Uniquely Normal Mom: How to store bulk grains, beans and rice

I love bulk foods! Buying things like rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and dry legumes can add up if you buy them pre-packaged by the pound.

But, if you are thrifty, you can save a lot of money by buying foods from the bulk bin, reduce packaging waste and still have food that tastes great!

At a local grocery store, one pound of pre-packaged steel cut oats costs around $4. I buy my steel cut oats for about $1 a pound, which is a significant difference to say the least!

I'm a grain addict, and love to make my own cereal, so I'm always buying new grains.

The problem I encountered was storing all those grains. I wanted something attractive and I didn't want to have to spend lots of money on plastic containers that were plain and boring.

I decided to recycle old jars I had collected and cleaned. Jars from salsa, pickles, applesauce - anything!

Here's what I did....

First, do something with the jar covers.

-Paint 'em, cover the labels with marker or Mod Podge some decorative paper over them.

Decorating jar covers to store bulk food in.

Second, name your grain.

-Print off the names of the items you're storing using cool fonts (you can download awesome fonts for free here), or find some other way to label your jars.

Third, decorate!

-Mod Podge, paint, magazine clippings, chalkboard paint, tile, anything!

(Pssst....I save many of the cards I'm given and re-purpose them for projects like this.)