I have them in Ziplock freezer bags and they are still in original pkgs.
lol I have a large unique looking glass container on the shelf, with an assortment of beans I’ve had for 38 years.
It’s sort of a symbol I made so I’ll feel secure in the fact that I’ll always have food in the house. Just a silly thing. Probably full of bugs. If I’m starving they might taste pretty good though.
Cooking tip for old beans.
They can stay tough even with long cooking.
Soak them overnight.
Rinse and then pressure can.
Fill the jars about 3/4 full..The rest with water.
The combination of high temp and pressure will make them tender.
Don’t know about 38 years (!), but if you have some beans that simply won’t soften, that means that they are too old. However: they can be ground in a food mill and the resultant cracked or ground *meal* can then be added to soups and gravies, used as a thickener or even as an *instant* soup, by themselves. I have seen recipes for adding this to baked goods, too. It may take a couple of passes thru the mill to obtain something fine enough to be called flour instead of meal.
I believe you need a stainless steel mill, not stone, to accomplish this successfully without excessive wear on the mill.
As for room, I have read about people taking the wall board off and putting shelving between the studs for extra storage space. I think you would then want to add a hinged door over that space.