Bugs can also get into (and out of) your spices in plastic bags. I got a real infestation of critters from some fenugreek I bought at the Asian grocery in a plastic pouch. They ate thru it and proceeded to get into everything that wasn't in glass.

I use any small, stackable (or at least pleasingly-shaped) glass jar with a good lid. Lately that has meant commercial salsa jars that hold about a cup, cup and a half. Sometimes I save spice bottles with lids but as the lids are plastic for some reason they often crack before the jar is empty.

Item: I actually have far too many pleasingly-shaped small jars sitting around on my limited counter-space.  :surrender:

As much as I hate buying anything from the plastics store, that's where I get my spice jars, for just over a dollar each. Little clear square ones with white plastic lids, which I write the names on. They fit neatly in a cutlery tray which then fits neatly in my pantry. They last ages and protect from bugs, and they keep most of the smells separate (a noted exception is asafoetida). They can be washed, but each one is only ever used for a single spice over and over 'cause the plastic does retain odours.

One day when I find a source of stackable, well-shaped & -sized glass jars, I'll use them. At the moment I canna afford it.

As much as I hate buying anything from the plastics store, that's where I get my spice jars, for just over a dollar each. Little clear square ones with white plastic lids, which I write the names on. They fit neatly in a cutlery tray which then fits neatly in my pantry. They last ages and protect from bugs, and they keep most of the smells separate (a noted exception is asafoetida).

I had to look up asafoetida.  I found out it's also called devil's dung and stinking gum.  :o  With what types of food do you use it?

Some Indian dishes use it, but only ever a pinch at a time - it's POTENT. It comes from the sap of a plant, and is made into a diluted powder for use in cooking. Evidently it aids in the digestion of legumes/pulses. It also gives an oniony flavour. Some ethnic folk who aren't allowed (by religion?) to eat onions, use this as a flavouring instead. On one unfortunate occasion I bought a sachet of ready-made 'south Indian curry' sauce, and it turned out to have 100 times too much asafoetida (it didn't list it in the ingredients, but I knew it was there, under the heading of 'spices'.) It stunk out the house (reminiscent of cat-pee) AND ruined a pair of my favourite chopsticks. Wah. The moral of the story is use with caution.

I have all these cute little spice jars - but I haven't filled them all with spices. I don't have labels - what if I forget what's what? I put in cinnamomn, curry, cumin, and some others that I can distinguish... but... I need to get labels, or something...

and yes, bulk is best!

*ahem*

I have started saving any and all small glass jars from groceries (like artichoke hearts, molasses, etc)....then washing/drying thoroughly before filling them up with spices from the bulk section of my grocery store.  I just use masking tape and a marker to write the tare weight (weight of container before filling), and that is subtracted from the overall weight by the cashier.  Then I use the tape and marker to label what it is when I get home.
...It's kind of neat having a bunch of mismatched jars in my cupboard, I think it adds character to my spice storage.  ;)

as a lightweight jar alternative, I've begun using old prescription pill bottles (sans pills, of course) to store spices.

...my school's pharmacy just gives me new bottles every time I get a refill (do all pharmacies do this?  jeez, that's a lot of plastic), so I can wash out the old ones, peel off or cover the label, and re-use them for ANYthing:
...quarter storage, for laundry day..
...storing thumbtacks and pushpins, etc...
...and of course, spices!

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3871/dscf6297lv9.jpg

so that's been my "thing" lately---saving any and all containers and washing/reusing them for different things
(you see here that I've re-labeled a plastic spice container, as well as some spray bottles that formerly held chemical-y cleaning products...and replaced the contents with good stuff!) :w00t!:
....when I moved into this apartment, there was a TON of stuff leftover from two of the former tenants (who refused to clean out their crap, so it legally became ours), including a cabinet FULL of cleaning chemicals, and a bunch of spices and baking supplies!  woohoo!  Now that those things are finally starting to get used up, I'm reusing the containers before I send them off to be recycled. 

What I really wanted were baby food jars so I could reuse instead of buy new.  But, alas, I know no one with babies and I couldn't find any at the thrift shops.  My spices fit in a small space.  I wanted a uniform container size because I'm going to make wooden drawers the height of the jars and separate rows with dowels so I can have a spice cabinet with a quasi-apothecary look  - alphabetized, of course (I'm retentive that way).

...retentive, or just totally clever?  ;)

I like to buy organic banana baby food every now and again, just so I have some banana puree that will stay "fresh" in my cupboards for a long time....it's nice when I'm all out of bananas, and I want to make cookies or banana bread.  a 6 oz. jar ~ 2 medium-ish bananas.  true story.
I suppose that'd work just swell for squash and other yummy purees, too.

...and that way, you have baby food food jars of all the same size when you're done using the stuff inside!
(I forgot to add--I have two little jars full of loose-leaf tea in my cupboard right now!  It's great because I can SEE the tea inside, and it looks gorgeous sitting above the colorful spices on the shelf below.)
but that's just one avenue to explore....I'm sure there are lots of other jars/containers you could go for...ah, the sky's the limit when it comes to little bitty containers!

now, seriously, I'm going to get the heck off of VW before my eyes rot.
good night, everybody...
I'll see you around!

I have all these cute little spice jars - but I haven't filled them all with spices. I don't have labels - what if I forget what's what?

Ummmm....I just take the lid off and smell the spice. Works for me!!  ;D

However perhaps it's because I went heavily into herbs at about 11, when I took over cooking in my mother's house. (And gardening herbs, and drying them). My DH dumped a real bunch of cinnamon into something he was cooking, fortunately there was no sweetness involved...gave it an interesting flavour. Actually I can sight-identify most of my spices except I mix up tarragon, oregano and thyme...which is where the smell test comes in.