An alternative use came to mind as soon as I saw this. I buy dishwasher detergent from CostCo which is an excellent value, but it comes in a box without one of those little metal closures and consequently the product clumps up terribly.

A Tupperware container with a wide top would be just as easy to use and a lot less expensive.

Just steal one of those sugar containers from the coffee vendor at work.

How much sugar do you use? 5 lbs of sugar would last me 2 years.

And I get the feeling it doesn't work all that well for flour. Am I wrong?

Looks very useful. Re: tupperware - I use two different containers for pet food that were designed for cereal - definitely not cheaper and the sugar doesn't pour well from them because of how the openings are placed at the top. They're too wide to pour neatly, but too small to scoop out the sugar.

Hi there,

I really don't know how it works with flour. I expect it would work all right. You don't need to pour flour the way you do sugar, so the smaller spout wouldn't be very useful. But sugar and flour sacks are about the same size, so you could indeed keep flour in this one, and use the larger opening to pour with it.

I also use a smaller "flap top" sugar dispenser like the ones at the coffee vendor, though I bought it, rather than use a five-finger discount. I use the smaller dispenser for sugaring tea or hot chocolate. I refill the smaller dispenser from the bigger one reviewed here. Before I got the dispenser, filling that smaller container required a funnel, and I always spilled some sugar. Now I just open the pour spout and pour in as much sugar as I need, snap the spout closed and I'm done. No funnel, no clean up.

My wife and I have these. We bought them at Wal-Mart a few years ago. The sugar doesn't pour well due to the humidity in Florida. Flour doesn't pour at all. However, they do seal well. However, with time the larger flap sometimes becomes a bit loose. Overall, we're pleased.

I think I'll stick to just picking up the bag. Seems like kind of a useless invention.

I took a chance on one of these when I saw it the pet food section of a discount pharmacy. (The same construction as the King Arthur dispenser but Buddeez brand -- I believe they are the original manufacturer.) I'm glad I did. The whole thing is solid, and the I-beam handle is tough and strong. The lid fits tightly and both the spout and larger lid open and close easily without getting bits of stuff jammed in them.

We have one that is sized for bird seed. It's quick, it doesn't spill, and it's better than wrestling a shapeless bag above your head (even when you just cut off a corner as a funnel.). We had tried a Tupperware bin, but the one that was big enough to hold the bird seed was too big to pour into the feeder, and using a scoop took a while. We tried a Tupperware cereal container, but its opening was also too big to pour into the bird feeder.

We bought a huge one for dry cat food and it is as well-built. The cat food container has a big spade handle on the back and a molded grip on the bottom. It's far easier to grip than the cat food bag and less messy than trying to pour or scoop food into the bowl. It seems to keep the food fresher longer, too.

I'm not a fan of buying single-purpose plastic junk. This is not junk, and is a cool tool. Elegant, solid, and inexpensive, and it saves us time. I can't vouch for their effectiveness in the kitchen -- I'd rather use a measuring scoop for flour or sugar. But I can see it working well on cereal, oats, or rice. It works equally well whether the contents are in a bag or not.

This works great for storing and dispensing Borax. The squat boxes it comes in don't seem to pour well and are hard to handle. In addition, they seem to create a lot of dust. This sits on the shelf above the washer, is easy to pour from, and keeps the borax from absorbing water from the air. We keep a quarter cup measure on a string tied to the handle.

Thank you for mentioning our product. For all the bloggers, more reviews on the Sugar Dispenser can be seen on our website under our product reviews. EFB @ KAF

I just checked my dispenser, and it is a Buddeez product. Their other products look pretty good too. I like the 8 gallon grey dispensers. They'd be good for the organic fertilizers I use in the garden. They'll keep out ants and not attract mice.

We pay for our food three times; at the grocer, taxes that the farmer receives [http://www.heritage.org/research/taxes/misc/alachart6.cfm] and last but the worst through medical bills.

Those containers are very convenient for pouring out pain and misery. White flour and white sugar? And because you probably won't follow this link, I'll leave you with a humorous one [http://www.daghettotymz.com/current/whitesugar2/whitesugar2.html] that says the same thing as a hoity toity doctor of snobbery; white sugar and white flour will make your senior years full of doctors/bills and ... yes, we're all going to die but the quality of life to that point ...will suck. Enjoy.