Score!!! *Big Buckets w/ lids

[reyecat]

tell me if I should move this somewhere else.... but to me it goes along with preserving *and storing food.

I asked at 2 different grocery stores, at costco, at DQ, at another icecream place.... I began to dispair....

Today I went back around and costco had save me some...... LARGE BUCKETS WITH AIR TIGHT LIDS!!!!! *Yay! *

DQ also gave me some.... they asked for a donation to the children's miracle network.... no prob!

All the places i went to said they just throw them away... what a waste... *what a consumeristic throw away society we live in. *

the small local icecream guy was from India so i think he was surprised that someone here in north america was going to save and reuse something so useful and taken for granted.....and was so happy that I would use them and will now save them for me to pick up on thursdays. *

for some reason in our town we can't recycle those type of buckets so he was just having to throw them out.... there's only so many you can keep! *Anyway he was very happy to save them for me.

There are some really great nice people out there if you give them a chance!

[Penny_Plinker]

Good deal! What all are you going to store in them or just keep them on hand for when you need them?

Penny

[reyecat]

I'm planning to store my dry goods in them, flour, grains, oatmeal, rice, etc. My husband is going to make up some desicant bags to keep them from molding.

My stash begins.... feels good.

[DM]

I get free ice cream containers from an ice cream store... And i get quite a free few buckets with lids from the Subway i frequent.

I get all i can, as i use them for all kinds of things, from storeing flower bulbs in them to hauling water to plants...

DM

[reyecat]

along the same lines ... Does anyone know where to get gallon jars with lids?

[Penny_Plinker]

Gallon jars....besides the obvious, buying pickles? Just keep your eye out at yard sales, sometimes they'll be marked 50 cents and you say "why this is just an old empty pickle jar " and maybe get it for a quarter.

Penny

[leera]

Good score on the buckets.Just be sure you put something in to also keep bugs away.....otherwise your stash will be insect infested quickly.

Good luck finding glass gallon jars........most companies have switched to plastic.Where my DH works,the only item they get in glass now is olives.So he rarely has one to bring home anymore.

I have oodles of them.They're great for storing just about anything.

I use the buckets for cat food,grass seed, ice melt,whatever I have that needs to be stored in something that big.

[reyecat]

MIL warned me about the bugs.... but we don't have bugs in our dry goods way up north here.... Do We? If so, I've never experienced them....

What would you do to kill the bugs?

[leera]

I actually have not had a problem with bugs in a long time,and I only store food stuffs in the glass gallon jars,but I have been told to add Bay Leaves to flours,grains,etc,to keep bugs away.

I would have to say,ask Shamrock,she can probably reccomend something for storing large amounts of flours and grains.I know she buys her grains in bulk.

[hillbillygal]

Big congrats on the buckets! I love buckets especially for free! I noticed the other day that one of the grocery stores around here is now selling their buckets instead of giving them away like the other store. The manager at that store is kind of an arse anyway so I don't frequent that store very often. I'll keep my loyalties at the store that is good to their customers and not trying to drain every last penny out of their trash. This store (the one selling buckets) also sells out of date items (sometimes at a discount but you really have to watch dates on everything you buy from there) and their prices are always higher than the suggested retail price when it is posted on the box.

[reyecat]

*I noticed the other day that one of the grocery stores around here is now selling their buckets instead of giving them away like the other store. *The manager at that store is kind of an arse anyway so I don't frequent that store very often. *........This store (the one selling buckets) also sells out of date items (sometimes at a discount but you really have to watch dates on everything you buy from there) and their prices are always higher than the suggested retail price when it is posted on the box. *

I hat it when people try to sell stuff that they were just going to throw in the garbage at the end of the day... what a jerk. But I'm glad you have a good grocery store to go to.

[hillbillygal]

Upon reading my post I see that it comes across as me being against someone taking advantage of a possible money making source. I just get the feeling that the manager at this store (it is a chain store not a mom & pop type store) was tired of seeing people getting something for free.

I'm all for someone seeing an opportunity and seizing it but this situation rubs me the wrong way. I guess it's an accumulation of other business practices I've seen this store employ over the years.

[reyecat]

It pays to go back and talk to different people. i went back to Costco yesterday and there was only one bucket for me...... after a whole week.... so i talked to someone and she took my name and the day I would stop by and what buckets to save with lids for me.... and she stuck it up by their garbage bin!!!! Thanks Lady! what a nice lady.

[bookwormom]

free buckets..drool. I ask for buckets everywhere they have them. golden Corral has great buckets, but they throw them away. I get some at the grocery deli and they ask a dollar a piece. they are always out, buckets seem to be in big demand. all in all I have gotten a dozen so far.

[cygnus]

If you should find you have more buckets than you can easily use for storing bulk foods, you might try turning some of them into self-watering containers for veggie growing.

Here's a good how-to:

http://www.hgic.umd.edu/_media/documents/HG600Containerveggardening.pdf