I recently switched my children from disposable diapers to cloth diapers. I needed a bucket to put the soiled diapers into, with a baking soda/water solution until there was enough for a full wash load. I phoned my local bakery to ask if they had a bucket I could have. To my suprise, the baker had over twenty that she was about to just toss in the dumpster. She said I was welcome to all of them at no charge! I didn't need all of them, but then I got thinking... I COULD use all of them. Instead of having my 20lb bag of flour and my 20lb bag of sugar sitting on the kitchen floor, I could put the flour and sugar into these buckets. (This would also help to keep my twin toddlers from playing in the flour). That's three out of twnety+ used, what about the rest? Well, instead of going out a buying those expensive plastic storage bins, I could use these free 2 and 5 gallon buckets! I could use them for outgrown children's clothes, christmas decorations, children's toys, emergency kits, first aid kits, pasta, rice, freezer containers (when you feel the need to make soup or stew for an army). The possibilities are virtually endless!! Best of all, IT'S FREE!! Most bakery's will often give away the buckets that fruit filling and frosting come in. Just ask... Happy storing!

Twylla, Puyallup, WA

 Great idea, thank you! And welcome to the Community.

send some my way! they sound like they would work for moving as well!.....an for those that dont know "puyallup" is pronounced "pew-all-up"..........no im not from washington originally no not at all:)

...and the bonus is that all the stored baby clothes will smell like jelly doughnut filling, lol!  We've used these thru the years and I LOVED the way they smelled - sure beat the pickle-smelling ones I got from a restaurant, ick...Liz

P.S. Yes, welcome to the community, Twylla! 

 Once upon a time, we had cats and a washing machine. I bought the litter and food in the buckets and that large bucket of laundry detergent that Sam's carries. I found that the cat food and litter buckets made great toy storage and stacked well in the closet. I used the detergent ones for other things and gave some to my parents who used them for planting tomatoes.

Those large 5 gallon buckets are wonderful for lots of things. We have had several left over from drywall mud. Sure, not food grade, but that matters not. They clean up really easy. My Dh uses them to store tools and all kinds of things out in the barn. I use them to store bird seed, sand for the 1 out door ash tray people use when they come over, ice melting salt, make my laundry detergent in 1, and lots of other things. You can even use them to mix up small batches of cement to do small jobs outside around the house. Good thread. Welcome to the community.

I've tried going around to bakeries, grocers, meat departments, pizza parlours asking after buckets. I've usually been told that they don't get their ingredients in buckets anymore, and they themselves are hoarding their buckets for use in the kitchens. Has anyone else had problems asking for buckets?

I may try again, as it's been a few months since I made the rounds. I'll probably call ahead this time instead of wasting lots of gas going to each place to beg from the cashier.

 Try restaurants. My daughter works in food service and she brought me several of those buckets. I used a couple for container gardening this year. 

We get ours from a friend that works at the Sara Lee factory.

 I was given a lot of the two gallon size buckets from Dunkin Donuts. I used them a lot in the garden. Filled them up with food as I picked. Carried water to the plants.....They are a blessing and free. Babs