i have both the totes and the 5 gal buckets..a couple are about 3 ft long and hold large things like 5 man tent and couple of army cots..the other is full of my grandfathers hand tools..saws planers measure devices etc..all my totes have gear in them no food items food goes in the buckets..as with you i did the list thing with my totes each item is on the list inside the top of the box a copy was put into a blue folder and each crate was just numbered..so if i am looking for a canteen i get the folder find which numbered crate its in and get in that crate..all my ammo is in ammo cans as well..and all this stuff has been brought from PA to WV and moved around 4-5 times since in WV..i dont plan on any bugout either under any reason..