My seed counter that misntroya kindly mentioned is pictured below. It is an antique that I don't use for it's original purpose. The front glass portions are only about 3/4 inch deep and purely decorative. Any items that I have put in so far have been selected for being "bug free or resistant". The peppermint candies are actually Styrofoam wrapped in red and clear paper that I found at the craft store in the wreath making section. The back of the piece has the drawers that are almost as deep as the entire cabinet. The sides and bottom are made of galvanized metal. I store extra paper products, towels and whatnot in the drawers. No flour or sugar! I also freeze my flour when it arrives from the store. It then goes in a tightly sealing, pretty glass jar from Walmart that cost $4! I also remember seeing the inserts that remodelfla shows above, but decided that trying to keep them clean and the flour fresh would be more trouble than they were worth. They do look very cool however!

I like the OXO containers. They are spendy, but I've picked up the ones I need a little at a time, on sale. Here is why I like them: I can open and close them with one hand, thanks to the push top. This is handy when I need one hand to stir, or have one hand in the meatloaf mix :) All the square lids fit the square containers, and all the rectangle lids fit the rectangle containers, no matter the volume of the respective shapes. This may seem trivial, but I have come to appreciate it when I'm downsizing the last of the Splenda into a smaller container. I can use the same (labeled) lid on the smaller container, provided I'm using the same shape. (I don't know if I'm explaining this clearly.) Speaking of labeling, I only have to label things that would get easily confused (sugar, Splenda, kosher salt) because the containers are as clear as glass. Some plastic containers are cloudy or semi-opaque, disgusing the contents somewhat. Their shape makes pouring from them very tidy. There are no ridges or bends in the design for the contents to get hung up on. The square/rectangle shapes line up nicely on my pantry shelves and stack nicely too. They are sturdy plastic. Lightweight, but durable. Drawbacks include the fact that they are not dishwasher safe, and their internally complicated lids take a long time to air dry. And they are pricey, as previously mentioned. I have no connection to the OXO company, but I'm a fan. And if OXO wants to send me a container for the endorsement, I wouldn't say no! :)

Re--those sifter containers from Kennedy Hdwe--I got to wondering if that disclaimer about not recommending for food products is just some legal CYA. Maybe because they don't have NSF seal of approval or something? Might be worth a call to Kennedy for more info? Anyway, this discussion made me realize something positive about my crummy old kitchen. I have one of those pie-cut lazy susans, the kind where the door is fixed to the susan, like the image on the left... I keep my sugar & flour canisters on the susan...open the susan and use out of the canister w/o ever removing it from the shelf. Really is a handy arrangement except for the fact that the susan is across the kitchen from where I have room for the mixer. :( I only keep all-purpose flour there; the other specialty flours are stored in refrigerator or freezer. So, in a MNO (money no object!) Kitchen, refrig/ freezer drawers would be nice in the baking area. I'm figuring that I'll use the Cambro type containers in a drawer in the new kitchen unless a better solution pops up. (I nixed a susan in favor of a huge blind corner cabinet that we have already built.) The Cambros will be at about the same height as the they would be on the Susan which is a convenient height for me (I'm an average 'almost' 5'5''.)

I use half-gallon Mason jars for canisters. They cost around $12 for a box of 6. The openings are a little small for a full-sized measuring cup, but that does not bother me. I tend to weigh flours rather than measure it out by volume. I use quart-sized mason jars for other things in the pantry. They are cheap and look nice, even if you keep them out on display.