The Surprising (and Better) Use I Found for My Favorite Pet Food Containers

I am a proud parent to three fur babies — a large lab mix dog, and two rescue cats. Fun fact: they consume a considerable amount of dry kibble each week! Over the course of the years, I have found that buying large bags of food is not only vital to keeping them fed and healthy but cost-effective for me as well. The only hitch? Keeping the food inside the bags! They never stay upright, are incredibly heavy to lift, spill everywhere and despite the resealable function, they never close properly to keep food fresh. After many years of struggling, I finally found this highly-rated three-piece set on Amazon to solve my pet food woes. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had the exact same issues with the human food I buy in bulk, like sugar and flour. So duh, why not get another set and solve my pantry problem as well?

I invest in good quality food for both humans and animals alike, so I love that these containers are not only BPA-free but also airtight with locking latches to keep edible goods as fresh as possible. The 33-quart container holds a large bag of dog food easily, and the cat food stacks neatly on top in the 12-quart. My ah-ha moment to use it for human food came when I bought bulk sugar and flour in similar-sized bags (clearly, I bake a lot) but had no way to make their storage convenient and safe.

Thanks to the sturdy wheeled base, which can handle the weight more easily than I can, the whole system can slide in and out of its chosen nook with ease. No more heaving a giant bag out of the pantry. When I’m ready to bake, the system gets wheeled under my stand mixer and then back into the pantry for storage when I’m done. It also happens to follow the best rules for food storage by keeping food off the floor and sealed properly, not only to avoid contamination but possible unwelcome critters as well. (I know, ew). Bonus: the scoop! It has notches that mark half-cup to two-cup measurements, so I don’t over or underfeed my babies or my recipes.

Honestly, I’ve saved a ton of time not having to clean up spills, fight with bag clips that aren’t strong enough, or resting my back from the strain of lifting. Plus, since the containers are clear plastic, I can easily see when I need to make another run to the store! Heck, maybe I should get a third set since I started experimenting with alternative flours recently and have also been browsing Petfinder for a new fur baby to adopt. Well, whatever I decide, I know these containers will work well no matter who I’m trying to feed. My only note: Label them correctly so you don’t end up mixing human food with pet food!

Buy: Iris USA Pet Food Storage Container Combo, $25.74 (normally $29.99)

This post originally appeared on Kitchn. See it here: These Pet Food Containers Are So Good, I Use Them to Store Human Food Too