What do you use for short-term kitchen storage?

[DianeS]

What do all of you use for daily storage in your kitchens? I mean for things like the few pounds of beans or rice or potatoes (or whatever) that you don't put up in long-term storage because you're going to use them in the next few days.

I enjoy being able to see my stored edibles, so I keep quite a few things on the countertop. I use oddly-shaped glass containers with lids for things like rice, wheat berries, and flax seed. I have large clear plastic containers right now for beans, pumpkin seeds, pasta, and pistacchios. They're all lined up on the counter against the back wall - so pretty! I'd like to replace the plastic with glass, that will come in time.

What do you use?

 

[Wannabefree]

Half gallon Vlasic pickle jars, gallon Mt. Olive pickle jars, half gallon Kerr canning jars stored away in an armoire...so mostly glass, though I do have some plastic canisters too. I love canisters, DH hates them My kitchen, I win

 

[2dream]

I love baskets. So, I have baskets with plastic containers hidden inside. Glass canisters and jars with dried beans, rice, etc sit on counter top, on top of fridge, etc. All artfully junked up. LOL I even have dried peas and beans in some really cutesy glass canisters sitting in the living room. Art storage I call it. But since my kitchen and livinging room are really all just one big room its easy to get to. Potatos and onions are sitting on the bar in - yes - you guessed it. Baskets Home decor at its finest.

 

[FarmerChick]

I am the opposite. Only food left on counter is fruit that doesn't need the fridge.
I hide everything in cabinets. I like counters to be at a bare minimum.
I do have an old glass canister set that is nice, the 3 compartments are filled with Nicole's candy.
I used to have pretty baskets and all that til one day I went clutterfree. (obsession )

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I have 2 vintage breadboxes, canisters, a wire basket, and the cake platter I set the coffee fixins on. Then, the other "daily's" go into the cupboards immediatly accessible. Long term storage cupboards are harder to get to. So, I put the other things in there. It's working out pretty good I think. All that really needs to be done now is to remove the old built-in wall oven. We don't need it, and I sure could use that spot for storage.

 

[moolie]

I keep several IKEA Slom jars on my counter top full of pasta:

My food cupboard is full of jars of various sizes, mostly Natur peanut butter jars with red plastic lids, mason jars with white Bernardin plastic ilds, and milk/cream bottles with the plastic lids they come with when you buy dairy in glass:

 

[the funny farm6]

I have most stuff in 5 gal food grade buckets with lids. I don't like anything out on the counter or table. (I think that goes back to hubby and I 's first apartment- so roach infested!) We would bomb and they would come back. Yuck... still gives me the shivers. And that was 20 years ago! But I like everything in the cabonets or our big walk-in pantry.

 

[ORChick]

I don't have much cupboard space in the kitchen. Once the crockery, pots and pans are put away there isn't much room left. The only foods I keep in the kitchen are things that I use often; everything else is downstairs, in the garage/pantry area. -- Yes, its a pain, but it is as it is <sigh> Everything downstairs is in glass jars or tin boxes; a few longer term things are in plastic buckets, and potatoes and onions in baskets. Most everything in the kitchen is either in its original jar/tin, or put into saved jars. I have a decorative tin that a nice bottle of whiskey came in to store long pasta. And I have my grandmother's old crocks; she kept flour in the bigger one, and sugar in the smaller one; so did my mother, and so do I. The crocks are on the counter; everything else is kept in the cupboard.

Someone mentioned storing flax seed on the counter. I know it is pretty, but flax should not really be stored at room temperature. Nor should other oily seeds like sesame or poppy.

 

[~gd]

I have 2 vintage breadboxes, canisters, a wire basket, and the cake platter I set the coffee fixins on. Then, the other "daily's" go into the cupboards immediatly accessible. Long term storage cupboards are harder to get to. So, I put the other things in there. It's working out pretty good I think. All that really needs to be done now is to remove the old built-in wall oven. We don't need it, and I sure could use that spot for storage.

I took the control knobs for the heating element off my wall oven, got spare oven racks from an appliance dealer and use it for storage. built in light is very handy when looking for something and who can't make use of a built in timer that you can't misplace?Now that I think of it the appliance dealer should be called an appliance repair/recycle Shop. He has no factory new stuff at all. What he does have is connections with a bunch of kicthen remodlers, comtractors and appliance delivery men. You want a fancy gas range in your new house that has a electric range? this guy often ends up with the electric range. Some minor repair and a good clean up and it replaces a dead or battered range in a home that can't afford brand new. I got my washer and drier from him $100 each!

 

[~gd]

I have 2 vintage breadboxes, canisters, a wire basket, and the cake platter I set the coffee fixins on. Then, the other "daily's" go into the cupboards immediatly accessible. Long term storage cupboards are harder to get to. So, I put the other things in there. It's working out pretty good I think. All that really needs to be done now is to remove the old built-in wall oven. We don't need it, and I sure could use that spot for storage.

I took the control knobs for the heating element off my wall oven, got spare oven racks from an appliance dealer and use it for storage. built in light is very handy when looking for something and who can't make use of a built in timer that you can't misplace?Now that I think of it the appliance dealer should be called an appliance repair/recycle Shop. He has no factory new stuff at all. What he does have is connections with a bunch of kicthen remodlers, comtractors and appliance delivery men. You want a fancy gas range in your new house that has a electric range? this guy often ends up with the electric range. Some minor repair and a good clean up and it replaces a dead or battered range in a home that can't afford brand new. I got my washer and drier from him $100 each!