I recently bought a 50 lb bag of confectioners sugar. I couldn't pass up the price. However I'm wondering how the rest of you store your bulk ingredients such as this and avoid moisture and pests from invading. I'd like to do flour and granulated sugar in this size, too if I can figure out a good way to store it.

When I worked out of my home, I bought big rubbermaid tubs and just sat the whole bag inside the tub, then snapped the lid closed. I didn't pour the sugar/flour into the tubs because they weren't Food-safe rated (which is probably a moot point since I put an open bag of food stuffs in them! But it made me feel better about it.)

That's exactly what I did with my sugar, today. I went to GFS looking for garbage bag sized food safe bags, hoping I could use it like a liner inside the rubbermaid bin, but they looked at me like I was crazy. Does that exist? So how do you store your stuff in your shop, Debi?

I have a couple of containers similar to these: http://www.equippers.com/shop/product-detail.aspx?ret=1&pcid=28&scid=2830&pid=10402

Each holds 200 lbs of sugar or flour with room to spare. The fit under my stainless steel tables just perfect.

If you have the money and the space, these are the only way to go. Seriously.

Ah! Like what they use at the bulk food store. Brilliant! Yeah, don't have the money for those right now....but perhaps one day..... Thanks for your response.

When I buy bulk sugars and flour, I measure each into double batchs into quality freezer ziplock bags, fortunately I have a large chest freezer, and I store them there. So everything is pre-measured and ready to go. On my flour, I actually mix my other dry ingredients into the ziplock bag at the time I'm making my cookies, and don't mess up another bowl, and it's easier to pour into my kitchenaid mixer. I do bring them to room temp before mixing.

Oh, man! How efficient and organized you must be!

Great. I have been wanting to go ahead and mix up "mixes" for the cake I make most frequently. (Seeing how the day I need to make a cake is the day that a crisis happens at work as I am about to leave and I have to stay until the matter is resolved.) My only concern was where am I going to store them? The freezer never crossed my mind, but I bet by the end of this weekend there will be mixes in my freezer.

I bought food safe containers from smart and final, they fit a 25lb bag of flour or powder sugar perfectly. And, I guess I am really super anal because I put those containers into the rubbermaid snap bins.
So you dont' think I am super weird, where I am there a ton of bugs in the summer!
Works for me!

Just a thought and I'm not sure 100% sure of the FS quality, but Ziploc or Heafty makes large and extra large sized bags now. They are "BIG" they come like 5 to a box and have handles on them. You could use those in combo with the rubbermaid bins.

Oh! I have seen the giant ziplock bags. Those might work. I could at least fill a couple of them and throw them into the rubbermaid bin. Great suggestion! I'll run to Kroger!

I buy rolling plastic dog food containers, they come in 2 sizes (50lbs. dog food bag size and 20lbs. size) and have a hinged, flip-up lid, with air tight seals! They are tall and thin so they fit into narrow spaces. They were under $30 when I bought mine.

ooh! Did you get them at Petsmart?

I buy almost everything on line, most likely Lane Bryant Home or Get Oragnized. Have not looked in the pet store, we don't have any of the large ones in town.

I'm SOOO excited. Dumb how simple things can make a person so happy. Anyway! The ziplock bags are PERFECT!! Thank you so much for such a fabulous suggestion! I bought the XXL and they had way more than enough room in them for my 50 lb bag of sugar. The XLs would have been big enough, too I"m sure. I can't wait to get 50 lb bags of flour and granulated sugar, now, too! This is going to save me SO much money and so many trips to the store! I took a picture, but I can't seem to get it to post for some dumb reason.

p.s. I checked out the dogfood bins, and they were an awesome suggestion, too, just a little too pricy for me right now. 3 bins and 3 bags cost me $20 total!!

Yep, I just posted last week about the Ziploc Big Bags being food safe. I couldn't believe they were since they are marketed for like clothes, sheets, etc. Great to know they really work and fit the big bags of sugar okay!