I love using Mason jars to store food too, I think they look so quaint. If you need bigger containers, OXO and Better Homes & Gardens make plastic storage containers with vacuum-seal gaskets that you can open and close by pushing a button or flipping a lever. These are also nice because they are made to stack on top of each other, and thus are easy to organize.. You can buy them online.

I use large and small Mason jars for dried fruit, dried mushrooms, beans, grains, and nuts. I have large Ikea glass storage canisters for flours, but if I were buying again, I would buy the Oxo pop-ups; they are very good for storing on standard shelves, and maximize the usable space while still leaving enough room for you to get your hands around a container on a crowded shelf. They are significantly more pricey than Mason jars, though.

I too love using Mason jars for storage, and so I try to use their limitations to my advantage; it's very easy to buy too much when you are buying from the bulk bins, especially when you are cooking for only one or two. Visualizing the storage jar/amount of space on the shelf can help keep you from splurging on things you don't need and might not use.

FYI - use a Sharpie to label what's in a glass jar, it washes right off with dishsoap, or if not that, then definitely some acetone (nail polish remover).

I buy the latch jars from Ikea for our pastas, they're so cheap and they come in several sizes. TJ Maxx/Home Goods will often carry various sizes of latch jars too. Rubbermaid tubs can be useful for some stuff in bulk too, we buy bulk dog food and put it in a big (50?) gallon tub with latching sides. If you have the space, store some stuff on top of your fridge too, that's where our wine and liquor goes.

I use Mason jars too--but my favorites for odds and ends are empty salsa/pasta jars. Really, anything that came in glass. I tend to store thing I have in smaller quantities in these--random dried fruit, a handful of some grain, sugar to keep on a bottom shelf. It's not as aesthetically pleasing as matching jars, but it's eco-friendly and cheap!

I love the jars from Frigoverre (Bormioli-Rocco) - timeless and they last forever. I live in Boston, and they sell them much cheaper than you find them online at China Fair in Porter Square. Sizes go from 1/4 L to 4 L, which is perfect for everything from the tiny flaxseed to all purpose flour.

I thought this was a great solution:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/before-after/before-and-after-open-kitchen-organizationdomaphile-139389

Great suggestions! I really like the idea of the OXO pop containers, since they can stack and store more efficiently and easily than something round. I might have to save up for one of their sets.

I also love the look of bulk items in Mason jars. I supplement them with stackable plastic storage tubs from Ikea (they come in three great sizes) http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90066708
and even more fun to is to recycle glass jars from mustard, jam, sauce etc. And Avery makes good removable labels that come in handy for grains, chili, etc.

Take care to store grains and flours that are WHOLE grains in the fridge or freezer to keep them from becoming rancid.
I store all my flours (except white flour) in one of the bottom bins in the fridge (move lever, if you have one, to "low himidity").
I store all grains (brown rice, oats, millet, kamut, winter wheat, etc.) in the freezer.
You might then have adequate room to store those items which need no refrigeration like dried fruit, pasta, beans and sugars on your shelves. I reuse glass White Mountain yogurt jars. They are clear, paper label comes off easily and there are no markings on the white plastic lid. Works great. i can even stack them.

I use both jars and bags, this is how I organize:

a. Use jars/canisters for the things most commonly used, and keep them within reach.
b. Use the store bags for everything else, and use a medium-sized tupperware box (about 12" x 18") to store those bags. I can stash this box pretty much anywhere, and it's pretty inconspicuous.

Good luck!

Yes for using a sharpie like sturgeongeneral suggests! Much better than wasting time with a label maker that gets so stuck on it's impossible to remove.

I love the look and tried to do something similar in my own kitchen with the OXO pop containers mentioned by loves2sneeze and lynell above. Although after using them, I would hestitate to recommend them to others.

My experience: granted, I can be a klutz, but the OXO containers cannot take any real wear and tear. I've had to toss containers because of dropping the tops onto the counter or tile floor and having the tops crack and no longer being airtight. I've had the plastic containers themselves get scratched and damaged getting washed, and being useless after that. No to mention some of the bigger ones are just difficult to grab and move around when fully loaded with flour or sugar. That is not something you want to fumble or drop, let me tell you.

I wish I'd gone with something cheap and not plastic. If I had a do-over I'd pick Mason jars - pretty, glass, and airtightness not dependent on a little piece of rubber and plastic.

I wash out pasta sauce jars, peel off the labels and then print out my own label to put on it. Just use a glue stick or some tape. Also, you can find some pretty nice looking glass jars with those air-tight lids at thrift stores for cheap.

We use mason jars and other glass jars for storage. I just had my dad and husband hang two shelves in a useless area of our kitchen to store these types of things out in the open as both functional storage AND something beautiful in our kitchen. I hate the gold tops that usually come on mason jars, but the silver topped ones weren't really doing it for me either. Also, I wanted to be able to label my jars easily, but not commit to painting on names or anything, so I taped off big squares on the glass and painted in the squares with chalkboard paint. I also painted the gold lids with the chalkboard paint, so I can label tops and sides of jars and containers. I keep a little jar of white chalk on the shelf, so if I change the contents of the container, all I have to do is wipe clean the chalkboard square and re-label it. It's been the most functional storage option for me for all my dry bulk goods, especially in our home where we do both regular and gluten free cooking and have lots of alternative flours, starches, grains, etc. It's great for dry beans, pasta, rice, quinoa, etc. Plus, you always know exactly how much you have left without reaching into a pantry and coming up empty. I've gotten a ton of compliments on it and I love how it inspires me to do more cooking and baking from scratch just because the ingredients are staring at me all the time.

When I was growing up, we had this box that sat on a counter with a bunch of pull out scoop drawers and spice containers. We called it the Swedish Pantry. There's things that are a little similar at IKEA now, but not quite the same. Here's a link to some pics (but these ones are all expensive and overseas): http://thedailybasics.com/cookery/2010-06-09/12128/ellas-kitchen-company-update

Maybe someone else knows where to find one?

My suggestion is for the small things that seem to take up so much room such as baking powder and spices. I started buying organic spices from Frontier (www.frontiercoop.com) that come in small, resealable bags. I discovered that twenty of these bags will fit in a plastic container that measures about 4" x 4" x 8" which is much less room than a spice drawer, a whirly spice rack or just random bottles would take up. Keeping them in alphabetical order makes it easy to find the one I need. I have reused these sturdy bags for baking powder, baking soda and other powders that I don't need to have much of at any one time. The same system works well in the freezer using Ziploc bags. They can be stored flat or one behind the other in a plastic container.

@eatlovedrink, that's actually a really classic style that I've found in lots of antiques stores. mostly I see it in free standing pieces that are like counters, but I've seen a few wall pieces like that. I know someone has told me what it is called here in the States, but I can't remember what they referred to them as now that I'm trying to remember it!

maybe a wall mount option like this: http://www.verticco.com/kitchen-tools/kitchen-storage/zevro-smartspace-dispenser-wall-mount-model-948.html

after a quick search, you can find the same thing for about 1/2 the price on other sites (so $15). But they only hold 13 oz.... that might not be enough.

I love those wall larders by Ella's Kitchen Company so much that I might just save up if I can't find a local alternative. O.O

Take a trip to the thrift store and look for secondhand Mason jars or latch-lid jars (probably not what they're actually called but I'm blanking completely). They're even less expensive than buying new and with a good wash they're perfectly fine for dry goods. You can often find bigger jars and canisters, and interesting colours/patterns at a thrift store, too.

I second the suggestion of writing on the side of the jar with a Sharpie. It works beautifully and still looks quite sharp if you write neatly.

One tip though - get those jars into your pantry, and get the things that are in bags into jars. I always feel more disorganized if my bulk food is still in the bag it came in. Heavier/larger jars should go on the floor of the pantry or on the lowest shelf. Smaller jars go on upper shelves with the lightest items in the center and the heaviest next to the walls.

If you buy spices in bulk, look into magnetic spice jars to stick right on your fridge. They can also be written on with a Sharpie!

Also - flour should be placed in the freezer for 1-2 weeks to kill potential bugs (gross, but best to have them dead), and nuts should always be kept in the freezer to prevent them from going rancid. :)

I have used canning jars as well as used glass jars of all kinds for awhile since ditching plastic for health reasons. For those of you that need larger canning jars, True Value Hardware store carries larger 1/2 gallon jars. You can also purchase plastic screw on lids that are bisphenol a free.

I've been using gallon size pickle jars for years. They'll hold almost all of a large box of cereal, 5-lb flour or sugar, and several pounds of beans. The new 5 quart pickle jars hold as much, and take up less space. I also use mason jars, but they don't hold enough of what I'm storing, usually.

Don't think of your kitchen as the only place you can store pantry items. Consider bedroom or hallway closets, or under bed storage, or hidden storage like those hollow footstools or window seats, even empty drawers. Use your imagination to find great storage spaces.

Years ago I bought hermetic, latch type glass faceted, cylindric canisters at a specialty store in San Francisco. The glass is lighted tinted green. I think they were from Italy. I wish I had bought more since they are very sturdy and have gone through several moves without a scratch.
Pretty enough to put on the counter and efficient for storage.

I use French Arc or Le Parfait (they are virtually interchangeable) clip jars for storing pretty much everything that doesn't reside in the fridge.They are much quicker and easier to open and close that jars with a screw top and, I think, look fantastic.