storage jars for flour, sugar, oats etc

THIRZAH

We had mice in the cupboard under the sink. Fortunately I spotted the evidence fairly quickly and we got rid of them quickly too.

Since then I've been very careful and store everything in jars. Mine are a mixture-mainly from charity shops. The flour is in old glass sweetie jars and the pasta and rice in various china pasta jars.I do have a few big plastic containers- my sister gets rice in them from Costco.

I label all jars and write the use-by date on the back in marker pen-I'm not too fussy about use-by dates but it gives me a good idea of how old foodstuffs are and I'll make an effort to use them up before they get really ancient.

Skint_yet_Again

I store sugar and oats just in the bag the come in, with no problems, but have massive problems with weevils in flour.

I now buy flour, put straight in freezer for 48 hours. Then open bag and pour into plastic container with sealed lid, similar size to a lunch box, and then store in the fridge. No weevils since I started doing this

sharloid

I was meaning to get round to posting the same thing! We have a walk in pantry that doesn't have a door on so I wanted it to look neat! I'm considering lock n lock boxes but to buy as many as I need would cost quite a lot! Also considering the 365+ range from Ikea.

beadgirl87

Wow thanks for all the replies. Interesting to see other peoples approaches.
I am glad that other people have had pest problems as that is why I was posting, but felt a bit dirty about it. Yesterday I noticed a small hole in the flour bag, and also in the sugar bag. I think it may be that slugs have gotten in, as my food is on the bottom shelf of our shared food cupboard . We have had slugs in the kitchen before.
Made me feel quite sick so I will have to throw away the flour and start using some kind of jars.
Also I think it will look neater as I often have something fall out of the cupboard at me!
going to look in lakeland but probably buy elseware. Also dig out the ikea catalouge, I love that shop, just need to find an excuse to visit one.

zee_2

best place to find glass [best] and plastic large jars is sweetie shop empties, just find one pop in and ask.

Stephen_Leak

Skint_yet_Again wrote: »

I store sugar and oats just in the bag the come in, with no problems, but have massive problems with weevils in flour.

I now buy flour, put straight in freezer for 48 hours. Then open bag and pour into plastic container with sealed lid, similar size to a lunch box, and then store in the fridge. No weevils since I started doing this

For the record, the weevils come with the flour as eggs. And rice as well. The cold kills the eggs.

In the Third World, they just skim the boiled or fried weevils of off the top of the rice.

PS. Of course, the more extreme OS-ers on here would probably regard them as extra free protein. The smallest ones are probably best, as they say that you should always choose the lesser of two weevils.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

[IMG][/img]I reuse Starbucks Coffee Bottles they make fabulous containers for my Condensed Milk which I can use for Vietnamese Coffee...
awaiting picture for all to enjoy.x

sharloid

dandy-candy wrote: »

I use http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50213546/ they come in all sizes and are very good value. Also they are thick glass - I have dropped them and they didn't break! The seals are great, I keep sugar, flour, rice, oats, dried peas/lentils, chamomile tea etc in mine.

Do you not find that if you try to pour from them the lids swing forward and trap your fingers? Or is that just me? :P

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Red Hot Original Sauce bottles are good as well!!

kitschkitty

I recently decanted all my lentils, rice and pasta into Innocent Juice bottles - available in 2 sizes (after enjoying the yummy juice)! As they are squarish they take up a lot less space on the shelf, they have very solid lids, and are much nicer plastic than milk bottles.

I find pouring from a bottle is much, much easier than from a box or packet, and they are lighter which is a bonus for me as mine are stored on the top shelf. Also no worries of breaking glass jars!

I did buy a set of kilner jars from Robert Dyas for my tea and coffee and they all chipped around the clips as soon as I used them so had to return them all. Tried a set of expensive ceramic jars & didn't get on with them either, then a metal set - which were OK but need a lot of cleaning. Now we use plastic jars I got from Asda and we are much happier with them, even though they were much cheaper than all the ones we tried in the past!