Tag: storage containers

How To Stack & Store Stuff!

January is Get Organized Month! How To Stack and Store Stuff!

Getting organized is a process, and choosing and using the right containers for storage is a really important step in the process!

During my presentations, I talk a lot about Containerizing and how to do it the right way! (BTW, “Containerize” is a word introduced by Julie Morgenstern in her book Organizing From The Inside Out). And for ease of writing (and reading, I expect!), I am talking about large storage containers during this article, and not the little ones in your kitchen cabinets.

Why Containerize?

-To protect your items.

-To maximize your vertical space.

-To keep your items conveniently portable.

-To provide boundaries and limits for collecting.

-To enable retrieval of similar or related items when needed.

To Protect Your Item, choose the right containers that will offer physical protection and structure for your stuff. Consider heat and cold variations when you are storing your stuff (as in, snow globes will FREEZE and SHATTER if they’re kept outside), protection against bugs and moisture and dust. Cardboard is almost NEVER the right choice for long term storage of your belongings because it is susceptible to moisture, dust and bugs plus it degrades over time and usage.

Containerize your really heavy or fragile items to protect them from falling or from harm. And store both heavy and fragile items in small containers with only a few other things (but not together, of course!).

Maximize your vertical space. Containers are great for utilizing your vertical space well, since you can stack containers into tall stacks. When you are storing filled containers, store the heaviest and widest containers at the bottom of the pile, and don’t just keep piling. For safety sake, most stacks shouldn’t be over 3 or 4 containers tall.

Keep your items conveniently portable. I have no intention of moving from my home any time soon. BUT, if I did, it would be super easy to move the contents of my crawl space. Most of the contents are seasonal items and decor, and all are pared down, categorized, containerized and well labeled, so moving would be a piece of cake.

When containerizing, don’t pack really big containers full of really heavy items. Those 18 gallon Rubbermaid containers are great for storing holiday decor, bedding or clothes or toys, but not books and photos and papers – those heavy dense items would make the big containers too heavy to conveniently move and stack.

Containers provide boundaries and limits for collecting. Containers provide reminders of what is the reasonable amount of stuff to keep. Think about your dresser. It seems reasonable to keep one or two drawers of t-shirts (or socks or underwear), right? But if we don’t containerize our stuff in a drawer, it is difficult to determine how much for something we actually own. Containers provide a gauge for quick estimates of content.

When you’re explaining to your kids (or others) how much of something to keep, you can say ‘one container’ or 2 or whatever of memorabilia or stuffed animals, etc.

Containers enable retrieval of similar or related items when needed. Label your containers, so you can find things again. Affix a label to two sides of the container, one end and one side. DO NOT label the top, for as soon as you stack your containers, you will not longer see the top.

Label your container (and DO NOT write the containers’ contents on the container!), and be willing to change them if the contents change. I have spent 17 years now searching for good labels. So far, the best combo is a Post-It note and a Sharpie marker covered over with clear packing tape.

Decide if you want to see the contents of the container or not. Clear containers provide a clearer view, but are often more expensive and less sturdy. In addition, we may want an opaque container for a more uncluttered look in your storage area.

If you are packing away seasonal decor this week, or looking to get organized for 2020, give some thought to the right containers for the job!

What To Do With All These Storage Containers?!

I’ve gotten some questions about food storage containers, for example…

  • What to do with them?
  • How to store them?
  • Where in the world did all of these come from?
  • Where are all the lids (or bases!)?
  • Sound familiar?

I hope you all had a chance to take advantage of National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day last week!  If you browsed through your fridge last week, perhaps you now have clean and empty containers to put away (or perhaps the contents were so very nasty, the container went out as well!).

However… perhaps you are one of many people who cannot put more storage containers away because the cabinet space or drawer you have dedicated to storage containers is full to overflowing…

Or…. maybe you don’t have a space dedicated to storage containers, and that creates a different problem!

Let’s figure this out, friends!  And for the sake of brevity, I will just call them “storage containers”, regardless of plastic, glass, ceramic, etc.

First Things First, clear off a counter for this little project.

Open all the cabinet doors, drawers and pantry and collect all the storage containers (bottoms and lids) scattered through out your space.

Sort bottoms and tops by shape and then size.  You should end up with a pile of round bottoms and lids, a pile of square bottoms and lids, rectangle bottoms and lids, etc.

Once your sizes and shapes are sorted, match up bottoms and tops.  This step can be very entertaining and / or frustrating, when you realize you have 20 bottoms and no tops, or 17 tops and 2 bottoms, etc.

And once you have started sorting and matching up items, it will start to become apparent which items need to go and which can stay.  Stained, cracked, warped or mis-matched items can go.   Re-used butter tubs or yogurt bowls?  Yes.  Go.

Seriously?  Those items are not manufactured to be re-used.  Yes, go.

Now, if you have to part with a lot of your containers because of wear and age, DO NOT run right out and buy the same amount to replace them.

If you want to purchase new items, or make the switch to glass containers, slowly transition out your old containers.

 

Ask your self:

  • Do you really need as many containers as you had?  Have you ever had every container in use?  Has the cabinet every been empty?  IF not, you have too many!
  • Slowly determine what you really need, and only purchase new storage when you really need it.
  • To really streamline the process, consider using only one or two sizes or styles of containers. These to the right are our favorite.  Stackable with a good seal for freezing, storing and transporting liquids.  Perfect for meal planning.  (2 cup size, Ziploc brand).  We use them for everything!  We have a few other sizes and types, but these are definitely my go-to!


Decide on a home for your storage containers, and let the folks who live in your house know where you put them!  Make sure the home is convenient and easy to reach.  As you put your containers away, consider how to store them to make life simpler!

Perhaps you could try a container for your containers, so you don’t have to worry about stacking them! (see picture to the right!)

I use an empty storage container to corral the lids to all the other containers!

Or how about storing them matched up, to make it easier to find them?

Whatever you choose,  tuck them away and close the door on this quick but satisfying project.  And if you’re hosting Thanksgiving this week, you will be the best hostess on the block if you have your storage containers ready to send home left overs with your guests!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

 

Finally, A Blog Post About Plastic Food Containers

How have I never blogged about plastic food containers before?  These handy and prolific little
items, found in every kitchen EVER.

I taught a Kitchen Organizing class a few weeks ago, and we chatted quite a bit about these storage containers.  We love and hate them at the same time! These containers are handy.  Re-usable.  With a million and one uses.  And  they occasionally drive us crazy.

Can you identify with any of these problems?

  • You have way too many containers and lids, they are stashed in every cabinet and drawer, and they occasionally fall out in a heap. And yet…
  • When you need a container, it’s difficult to find matching containers and lids.
  • When you use your containers in the fridge, its difficult to tell the difference between leftovers in a butter tub and actual butter in a butter tub.
  • You worry because you have heard that re-purposing or reheating food in plastic containers can leach chemicals into your foods.
  • Your soup or leftovers have leaked in your lunch bag.

Here’s how to fix these problems:

  • Pull out all the plastic containers in your kitchen and pair up the bottoms and lids.  Recycle or re-purpose the solo ones.  Do this every couple of months.
  • Dedicate one cabinet or one drawer as a home for your containers, and only store them there.
  • Buy clear (or mostly clear) containers, so you can easily identify their contents.
  • Find a brand you like, and stick with it.
  • Choose a few sizes of containers, and stick with just those.  (We have  GladWares small rounds,  round 2-cup containers with screw-on lids, flat squares and a few large ones for our recent homemade ice cream habit!).
  • Buy containers that stack, both while in use and when not in use. Most brands offer snap-together lids.
  • Keep just a pile or two.   If you find that you never get to the second or third pile of containers, then you probably don’t need the second or third pile of containers.
  • Glass storage containers are an option.  Many folks have made the switch.  They
    keep fewer containers overall, but can safely use the glass containers for storage, cooking and reheating.
  • If you have too many containers right now, spread the love. Re-purpose them as drawer dividers, send home leftovers with friends, donate them to a class room for craft time, recycle them
  • Don’t fall into the “it was free, I guess I’ll keep it” trap.  Deli containers, sherbet bowls, butter tubs or cottage cheese containers (and related items) are not made to last.   Recycle them!

Free up some cabinet space and decrease some stress by paring down your container collection!