Please tell me that I am not the only one who has trouble with keeping my leftover containers in line! It seems like whenever I close the door to their cabinet they have a party in there and start doing their own thing again. It’s so frustrating trying to keep some semblance of order so that they don’t come jumping out on your head when you open the door to the cabinet.
Although nothing seems to work forever, I have found a process that seems to keep them in line a little longer.
First thing I do when I’m organizing those rebels is I take everything out and match lids. A lid or container can just disappear into thin air! If I have too many lids I tend to hold onto at least one extra because those seem to warp or disintegrate faster. If a container doesn’t have a lid I try to find a home for it elsewhere. I either recycle it or throw it out if need be. Sometimes I send it out to the sand box to play until it really needs recycling!
I have quite a few glass containers and of course they last longer then their lids. I found a handy site where I was able to order some replacement lids which made me so excited! Check it out!
After matching lids I was ready to organize. I separated the glass and the plastic. The plastic was stacked according to brand/type/size with their respective lids on top of the containers. The glass was stacked carefully and not too high according to size. The lids have their own organizer. It is one of those wire shelves that you hang on the inside of your door, cut down and laid on its side. I love that it allows all the lids to stand up straight.
My cabinet had three small shelves so I decided to do something different with the third shelf. I put all the containers I use for packing lunches on that shelf. That way when I go to put leftovers away for a lunch everything thing I need is right there.
I put labels on all the shelves to help me remember and to hopefully help my husband remember where certain containers and their lids go when we’re putting away clean dishes. That doesn’t mean that they always stay that way, but at least there is a system that is easily duplicated in place.
What do you do to keep your leftover containers in line?