I'm interested to hear answers to this question! I don't like to have a lot of stuff on the counter either. Also, I can never find canisters that will hold a 5lb bag of flour. I have no idea why they make the sets of canisters so small! :)

Take care!

I have some 20 year old Tupperware canisters that I bought back when my food was stored in an icky apartment pantry. They were sized to hold a 5lb bag of flour, a 5lb bag of sugar, a pound of coffee, and, I don't know what the small one was meant for. They probably still make something that's large enough. If they don't sell dedicated flour/sugar storage containers then large sized modular mates would work.

I use large Rubbermaid square plastic commercial bins from Sams Club, they have graduations on the side. I put the whole bag of flour in it in the bag still. I think they are polycarbonate though, so I would not put the food in there directly.

Like idrive, I have an old Tupperware set. It looks like the ones in this link, although there isn't a window on the side. I'm pretty sure that it holds 5 lbs of flour. I've been very happy with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: tupperware set:

I have several sets of square rubbermaid ones that come from Walmart. Each set has 5 or 6 containers in it. The large container easily holds 5 pounds of sugar or flour and the smaller sized ones are perfect for brown sugar.

OXO Good Grips makes POP containers. They come in a lot of sizes and work great. I got mine on sale at a department store but I think BB&B has them too.

Here is a link that might be useful: OXO storage containers

I replaced my old Click Clack containers with new ones when we moved back into our kitchen post-reno. I too, wanted larger containers to hold an entire bag or more of flour and sugar (now that I had the cabinet space to accommodate them!). I got the ones linked below (in the 3.4L/3.6qt sizes for flour and sugar, and smaller sizes for coffees and tea bags). They come in a few different colors (mine are the metallic silver color shown in the link) as well as a few different lid types, depending on the store. BB&B carries Click Clack's, but I don't know if they have the ones with this particular lid.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click Clack at The Container Store

I have Tupperware containers that I LOVE for flour and sugar. Mine are the taller square looking ones. I have had them for years. They actually hold exactly ten pounds, so I can put two bags in each one. That way, I never have a half a bag sitting somewhere that doesn't fit in anything. When it gets low, I just buy another five pound bag and put it in the container. I usually keep mine in my pantry but I have just moved and my pantry is smaller so I have left the flour in the pantry (use it less) and put my sugar container on the shelf in my uppper cabinet where I have my baking items. It is really not hard at all to pull out and put back. I keep the sugar bowl filled from it. Bottom line...i like a container that holds 10 pounds.

I'm still using canisters but they are hidden away in the pantry cabinets. I've kept very few things out on the counter since the remodel but the canisters are still handy to have.

I've considered getting bigger ones though so they can hold more, particularly the flour one. But I'm wondering about how heavy it would be and the convenience of pulling it out?

I ended up with some sort of weevil or bug in my pantry (probably from rice). After throwing everything out, I now use large glass Fido jars with bail lids. I think I have the 4 liter one and it holds a 5lb bag. Plastic containers are more practical, but I like the look of old fashioned real glass :).

I also have several of the Oxo pop containers and some click clack ones. Of those, I like the way the Oxo lids work.

Here is a link that might be useful: glass jars

I have taller square sided ones. I think I can put 10 lbs in one, not sure as I buy my flour in 25lb bags and keep the rest in one of my chest freezers. I have them for bread flour, GP flour, with smaller ones for cake flour, wheat flour, sugar, brown sugar and pie crust mix (I make mine ahead of time) I keep the stuff I don't use that often in the freezer so it will keep better. (can you tell I like to bake?)

I have to make sure all my containers have good seals or I'll have things in my stores that I don't want - another reason for storing bulk goods in the freezer - keeps the bugs and mice out.

Mine will all be stored right at the baking zone(island) so all I have to do is reach down and lift them to the counter top use.

Cathy

I've been using glass cracker jars. Inexpensive at Target, etc. They come in lots of sizes -

Here is a link that might be useful: cracker jars

love my oxo storage pop tops!

I use snapware containers. I think I bought at BB&B. I use the tall/slim rectangle for 5# flour/sugar. The website below has all the different types with sizes--h x w x d and how many cups they hold.

-karen

Here is a link that might be useful: Snapware containers

I replaced all of plastics with Lock n Lock from
QVC. They have various containers for different things. Works well for me.
MadamG2u

I have both square and round Tupperware containers. The old round ones have a seal that absolutely keeps everything out, so the sugar never gets chunks in it. I prefer to have as few as possible paper containers in the pantry or cupboards -- I, too, have battled infestations in the past -- but never since I started storing almost everything in something other than their original packaging.

I also like the click-clack and oxo bins.

I use the snapware...can easily fit a 5 lb bag and they are easy to scoop out of and I can stack one on top of another if need be.

I use the same ones as prill. I have had them for years, and I use them for all kinds of stuff (even my laundry detergent!). I like that they have squared sides so they sit together nicely. I will be doing an "open" pantry in the new kitchen, and these will be visible. They are attractive, and I have never had any pest problems with what is inside.

I recently purchased some Snapware to store cereal in. I washed and dried them well. The kids and dh say that the cereal has a plastic flavor somehow leached from the container and they will not eat it. :-(

I will "3rd" the recommendation for OXO POP containers!
Awesome for flour, sugar, rice, nuts, beans!!!!

I use the glass jars like Daki, in a drawer. I've accumulated them over the years and some have nice wide mouths that the spouse can use and some are more narrow so the spouse has to pour and make a mess. Some are round and some are square and most are too small. I should update the shapes and sizes I have, but I'd still go with the same overall style.

And I did make sure my new kitchen had a drawer tall enough for my canisters.

I just bought some snapware containers at Costco. They work perfectly.

3rd the cracker jars that Prill links to above. I prefer glass to plastic. I switched to the jars for flour, sugar, beans, rice, etc. when the new kitchen was finished. I had them in the pantry but liked the way they look so I recently put them out on my new floating shelf.

You can just see them in this picture.

I use the 5-lb. flour canisters from King Arthur Flour for regular flour, whole wheat flour, etc, and some slightly smaller ones from Tupperware for sugar.

I store flour in the refrigerator in a Lock & Lock tall square canister. It holds a 5 lb. bag and fits in the door. Sugar, Brown Sugar, Confectioner's Sugar, Rice and Noodles are stored on the top shelf of a wall cabinet in Snapware.

I bought them at Wal-Mart and Target.

I use round ClickClacks, but OXO pop have just as good a seal with squarish sides. They are both really air tight. The rectangular ClickClacks aren't. I love being able to see through the sides.

If you want to store more than 5 lb., King Arthur Flour catalog has "flour buckets".

Great thread. Thanks for starting! I need to update my storage, and have bookmarked this!
Lisa

Snapware!

Like others here, I use Tupperware. I have these that fit 5 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of sugar, 1 pound of confectioner's sugar, and 1 pound of brown sugar. I have a 5th one that also holds 5 pounds of bread flour (the one w/the white lid).

However, I'm trying to organize my pantry better now that I have a large collection of Gluten Free flours so last week I just ordered Modular Mates in the Square, Rectangular, and Oval shapes...no round ones this time around (primarily b/c they don't fit as nicely on pantry shelves.) They even have a PDF file that tells you the capacity of each container in cups as well as pounds for flour, sugar, etc. It was invaluable when I was planning what I needed and what to order! And, b/c there are two colors for tops, I ordered the blue for Gluten-Free products and red for non-Gluten Free.

BTW...Modular Mates are 40% off through this week. No, I don't sell Tupperware, but I have found they are the best plastic storage containers around. There was a thread on the "Cooking", "Cleaning", or "Organizing" forum (I don't remember which one) a while ago discussing pantry moths and how to get rid of them. It was mentioned that Tupperware will keep out pantry moths, etc. but that Rubbermaid does not....

Here is a link that might be useful: Tupperware - Modular Mates®

I started using Tupperware Modular Mates after a flour moth infestation. I prefer the rectangular shape. When a box has information on it that I want to keep (eg. directions, brand, recipes, nutritional info., etc.) I cut off the info and slip it into the Modular Mate so I can see it from outside the container.

For bulk storage, search for Cabrio from restaurant supply places, too!

They make nice proofing buckets, as well.

Er. Cambro. Cabrio's my washer....

Lock n Lock! I got snapware thinking it would be the same. It's not. I now keep flour & sugar in l n l. Comes in all sizes.

p.s.: like reyesuela I also use a lot of the cambro restaurant ware. It's great for everything (learned to love it while working in a restaurant)

I'm with beejay27--I LOVE my Tupperware Modular Mates! They hold everything imaginable and keep it fresh forever. I have one whole pantry full of them. Not just flour and sugar, either--anything that would otherwise be sitting in the pantry in an opened container now gets put into a Modular Mate. They are made to stack to maximize your use of space. Everything is easily identifiable through the side, but just in case, they also come with labels.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tupperware Modular Mates

I love my modular mates, too. I got a lot of them off Ebay. I like that they are meant to be stacked.