I don't think buying grain and flour in bulk is such a good idea. Neither it is to buy spices. I rather buy fresh spices more often then have them in large quantities in my pantry. They tend to go bad faster at home and usually the good spices bought at Penzey's let's say at grand central or on line, are always fresher then the ones in my cupboard. So I don't think this idea saves any money. You just spend more money to have the inside of your pantry look neat. Very anal. And trust me, I am a neat freak, but there is a limit to what makes sense.

Buying in bulk does not mean buying large quantities, it means using your own jars and buying as little or as much as you need.

Use Classico or other spagetti sauce jars for most of this stuff, and save money/raw materials at the same time.

Bubble - by my dictionary this is what bulk means.

Bulk n. [ME < ON bulki, cargo.] 1. Great size, mass, or volume. 2. a. A distinct portion of matter, esp. when large. b. the body of a human being, esp. when obese. 3. The greater part 4. Thickness of paper or cardboard in relation to weight.

So I am sorry, bulk means large quantities.

Anusha, yes, that is the dictionary definition of bulk. However, the term "buying in bulk" can mean that the store sells out of a bulk container as opposed to prepackaged items. There is a scoop and the customer fills his/her own container avoiding the waste of packaging. E.g. there is a large bin of flour and you scoop out of into your own pre-weighed jar.

Over the years, I've priced "bulk" flour, nuts, pasta, and dried fruit against the packaged stuff many times... it's a myth that bulk is consistently cheaper that buying packaged foods.

Often the bulk bins will have varieties that aren't available in packages, or they'll let you buy less of something when you only want a little bit, but they're not the bargain bins.

Agree with wende on this. The open containers that one can buy coffee, flour, etc at desired quantity, don't make sense economically. The vendor makes more money that way.

I buy my spices from the bulk bins at the health food store, and I save piles of money. What would be a $4 jar at the grocery store is like fifty cents, depending on the spice (sometimes it's more like sixteen cents).

I just read Anusha73's first comment. So far I've had no trouble with spices going bad.

about spices going bad: i buy mine from a restaurant supply shop in large quantities. They cost just a little more than one tiny jar from the supermarket (1.5 euro more, which isn't much considering you get 10x hte product for much less money). THen i share with friends, and we split that way.

As far as the storage goes, I save jars like crazy and reuse them for all my cupboard food storage, and also have a slew of Mason jars, that are a uniform shape and much cheaper than typical glass storage. Love it.

To be honest, I sell bulk spices and herbs....and in no way does the vendor make a better margin on bulk. It can actually hurt the bottom line, which is why more and more companies are steering clear. As a consumer though, I have noticed savings, especially in spices and things such as pasta and rice.