I'm using the same flour cannister from the set I bought in the early 1950's. Everything else in the set is long gone except for the waste basket in the basement. Sugar is kept in a large glass jar on the counter. Works fine for me.

But you're right about creating chaos - right now the counter in the laundry room is full of stuff I'm doing something with - Christmas decorations I no longer want, dishes to be sent to DD, bottles of wine (can't drink fast enough), "treasures" I found when trying to clean out the garage, recycle stuff that won't fit in the bin, leftover candy from Christmas, etc, etc.

That brings a question to mind: do you concentrate on one area at a time to declutter, or do you flit from one spot to another? I found myself flitting: 2 dresser drawers, 2 desk drawers, 3 boxes in the garage, basement closet, guest room closet, etc. I guess I get bored when working at one task! How about you?

That's a good question, plow in! I think tonight I'm in ''flitting mode'', although usually I prefer to concentrate on one thing at a time. Like you, I have boxes of Christmas stuff to put away, laundry going, old jars to clean (and hopefully fill) while I'm trying out my new baking containers to make a new brownie recipe. I won't mention that rack of clothes I still have yet to deal with in my garage...

Claire, how easy is it to get the lids off while in the drawer? I'd like to replace my containers, yet it appears that I'd need room to release all the "clips" on the lid. I'm using Rubbermaid now, but the tops have a bigger square than the bottoms, so they don't fit as well as perfectly vertical would. However, I can pry the lids off on just one side & snap them back on. Airtight is very important, since grain products will get buggy in Texas.

Could you use your old containers for dried pastas or beans?

If you have some nice branches you want to display, put them in the containers at a bit of a slant (and a little off centre) and fill the jar with marbles or pebbles, etc., which will keep the branches in place and look cool (if heavy).

Lucy, that's a great idea for some of my more decorative jars. Thanks! The jars I'm referring to are probably better for pantry storage, like gizmonike suggests since they're vintage coffee jars. Some still even have their bail handles which made it nice for pulling out of the drawer. Yes, beans or pasta is a great idea, although most of my jars are rather larger. I guess I can buy the Costco sizes now!

Gizmonike, I do need a little room to unclip all sides of the lids, which I actually have in the drawer as nothing fits too tight. As long as I can loosen three sides, the fourth acts like a hinge. I'm going for a test run this afternoon, since I'm making pizza dough. I'll come back and let you know how it worked out for me (now that I've made the change and it's too late to go back!) I'm keeping my fingers crossed. At the very least, I got the drawer cleaned out of all the loose flour that had spilled...

Well, I made my pizza dough about 20 minutes ago and have to say I like the storage containers. I find it's easier to pull out the whole container and use it on the counter because of the lid though, so it looks like working out of the drawer won't be as convenient as I'd hoped. My jars were taller than these containers, but these are easy to remove from the drawer. Even with that, I like the accessibility of the Lock N Lock very much, and think I'll be glad I made the switch.

I'm not sure what you'd put in the extra canisters. Everyone has their oen favorites that they keep around that others don't. In my house, we are collecting decorative sugars and colorings for cupcakes. The canister would be great for keeping them in one place away from the spices.

I use the Tupperware modular mates containers for storing sugar, flour, and bread flour. It looks like they changed the sizes since I last bought, but mine are closest to the Rectangular 2 size. It works for me because each container will hold a 5 lb bag of flour or sugar and a little extra. Each container has a different lid color so I don't have to pull each one down to figure out what's inside. If I want, I can keep a measuring cup inside so I don't have to hunt down a new one each time.