Organization question for those who buy in bulk

[amyinva]

I am trying to figure out how to store all this stuff in an organized way! We have 6 kids, so we go through a lot of food. We also recently have gone vegan (mostly). So I have huge bags of wheat, brown rice, oats, quinoa, and soon beans and lentils. I also have a lot of smaller stuff, dried fruit, nuts & seeds, dried mushrooms, chiles, etc that I need to not have in little brown bags all over my pantry! Then there is oil, vinegar, not to mention keeping bread fresh, and all these enormous quantities of veggies in my fridge!

 

How do you store your stuff & keep your pantry neat? I have some large buckets for some of the bigger things (with nifty gamma seal lids) but this is not helpful for smaller items and daily use.

 

Thank you for any awesome ideas, pictures, etc. :D

Edited February 19, 2012 by Amy in VA

[Desert Rat]

For smaller items, I use glass mason jars, the larger size. They keep the food fresh, are reusable, and best of all, you can see what's in them.

I switched away from plastics a year ago. Mason jars are cheap and I like the way the look, too.

HTH

[amyinva]

I started with quart mason jars, but I feed 9 people at a time, so I was refilling them pretty much every time I made anything. I guess i could try to find larger ones, but not sure they will use the pantry space efficiently.

 

Good for chiles, dried fruit, etc. though.

[sweetbasil]

I store everything in 5 gallon or 2 gallon buckets with gamma lids, or in half gallon mason jars.

 

If you don't mind plastic, I like these in the 5 lb size (only the smaller 1 lb is pictured)

 

https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/2012/

 

I like them because they're light, squarish (so they store neatly next to each other), and are easy to hold & pour.

[KungFuPanda]

Check the pet store. Seriously. They have all the sizes. Some are clear. Some are stackable or wall mounted. Some even come with scoops. It's food-grade plastic and it seals. It never would have occurred to me, but I have a chef friend who uses it for bulk storage. I think it's brilliant. Of course, in my heart of hearts, I really covet Pioneer Woman's drawers for bulk storage, but that's not happening any time soon.

[Slipper]

My Gran had kitchen benches made (by my grandfather) for people to sit on instead of chairs. The seats lifted up and she stored bulk flour, sugar, etc inside of them.

[Carol in Cal.]

I use the normal 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids for the big amounts--each holds a 25 lb sack of dry goods exactly.

 

Then I have lots of sizes of widemouthed glass canning jars--pint, 3/2 pint, quart, half gallon, and gallon. They are seethrough, can handle heat and freezing, stackable, and bugproof. Plus they are not that expensive, and you can buy new lids separately if necessary. You can throw them into the dishwasher--they are far more functional than Tupperware or equivalents.