Plastic container organizing

We all have that cabinet where there are a bunch of disorganized plastic containers. Whether they are expensive Tupperware or Rubbermaid or old carry out food containers, they tend to accumulate and take over cabinet space that is already tight.

Food containers should stay in the kitchen and bigger containers or bins can go in a closet or basement. If you are not using them though, why take up space storing them?

How many containers do you really need?

If you take your lunch to work every day, you might use a lot of food containers in a variety of sizes. If you rarely use them or keep them on hand to dole out leftovers after a big family meal, maybe you don’t need as many as you have.

Of course, there must be purging of some of the containers. Right off the bat, you can get rid of anything that is stained, cracked, missing a lid or otherwise not useful. Do your part for Mother Nature – check the containers before you throw them away because most are recyclable.

Designate a spot for the containers. If you have too many to fit in the spot you chose, you’ll need to eliminate a few more. There is a theory that if you assign a large space for something, you will fill it. So limit how much room you use. If you have the option, deep drawers work well for storing plastic bins.

How you organize the space is really up to you. You can nest the containers inside each other and stack them. Put the lids on top. Try not to make the stacks too tall because it will be harder to get to the containers on the bottom. The idea is to make things easier, not more difficult.

You can use a dish drainer to hold food containers and lids or a CD holder to hold the lids with the containers next to it. Arrange them by size so you can easily locate the one you need. Empty cardboard cereal boxes can be used to hold lids in one place.

You may want to keep a few giveaway containers for leftover food from Thanksgiving or other special occasions. Put those and any other containers you rarely use in the back.

As you accumulate new containers, go through your old ones and weed out any that no longer make the cut. This method works for both food containers as well as storage containers that you may have around your house.

Remember, the more space used for empty storage containers, the less room you have for your food and belongings. If you have problems figuring out how to organize containers or any other clutter around your home, please contact me.