Pantry Organizing Supplies

When I started on our pantry organization project, I had no idea how many glass jars we’d need to hold everything. Had I known, I may never have embarked on this particular activity, but I’m so glad I did.

I shopped around for affordable glass jars and settled on canning or mason jars. They’re inexpensive and incredibly durable. We already use them for our drinking glasses so having more around the house for that purpose too was a bonus (should we have any jar left over — HA!).

We bought twelve giant half-gallon jars (here are just half of them):

and twenty-four (two flats of these) pint sized jars:

The downside to these jars? The lids are lined with the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA). Total bummer! We still decided to use them because we’re filling the jars with dry goods that won’t be touching the tops and we’re leaving plenty of headroom between the goods and the lids. We’re not too worried.

Ultimately we want to replace all of the BPA-laced lids with these Tattler Reusable Canning Lids. We can use them with our existing bell jars that we’ve already invested in and filled (more on that later!) and the lids are reusable and BPA-free, even though they’re plastic (the only part we’re not completely sold on). Why aren’t we using these lids right away? We just spent all this money on canning jars and we’d need a lot of lids. We’ll get to it eventually. We’re in no rush.

To mark the jars, we bought these fantastic Wet Erase Chalk Markers by Pentel:

They come in a number of vibrant colors: green (shown above), blue, red, violet, yellow, orange, white and black. (All the pen colors are eligible for Amazon Prime so if you have that, like we do, you’ll get them in two days! So freaking convenient.) If you’d rather buy these pens straight from the manufacturer, click here. We bought our pens from our local art supply store.

You can use these pens on any dry, non-porous surface, like the metal tops and glass sides of the bell jars (or blackboards or whiteboards), and the ink easily wipes away with a damp cloth or paper towel. I had originally planned on spraying the jar lids with chalkboard paint to then use these pens, but realized I didn’t have to. Hooray, one fewer step in our pantry organization process!

The only downside that I’ve found to these pens is that you need to have fully dry hands when you handle the labeled jars or the pen wipes off. No big deal. I keep the chalk markers within an easy reach of the pantry for touch-ups.

Want to see what our pantry looks like now? I’ll be posting about it tomorrow. Stay tuned…

2 thoughts on “Pantry Organizing Supplies”

  1. seriously jealous of this system. i have like 12 mason jars in a closet somewhere, and all of a sudden i desperately want them neatly labeled and holding dry goods :)

  2. Hello from one of your Kenyon classmates. Formerly Chamberlin, recently Whigham. LOVE this post. I too use canning jars to store dry goods. Living where I live in south central PA, I get a lot of my jars from yard sales and auctions. I as a result I have amassed quite the collection of old 40s era pale blue ones so they are pretty to boot! They were used as the vases for our wedding and wedding party this summer, and now they are back in my cupboards holding beans and grains, and the recent treasures from the dehydrator.

    In my searches I also have found several of the old porcelain zinc lids which I LOVE. You can’t can with them, but the are perfect for dry goods, no plastic at all. You may find some on ebay.

    Also have you looked at this BPA free and CHEAP option from Ball: http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/detail/TCL+1440037010.
    When I run out of zinc lids, I switch to this. These things are great for storage. When my mom and I can foods (mostly just dilly beans and all things tomato), she is adamant about removing the bands, and just storing in the caps.

    Thank you so much for the lead on the reusable canning lids. My mother hates throwing anything away, so I know what she is getting for her birthday this year! And an immersion blender for Christmas. She borrowed mine for her tomato sauce, and it was love at first puree! Sigh, kitchen gadgets.

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