Can you store filled canning jars on an angle?

14 years ago

Hi -

Our 120 year old home has a small laundry room right off the kitchen. It is long and narrow and there is a lot of extra space in the far end of the laundry room, where we have our small chest freezer in an alcove.

Deciding I was going to turn the laundry room into a laundry/pantry, I ripped down the wallpaper and laughed when I saw the old marks from shelving all around the room where I was planning to put shelves. :)

But my question to you is this:

The alcove that my chest freezer is in is 3' wide and 4' deep (and 11' tall). This would be a great place to store canning jars, above the chest freezer, except it's a 3' wide and 4' deep space and the lowest shelves would be about 5' off the floor. :)

I was wondering if I could set the shelves at a slight angle so I could put all the jars of one thing in a row from front to back, and when the front one was taken, the rest would slide forward. Of course there would need to be a "stopper" in the front to keep them from crashing on the floor. (top shelves would just be for empty jars)

If that is a bad idea, can you suggest some other solution that takes advantage of the whole 4' depth considering the height?

Thanks!

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Comments (8)

digdirt2
14 years ago
Won't work unless you want to risk all those seal failures. Even if you left the rings on - which you aren't supposed to do anyway - you'd still get seal failures.

Not sure I understand the problem with using the shelves with your given measurements as is - and a foot stool or small step-ladder. The 4' deep aspect could be a problem I suppose but not a serious one and the shelves don't have to be that deep.

If the shelves already exist just screw a small block of wood to the shelf at 2' or 3' of depth so the jars won't go in any deeper. If they aren't built yet then just build them 2' deep with backer boards to prevent jars falling off the back.

Dave
kterlep
Original Author
14 years ago
yeah I thought I couldn't tip them without compromising the seal. The problem is, I'm 5'6" and probably the safest person around canning jars (I've only canned 40 or so jars of strawberry jam this year and my husband has already broken one, grr). So, even on a stepstool, I'm still going to be reaching up, so only 1' or so will be useful. I think I'm going to have to make that a pot/pan cupboard or something...yeah. And maybe a good place for empty canning jars in boxes. :)

Thanks for helping me shoot down my crazy idea. :)
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digdirt2
14 years ago
Another thought came to me while up n the garden - a laundry room isn't the best place to store home canned goods anyway. Too much heat and humidity. Got a cool dry dark closet somewhere that you can install shelves in? In boxes under the bed works too. ;)

Dave
ksrogers
14 years ago
I have a basement and set up shelving 2x4 feet by 6 foot tall. They hold over 200 jars of stuff that always sits vertically. The only issue with eaving rings on is they can rust under the threads, but I don't have that issue anymore, so I leave the rings on. I always check the seal before unscrewing the rings, as its very obvious to me when there is a failure as the lid swells if its bad or leaked. Only had a single peach lid leak in 10 years.
shirleywny5
14 years ago
How deep is the shelf? If no more than 6 jars deep, just reach in and push the remaining jars forward. My purchased shelves are 6 quart jars deep.
shirleywny5
14 years ago
How deep is the shelf? If no more than 6 jars deep, just reach in and push the remaining jars forward. My purchased shelves are 6 quart jars deep.
kterlep
Original Author
14 years ago
yes, I am going to have to set up shelves in the basement. Basement is yucky and dark and there are probably bugs or monsters!
digdirt2
14 years ago
Naw! shelves full of Beautiful jars of home canned food is guaranteed to repel monsters. :)

Dave

Can you store filled canning jars on an angle?

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Can you store filled canning jars on an angle?

Comments (8)

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