You've asked a question that I ask myself lots of times. It seems like when I figure out the ideal way to store things, well...after awhile it doesn't seem so great and I try and redo it all, lol.
I don't have the humidity problems others would have, so food storage is not hard. The hard part about that is just finding enough room for everything. I'm going through that right now, and trying to revamp my kitchen as I type this. There has got to be a way to organize better then I am doing. Right now we have a closet that we are using for food that would have to go with us if we had to run for it. It's like the size of a coat closet, so not very big. That food is kept in tote bags, and boxes for easy grabbing.
Now emergency supplies mean different things to different people, but I'll try and share how we do it.
Candles, flashlights, matches, generator ect. Everything you would need if the power went out is kept in a closet in the family room. We use these all the time where we live, because power goes out very easily....sometimes for no apparent reason, lol.
Stored water is kept in the master bedroom under the bed.
Now, to me, emergency supplies is also BOB bags, rifles, ammo. Everything that we would need for survival away from the house. Hopefully we will never have the need to use them, but they are there and ready to be used at all times. Every person has two hooks in their bedroom. One hook carries their Bob backpack, the other hook holds a set of clothes appropriate to outdoor living WITH hiking boots hung on the hook too. (Number one question at our house is "Where are my shoes?, so the golden rule is hiking boots are always hung. That way no one needs to hunt for them if something happens. Each child has a 22 hung above their hooks, ammo in their pack. Oops, I take that back, oldest ds has a 30-06, not a 22. (they do grow up, lol)
Dh and I are set up the same way in our room, except there is room for more rifles above the pack because if we know company is coming with kids, our kids put their rifles in our bedroom so company is safe and I don't have to worry.
Let's see....I have a linen closet in my bathroom that I have saved two shelves for non linens. Extra TP, paper towels, kleenex, feminine products, ect. go on.
We keep our woodpile stocked at all times, and that includes a pile big enough for 1 week on our deck right outside our sliding door. Yeah, in winter it seems like we move wood a lot! Dh cuts wood in his sleep sometimes, I think. We have the branch pile, the wet pile, the need to be split pile, and the dry piles. We all work like an assembly line, moving the wood from place to place as it seasons.
I like this topic, and have been having withdrawels because I haven't talked about survival with anyone for awhile, so I know I went into more detail then you asked.
Around here basements are not real common. Some homes have daylight basements, but that is usually for family rooms or living space. Not the "storage" space that I think you are talking about. We don't have hurricanes, tornado's, or lightening like you would have to prepare for. We could be buried in ash from the mountain, but I have a t-shirt here somewhere from when I was younger that says "I was there when Mt. St. Helens blew and survived."
So, I think I would survive again.
Anywho....I always thought those root cellars I see in movies would be cool. If I lived somewhere that I could do that, I would. Here I'm afraid I would dig a hole and then when seeking shelter, the rain would come and I would drown in the hole!!
Okay, so some hidey holes in my house that can store things....maybe this will give you some ideas.
Under beds
Attic spaces-Our area between ceiling and roof is not high enough to even stand up in, but with added ventilation we were able to lay plywood up there to store extra items. We bought one of those pull down ladders that we can access that space easily. It's not a big space, only what we can wiggle from the opening of the ceiling. Maybe 8 ft x 8ft.
We added more shelves in our kitchen cabinets. Lots of unused spaces in cabinets. Cans and jars are easily packed into smaller spaces with more shelves.
Shelves in every room to hold stuff, and get it out of the way of everyday moving. Don't forget your hallways. This was my biggest surprise, because I didn't want a shelve in my hallway. With 6 people living here, it can become a traffic jam in hallways but the shelves are put up high next to the ceiling and doesn't block us from traveling. Most of the time I forget the shelves are there because they are up high....that is why they are so dusty!!
Take your sheetrock off a inside wall (because of insulation reasons) build shelves withen the framework. Just the right size to hold canned goods...both cans and jars!
Extra blankets take up a lot of room. I got this hint from someone (can't remember) on HT. Put extra blankets between the box spring and mattress of your beds. Get's them out of the closets, and gives you extra room.
That's all I can think about now. Thanks Kathy for bringing this subject up. My suggestions might be old news, but I sure enjoyed thinking about it all. Plus it gave me a break from organizing my kitchen.
My post really didn't look that big when I was replying. Sorry!! Nothing like going on and on, and writing a novel! 