Food storage?

Pleastic contaniners with pop off lids and zip lock bags. It depends on the content. Some basic staples flour rice etc. stay in the tear all summer perishables that will go into the refrigerator may be repackages and vacuum sealed to take less room.

We store cereal, flour, sugar, rice, chips, etc. in plastic containers. I found some tall Lock and Lock containers that keep chips and cereal extremely fresh. I only use zip locks in the freezer. DH rifles through the cupboards like a puppy digging a hole, or I end up putting something on top of bags so anything in zip locks would not be safe. The bags would be torn or anything in them smashed.

I repackage in Ziploc containers with screw on lids and re-sealable plastic bags. Easier to fit in the cabinet space, keeps bugs out, and the containers are washable. Be sure to label them. A cup of coffee sweetened with coarse salt isn't very tasty.

Reader1 wrote:
We store cereal, flour, sugar, rice, chips, etc. in plastic containers. I found some tall Lock and Lock containers that keep chips and cereal extremely fresh.

We have used these for years with great success. There is a similar container sold by Walmart that seems to be as good. They have a soft silicone gasket that in our experience remains pliable.

plastic containers OXO Good Grips makes a set
http://www.oxo.com/p-877-10-piece-pop-container-set.aspx

Square plastic jars with a screw on/off lid for rice and cereals.

Tupperware container for spaghetti.

I keep nothing in cardboard boxes. Everything goes into air tight plastic containers. Ziplock bags are good because they can be compressed or at least the air released out of them. Several can go into AND SHARE a common see-thru plastic container.

One mistake I made ... that I will never repeat... is thinking that the two-piece telescoping containers are air tight. They are not. I had tiny sugar ants crawl up into the the container via the grooves where the top and bottom pieces slide. Maybe if I had put the contents of the container into zip lock bags, I might have been okay...

We had a serious mice problem several years ago and learned about food storage the hard way. I agree with "nothing in cardboard boxes". I repackage into Ziplock bags and then put inside a plastic container with a tight lid. For staples that I use frequently (coffee, flour, cornmeal, sugar) I use clean plastic mayonnaise jars with screw on lids. Mayonnaise comes in several sized jars and they can be washed in the top rack of the dishwasher. I keep shampoo, soap and etc.in Ziplocks too. Thank you Dr.Ziplock for changing my life. lizzie