Maybe it’s living within a few miles of a Ball plant, or maybe it’s sentimental memories of my grandmother’s pickled beets and my great grandmother’s English Relish, but even though I’m not a canner, I LOVE mason jars. They’re the perfect organizer.

They’re durable, transparent and timeless. You can put flowers in them for a classic country bouquet, or serve sweet tea (or beer) from them for a hearty portion, but my favorite use is organization.

My kitchen countertop is lined with “staple foods” in mason jars. Oatmeal, beans, peas, barley, cornmeal, powdered sugar, powdered milk, bulk spices and home-roasted coffee. It’s great to not be tripping over this stuff in my small pantry, and also to have meal-planning so front-of-mind.

I haven’t found these difficult to clean. I dust them as I wash the countertops. I can monitor supplies (and the kids do too!) and add to the grocery list as needed.

I bought my jars new, but if you just want them for organizing bric-a-brac, (office supplies, crayons, colored pencils anyone?) try thrift stores or freecycle for cheap or free jars.

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

IMAGE SOURCE: Flickr

They’re not just the “musical fruit” but a great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein! They’re extraordinarily versatile.

I’ve lined my kitchen with canning jars full of staples—around the back wall of the countertop that I can’t reach anyhow (I’m vertically challenged). This way I can always see what I have on hand. Pasta, black beans, split peas, orange peas, lentils, garbanzo beans, whatever. Some days it’s like dinner roulette—I grab a jar and set beans to soak, and just make up a meal around them.

Today I soaked about 2 cups of garbanzo beans, which I ended up boiling with whole-wheat pasta and turning into a fabulous cold pasta salad with veggies and a home-made vinaigrette.

If you’re like me, your prior experience with beans might be limited to split-pea soup and refried beans. Take some time to explore bean recipes from other cultures.

At the Ethiopian market I discovered a powdered garbanzo bean product that is spiced. It’s called “shiro” and when re-hydrated and boiled in hot water becomes this wonderful sticky, savory paste. You can also make home-made hummus with garbanzo beans or fava beans. Another wonderful Ethiopian food is a spice called “berebere” (only buy this at an authentic ethnic market, or you’ll get completely the wrong thing). Mixing berebere with baby lentils tastes a lot like ground beef. Consider the diets of vegetarian or fasting or vegetarian ethnic groups (Ethiopian Orthodox people fast on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, which means no meat—hence, lots of beans for protein). It’s my understanding that hindus and budhists are often vegetarians also. Take a look at the diets of these cultures.

Many beans are good hot or cold, but here’s my rule of thumb: Beans should only be served cold if they’re smaller than a peanut. If they’re bigger than that, they tend to have too much of that pasty-bean texture that is just so bland.

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.