# free 3 gal - 5 gal food grade buckets



## Concerned_ Citizen (Jan 20, 2010)

Hey guys, wanted to share some info......We have been going to the local publix and getting FREE 3 gal - 5 gal buckets.....all you have to do is go to the bakery and ask....other stores may be like this but im not sure.........

Get yourself some free buckets and go buy some Gamma Lids and you got some really nice long term storage containers....

we have buckets filled with sugar, grains, beans etc.....


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Good idea. We've been doing that awhile now. Just wish we'd started sooner.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

THANX for the heads up! :2thumb: FREE is *always* the right price


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Yup, get lots of em from the mega mart fer smokin an such, also, check round with yer local resteraunts, they got some to.

Now, when I need a bunch I'll bribe the manager with some ribs!


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Around here they have found that they are valuable and now charge .99¢ each for them but they are clean and they have good lids with a gasket.


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

*Walmart and Sam's Club *have given me hundreds free, just for the taking.

Just go back to the bakery and say you'd like to start picking the icing and filling buckets up (with the lids), tell them they don't have to wash them - that saves them time and work, they'll love you for it....

BUT... go there regularly to pick them up so they don't accumulate and the boss get's on them for lack of housekeeping, or you will "kill the goose that lays the golden egg" 

That's the way we've done it for years now.

- Basey


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

I called the local McDonalds a while ago and it was a no go. They would not give me any. Been a while...can't remember why. I never thought about WalMart. I'll have to try that.


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## BizzyB (Dec 10, 2010)

Grocery store bakeries do have them, but some do more baking than others. One store nearby us does all the baking for the other locations in the county and has tons of buckets. The other locations have none.


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## Frugal_Farmers (Dec 13, 2010)

We have about 100 buckets and continue to get ours for FREE as well.

Check out a little feature from our blog on other uses for these buckets:

Our Little Farm: The Bucket List


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Got a busy pizza joint? I got nearly 1/2 a pickup load from one round here. If there busy, they should be gettin stuff in em to.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Jason said:


> I called the local McDonalds a while ago and it was a no go. They would not give me any. Been a while...can't remember why. I never thought about WalMart. I'll have to try that.


Good luck with walmart..I asked twice..they said they were recycling..and under no circumstances could they sell or give the buckets......

I did read a post that stated the business owner said he didn't/couldn't give or sell because of liability...notice the baby falling in the bucket on the side??

But...I found a little IGA with a deli and I get the 2 and 5 gallon for $1!:congrat:


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

Walmart recycling? hmmm... this one in town hasn't stopped giving them away that I know of, but I haven't asked for them in 6 months, we're full-up with buckets right now, 5-600 of them.

Maybe they changed thier policy... oh well, there are more... like they say, ask around! There's a meat wholesaler in the next bigger town to me that sells 5 to 7 gal buckets for 50 cents apiece too...

- Basey


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

BasecampUSA said:


> Walmart recycling? hmmm... this one in town hasn't stopped giving them away that I know of, but I haven't asked for them in 6 months, we're full-up with buckets right now, 5-600 of them.
> 
> Maybe they changed thier policy... oh well, there are more... like they say, ask around! There's a meat wholesaler in the next bigger town to me that sells 5 to 7 gal buckets for 50 cents apiece too...
> 
> - Basey


I found out every walmart but ours gives them away----I don't get it---but I even asked at Bowling Green and they said no too...go figure.
Is this a Kentucky thing??

But, on this subject, Pizza Hut here said they would give me all the plastic containers that salad dressings come in..I can use those for lots of things...big opening...nice size.
They even clean them.


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

(off topic)

Russelville! Wow... nice part of the country you hail from!

I worked just up the road from you in Drakesboro (TVA - Paradise) for a year as a project engineer, and lived in my Itasca in Beechmont... -and I used to come down to Russelville where you live occasionally to shop.

*What I remember most, is that I was there at the TVA power plant on September 11, 2001 *when we heard on a radio in the office about a plane that flew into the WTC in New York, City. A few minutes later we heard about a second plane hitting the 2nd tower. Right after that there was an emergency plant meeting.

*They locked the plant down and sent all non-essential personnel home at noon. By the time we drove out to the main road, all filling stations had 3 block-long lines waiting in front of them. All ATM's were out of money. All banks had closed early. All grocery stores and markets were very crowded and the shelves were getting bare. Talk about a SHTF scenario!*

*LESSON: You can't prepare for an emergency when you are in the middle of one!*

Yep, that convinced me to stay prepared (I was anyway... - already had 6 weeks grub and fuel on board the motor home). I was driving a VW rabbit *diesel* -50 mpg- so I could get diesel fuel with no problem, most gasoline pumps were sold out before 3 o'clock. Some gas stations in Central City were jacking the prices up 300%... (some were arrested later).

Remember?

- Basey


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

BasecampUSA said:


> (off topic)
> 
> Russelville! Wow... nice part of the country you hail from!
> 
> ...


Small world???WOW...We've been here for 3 years...first 57 were in Springfield, Tn....
Husband is a log buyer/logger and worked for a couple years for Premium Hardwood in Central City..buying logs in Tn and Ky....and so we moved to Ky.

and then he lost his job!!!!:gaah:

We had a really hard year in 2008 with the new house, and neither of us could BUY a job...so, we've been there and know what it's like.

Prepping?? It started here, in KY., because I read the news, not watch the news.


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## rflood (Aug 19, 2010)

Went to my local BI-LO where someone from my neighborhood lives and they are going to save up the 5 gal buckets from the bakery for me, lids as well. My wife thinks I am nuts, buckets she says for what? But then again I have been known to do the odd thing once in a while so I guess she figures it is some sort of pack rat thing.
I am going to hit up Wally World this weekend to see about if they have some to give away as well.


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## PamsPride (Dec 21, 2010)

A guy from my church works at Dean foods. He has hooked me up with all of the 5 gallon buckets I want! They are clean....but smell like drink mixes! We have to really soak them to get the fruit punch, orange, or eggnog smell out of them.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

The job I was working at was an asian fast food restaurant. They get the Kikoman buckets that carry soy but the smell and stains are so hard to get out. Free buckets for me but hard to clean.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Salekdarling said:


> The job I was working at was an asian fast food restaurant. They get the Kikoman buckets that carry soy but the smell and stains are so hard to get out. Free buckets for me but hard to clean.


We get the same buckets from a Chinese restaurant! We have about 75 with 30-40 filled. I save them till I have 4-5. First I wash them out with Dawn dish soap. Then I take a gallon of apple cider vinegar, pour it in a bucket, put a couple gallons of water in and let it soak for a few days turning it upside down and then back a couple times a day. After those few days I open it and pour the solution into the next bucket. Wash the first one with dish soap again and they're clean.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

UncleJoe said:


> We get the same buckets from a Chinese restaurant! We have about 75 with 30-40 filled. I save them till I have 4-5. First I wash them out with Dawn dish soap. Then I take a gallon of apple cider vinegar, pour it in a bucket, put a couple gallons of water in and let it soak for a few days turning it upside down and then back a couple times a day. After those few days I open it and pour the solution into the next bucket. Wash the first one with dish soap again and they're clean.


Thanks Uncle Joe! I'll try that out and see if it'll work. =]


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## ReadyMom (Feb 25, 2011)

PamsPride said:


> A guy from my church works at Dean foods. He has hooked me up with all of the 5 gallon buckets I want! They are clean....but smell like drink mixes! We have to really soak them to get the fruit punch, orange, or eggnog smell out of them.


Try the solution that is suggested for the 55 gallon storage barrels. You can find MORE here: Cleaning 55 Gallon Plastic Barrels

Hope it helps! -k


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## easttexas (Apr 29, 2011)

*buckets*

i usually get mine from the donut shops ,1 or 2 a week which is usually all i can afford to fill! also most paint buckets have the recycled 2 on the bottom which means it could be used as food grade, clean at the car wash and rinse with a little bleach water and your good to go! i still vacuum pack supplies that go in these buckets


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

*Big time mistake !!!!!!!!!!*



easttexas said:


> i usually get mine from the donut shops ,1 or 2 a week which is usually all i can afford to fill! *also most paint buckets have the recycled 2 on the bottom which means it could be used as food grade, clean at the car wash and rinse with a little bleach water and your good to go! i still vacuum pack supplies that go in these buckets*




Buckets used for packaging stuff like paint *ARE NOT FOOD GRADE buckets *...... the triangle #2 has nothing to do with determining food grade ...... there's all kinds of special manufacturing that goes into making a FDA approved FOOD GRADE bucket ........

A used "paint bucket" are triple the danger ....... chemicals that cannot simply be washed out leach into the porous plastic ........ these same toxic chemicals leach back into your stored food ...... we are talking about cancer causing or possible faster killing chemicals .........


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

IlliniWarrior said:


> [/B]
> 
> Buckets used for packaging stuff like paint *ARE NOT FOOD GRADE buckets *...... the triangle #2 has nothing to do with determining food grade ...... there's all kinds of special manufacturing that goes into making a FDA approved FOOD GRADE bucket ........
> 
> A used "paint bucket" are triple the danger ....... chemicals that cannot simply be washed out leach into the porous plastic ........ these same toxic chemicals leach back into your stored food ...... we are talking about cancer causing or possible faster killing chemicals .........


Lowe's paint dept told me the #2 represents the type of material used in manufacturing,....the triangle means recycled and the HDPE represents the bucket is food grade....
for an example???
Look at an oil container with #2 on it...we wouldn't store water or food in that.


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## Davo45 (Apr 29, 2011)

I've gotten several from a local eatery, will have to ask at Publix and Wal-Mart. Thanks for the tip.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Salekdarling said:


> They get the Kikoman buckets that carry soy but the smell and stains are so hard to get out. Free buckets for me but hard to clean.


No problem - - if you seal your food in Mylar bags, that soy sauce residue will not affect a thing. If you store any kind of animal feed (chickens-rabbits-goats), they won't care either. I really doubt it would hurt your whole wheat or pinto beans, too.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

To get the odor out of some of the buckets we have gotten we wash them really good and let them set in the sun for a few days open end up. Makes a world of difference.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Nearly every grocery store and even gas stations that have their own bakery/deli counters in our area gives away their buckets. Most are 2 or 3 gallon buckets, which I like because they're not so heavy for me to move around. 

I always get extra and I give them to family, friends, and neighbors as a push (or kick in the seat!) to store food. It gives them fewer excuses about where/how to store the foods we keep telling them to buy, like big bags of rice, beans, sugar, flour, etc. 

As for myself and our family, I won't put food in a bucket or other container that ever held anything like paint or other non-food and chemical-laden products, no matter how much water and/or bleach could be used. If they were the never-used paint cans some hardware and building supply stores sell, I might, but the food would be sealed in mylar or food-saver bags. As long as I can still get free buckets, though, it wouldn't be practical to pay or new paint buckets.

That's just my choice in the matter.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

gypsysue said:


> Nearly every grocery store and even gas stations that have their own bakery/deli counters in our area gives away their buckets. Most are 2 or 3 gallon buckets, which I like because they're not so heavy for me to move around.
> 
> I always get extra and I give them to family, friends, and neighbors as a push (or kick in the seat!) to store food. It gives them fewer excuses about where/how to store the foods we keep telling them to buy, like big bags of rice, beans, sugar, flour, etc.
> 
> ...


Ysssss..I love the 2 gallon buckets for salt and sugar and rice-- full 5 gallon are hard to lift!!!!


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## ReadyMom (Feb 25, 2011)

ReadyMom said:


> Try the solution that is suggested for the 55 gallon storage barrels. You can find MORE here: Cleaning 55 Gallon Plastic Barrels
> 
> Hope it helps! -k


Sorry ... changed servers and there's a new link for info, above: Cleaning 55 Gallon Plastic Barrels


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

LincTex said:


> No problem - - if you seal your food in Mylar bags, that soy sauce residue will not affect a thing. If you store any kind of animal feed (chickens-rabbits-goats), they won't care either. I really doubt it would hurt your whole wheat or pinto beans, too.


Hey! This is a little late but thanks! Stocking up on Mylar bags and Oxygen absorbers now. Once the cash rolls in a bit more, I'll get to packing my beans and rice!


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Salekdarling said:


> Stocking up on Mylar bags and Oxygen absorbers now.


Member "Ellen" on this site sells Mylar bags for a good price.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

bczoom said:


> Member "Ellen" on this site sells Mylar bags for a good price.


Thanks Mr. Zoom! I will check out Ellen's products. :2thumb:


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## virginia (Mar 11, 2012)

*5 gallon buckets*



rflood said:


> Went to my local BI-LO where someone from my neighborhood lives and they are going to save up the 5 gal buckets from the bakery for me, lids as well. My wife thinks I am nuts, buckets she says for what? But then again I have been known to do the odd thing once in a while so I guess she figures it is some sort of pack rat thing.
> I am going to hit up Wally World this weekend to see about if they have some to give away as well.


Hi! I live in Charlotte and I am looking for some 5 gallon buckets I am willing to pay a 1.00 each for all you can get. TY Virginia


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

virginia said:


> Hi! I live in Charlotte and I am looking for some 5 gallon buckets I am willing to pay a 1.00 each for all you can get. TY Virginia ***-***-****


You may want to PM your number to the person you want to talk to. Not post it on a public board. It's just not safe.
Be careful.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

The icing buckets are excellent for making small batches of wine or big batches of pickles.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

ContinualHarvest said:


> You may want to PM your number to the person you want to talk to. Not post it on a public board. It's just not safe.
> Be careful.


I agree 100%

Not being rude virginia. It's just a really bad idea to post your phone # on an open forum like that.

*If anyone can help out virginia, please send details via PM.*

Thanks


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## Hoss6193 (Mar 8, 2012)

*Bakeries Are A Great Place 4 Free Buckets*

Back in the very early 90's when I was still living on the west coast, I worked for a chain of high-end bakeries that specialized fancy custom wedding cakes. Those 3 stores went through 40 to 60 4 gallon bailless buckets every week. They contained whole frozen eggs and egg whites. Besides being perfect for staple food storage, they made wonderful rodent proof storage containers for out of season clothes, bedding, linens etc...

But what my Dad and I used them for the most was "free 4 the taking" nursery planters. We propagated trees, shrubs, flowers and just about anything else you could think of in them.

The fact is uses for such containers are only as limited as your imagination.

All The Best To You & Yours,
Cary Jeffries


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