Once you're on your way to stocking up your food stores, you've definitely got to figure out a good food storage solution or else your spouse/significant other/roommates are going to get pretty unhappy pretty quickly and are going to start throwing around the "hoarder" title when they talk about you! There is, of course, no one-size-fits-all answer for food storage. If you have a spacious living situation, the options are obviously more plentiful. At my house currently there is food in the pantry, in metal shelves in the garage, in a few indoor closets, and in the crawl space under the house. I know people who have weekend cabins or rent storage units and have supplies stored there. In a small apartment I have heard of more creative solutions, like incorporating stored food as furniture and in several other interesting spots (see below).

BASIC FOOD STORAGE OPTIONS FOR MOST HOMES:
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- Pantry 
- Closets (especially under the stairs)
- Garage (use plastic bins and metal racks)
- Basement or crawl space
- Garden shed
- Storage unit
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An empty crawl space is wasted space!

It may not be pretty, but use what you've got!

Basic pantry storage

SMALL HOME/APARTMENT FOOD STORAGE LOCATIONS:
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- Make a coffee tablet (bottled water or boxes of food with glass or wood on top
- Under the couch (in baskets)
- Under the stairs
- In the back of your closet(s)
- Under the bed (plastic bins)
- Behind books on the bookshelves
- Above the refrigerator (nothing good is ever up there)
- In empty suitcases