We have all been there – the toppling tower of empty food containers that threatens to engulf you at any moment, the frustration of the morning lunchbox rush where you desperately try to find a top and bottom that match or knowing that you do own the exact right container for those leftover but where oh where is it hiding??
How does your empty food container storage area look? Today’s tips will help you tame this problem area and bring back some order to the area. Imagine breezing through the morning routine being able to pick up the exact container you need easily and it also has a lid!
Sort
Firstly, find all your containers and lids, don’t forget to check the backs of cupboards, and the dishwasher.
Put them on a table or counter so that you can clearly see what you have. Now it becomes a bit like a tupperware puzzle: match up your containers and lids. Do this by putting similar shaped containers and lids together and then gradually sort further by size until everything that matches has been paired together.
Now assess and decide what you really need.
Declutter
Throw out any containers and lids that are no longer usable, don’t kid yourself that you are going to find some arty use for them, if there isn’t a functional top and bottom there is no point keeping it.
Donate or sell any excess. Be realistic! What’s the worst that can happen, you can always use zip lock bags for the odd occasion that you might run out. After all we tend to make do with what we have and how many containers do you really need to use all at the same time on a regular basis?
Organise
Once you have a clear idea of how much needs to go back in to the kitchen review the area you keep your containers, is it the best spot or would another space in your kitchen be more effective. Is it the easiest way to store and access the containers for everyone?
Depending on the figuration of your kitchen:
- deep drawers with dividers work well
- or inserting an under the shelf storage
- converting a shelf into a drawer system (you can either use a larger container on wheels on the shelf or install a drawer system on runners).
Decide if it's better to keep the lids separate from the containers. Use containers to store all your lids together, but make sure it isn’t a container you are going to need to use to store food – what happens when you need that container…you’ll end up with a big mess again!
Handled containers are perfect for storing lids on shelves and making it easy to take the container out of the cupboard when you need to find a lid. They can be found at many different stores.
Stack similar sized containers together so that they are easy to find and store.
And that’s it!
Don’t delay start today.
Sara