Rice that outlives your rig

Long-term food storage is sold to you as expensive freeze-dried buckets with a mountain on the label. The real version is boring and cheap.

Three barriers:

Mylar bag (5-mil). Aluminized film, essentially impermeable to oxygen and light. This is the actual barrier. 5-mil is the sweet spot — thick enough not to pinhole, thin enough to seal clean.

Oxygen absorber. An iron-powder packet that chemically consumes the oxygen sealed inside. Roughly 2000cc for a 5-gallon bag, 300cc for a 1-gallon. Better than vacuum sealing — removes oxygen more completely and doesn't crush the food.

Food-grade bucket. The armor. Mylar stops oxygen; a mouse chews right through it.

Verified shelf lives below 70°F: white rice 20–30 years · dried beans 20–25 · pasta 20–30 · rolled oats 8–12 (oil content) · sugar and salt indefinite.