food and find it is spoiled because they stored it in their garage which is 110 degrees in the summer and -10 in the winter, they didn’t seal the bags properly, and they stored food with 25% moisture content.<a href="http://adviceandbeans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/food_storage.jpg"><img title="food_storage" src="http://adviceandbeans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/food_storage-300x144.jpg" alt="" height="144" width="300"></a></p><p>Here is what I will say: there have been studies of long term <a href="http://ndfs.byu.edu/Research/LongTermFoodStorageResearch/ResearchOnFoodStorage.aspx">food storage methods done by the LDS</a> and others that indicate some foods can be stored up to 30 years or more. What that means is that the food retains its nutritional and caloric value, but might still have some taste and palatability issues. However, please be aware that most of these studies are for the standard practice of the LDS Church of using #10 cans in their food storage. You might find it funny for a supplier of Mylar and O2 absorbers to recommend #10 can sealing. Mostly I want to provide the best information I can, and there is no doubt that #10 can sealing is the best way to store food long term…if you have access to a sealer and a supply of #10 cans. The challenge is can sealing is VERY expensive. To store the same 400 pounds of food that a standard <a href="http://www.discountmylarbags.com/products/%2810%29-Mylar-Bags-%285-Gallon%29-%252b-%2820%29-Oxygen-Absorbers-.html">Mylar Bag combo kit</a> can, it would take approximately 80 #10 cans. Even if you add in the cost of buckets, it would cost the average person $80.00 or so to store using Mylar and buckets, but over $400 using #10 cans. That’s a pretty huge difference if you are trying to take care of your financial resources. If you have access to an LDS cannery, you can get cans much cheaper, but even so it would cost 50-100% more to store using cans.</p><p>So yes, I recommend #10 can sealing if you can afford it and have access to the tools needed, but I recommend Mylar and bucket storage as the next best thing for the rest of us preppers. A properly sealed Mylar bag stored with an oxygen absorber inside a bucket mimics the most important properties of the #10 can system: oxygen elimination and light control inside a rigid barrier to protect from rodents or insects. The other two properties that most effect your long-term food storage and temperature and moisture. </p><p>Because I had a hard time remembering the four main enemies of food storage, I came up with the acronym MOLT. It stands for Moisture, Oxygen, Light and Temperature, and it helps me keep focused on mitigating each of them when our family stores food. Sometimes I include ‘Time’ as a fifth enemy, but it is really just that the other 4 do damage…over time. Let’s take a brief look at each.</p><p>Moisture is probably the most difficult of the factors affecting your food storage, mainly because it is a byproduct of our environment and where we live, as well as a component of the actual food. Unless you live in a desert or extremely arid part of the country, you are going to have some or much humidity at one or more points during the year. This is also why you should look to store low moisture foods, preferably under 10%. It’s interesting that many types of dog food will list the moisture content right on the bag (we have several between 8-12% moisture stored), but people food generally won’t. This is likely a combination of lack of interest, lack of regulation, and the fact that people foods are almost always listed with a shelf life. The food types that are available with a low moisture content are those people generally associate with long-term food storage: grains, beans, legumes, and dehydrated or freeze dried foods. If you are buying bulk grain from a farmer, they will usually know the moisture content of their products; some bulk packaged foods at the big box stores may also indicate it on their packaging. A good rule of thumb is grains will shatter and turn to powder if hit with a hard object; other seeds should break in half if bent. This is another case of using your best judgment.</p><p>The second enemy of food storage is oxygen. Oxygen allows the growth of micro-organisms, some of which can be harmful to food, as well as causing oxidation (especially profound on oils, which become rancid) and spoilage. Luckily, with the development of oxygen absorbers, it has become fairly easy to eliminate oxygen inside food packaging. Mylar bags meant for food storage have incredibly low oxygen (and water vapor) pass through. For example, the larger Mylar bags we carry have an Oxygen Transfer Rate (OTR) of less than 1cc (1/1000th of a liter) per year. So if you stored a bag of wheat long-term and it was properly sealed with an oxygen absorber, it would take 1000 years to have 1 liter of oxygen pass through the bag. That’s quite a barrier!</p><p>Light is the third enemy of food storage. This, combined with the others, is why it is always recommended that you store food in a ‘cool, dark, and dry’ place. Like oxygen, light causes spoilage and the reduction in vitamin content in food. However, it is probably the easiest characteristic to guard against. Mylar itself is an excellent light barrier; a bucket is another. Storing food in a dark area completes the process. Even most standard food packaging blocks light sufficiently. I suggest this is probably the easiest of the 4 enemies to fight.</p><p>The final enemy of food storage is temperature. Depending on where and how you live, it may be easy or extremely difficult to control the temperature at which you keep your food storage foods. In the old days, many people had root cellars to help preserve food. Today, if you have a basement, it may stay relatively cool as well. We are lucky in that we have a split-level ranch where our downstairs/basement stays on average 10 degrees cooler than upstairs. This allows our food storage to stay in relatively decent condition of around 50-60 degrees year-round. However, during the height of summer it can get to 70 degrees, depending on how much we use our basement door for outside access. One rule of thumb is that for every 10 degrees warmer it gets, your foods’ shelf-life is cut in half. For example, if you go from storing a bucket of wheat at 60 degrees to 70 degrees, instead of lasting 20 years, it will likely only last 10. You can see how important this makes the environment you are storing your food in. I’ve seen some great suggestions for storing food in a regular living area to take advantage of the generally cooler environment. For example, some folks store food in closets or under their beds. You can find wheeled shelving that will even let you put canned goods under a bed and be able to roll it in and out for access.</p><p>As you examine your situation, take some time to plan when you are about to begin a phase of food storage. Understand the environment you have to work with, and consider buying foods appropriate to that environment. If you live in area where humidity is high year-round, consider more canned goods than others which will degrade because of that. If temperature is an issue, be prepared to rotate your foods more frequently.&nbsp; Your survival may ultimately depend on your ability to plan.</p><p>As always, if you have any questions, please drop me a line at <a href="mailto:admin@adviceandbeans.com">admin@discountmylarbags.com</a>!</p>

  • Welcome to Discount Mylar Bags!

    <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hi everyone and welcome to Discount Mylar Bags (An Advice and Beans brand)!&nbsp; We're excited to bring you the best (and cheapest!) food storage products on the Internet!&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here are a few things we'd like to tell you about:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Free Shipping:&nbsp; All orders over $50 are eligible for free shipping!&nbsp; In general, all orders up to about 12 pounds will be shipped Priority Mail 2-3 Day shipping.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Same Day Shipping:&nbsp; All orders up to about 3pm CST will ship the same day! We are committed to getting your item out the door pronto!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Volume Discounts:&nbsp; Almost all items on the site have discounts available when you purchase multiple quantities.&nbsp; Check out the item descriptions for more information.&nbsp; If you are looking for larger quantities and deeper discounts, please give us a ring or drop us a line!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Privacy:&nbsp; We don't sell your information, EVER!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Security:&nbsp; We don't keep your credit card number; in fact, we don't even see your credit card info, as it is all handled by our Merchant Account, just like regular brick and mortar stores use.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">If you have any questions feel free to drop us a line at <a href="mailto:admin@discountmylarbags.com">admin@discountmylarbags.com</a> or 615-945-0762.</span></p>

  • Money Order Guidelines

    <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>We gladly accept Money Orders.&nbsp; However, to ensure your items ship as fast as possible, please read our guidelines regarding Money Orders.</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">1:&nbsp; When possible, please send a Postal Money Order from the United States Postal Service.&nbsp; This will allow us to ship your order the same day we receive your Money Order, because we can immediately verify the Money Order.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">2:&nbsp; If you do send a non-USPS Money Order, please allow an additional 7-10 business days to receive your order as we will have to let your Money Order clear with our bank.&nbsp; This is because Money Order Fraud is one of the most common types of fraud.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">3:&nbsp; In general, if you have sent us a Money Order previously, we will waive #2 and ship your item immediately if the Money Order is the same or less than your previous order.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">4:&nbsp; Please mail all Money Orders to:<br></span></p><p><br><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><p>Discount Mylar Bags</p><p>490 E Church St</p><p>Lewisburg, TN&nbsp; 37091</p><p><span style="font-size: small;">If you have any questions, please give us a ring at 615-945-0762!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Tobias</span></p>