Comic used with permission.
Want to minimize the time spent looking for those lids? First of all, make sure you're only keeping the food storage containers you really need, and that they all have lids. Then try one of these strategies:
1. Store the lids on the containers. This can work just fine if you have few enough, and enough storage space.
2. Use storage containers designed to make lid storage easier, such as the Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids; Rubbermaid has created a video showing how these work. You can also look for containers of multiple sizes that all use the same lid, so matching the lids up is easier.
3. Use a lid holder, such as the Place for Seals from Tupperware, or the plastic lid holder from Grayline Housewares.
4. Use a Command organizer from 3M, as Donna Smallin demonstrates.
5. Use a repurposed item. You could use a dish rack, as Donna Huisinga does. [via Decor Hacks] Or you could use a CD rack, as Better Homes and Gardens shows us. [via The Storage Geek] And any number of baskets can serve this purpose, too.
loved it!!
ReplyDeleteWe've gone the route of containers that all have the same size lid. The "disposable" ones like Glad and Rubbermaid make actually last quite a long time. We've been using a batch of Glad ones for about 3 years now and they are finally ready to be recycled and replaced. Using them to microwave spaghetti sauce is what really wears them out!
ReplyDeleteFor really tight storage situations like ours, rectangular containers fill the space in drawers and cabinets more efficiently. Who has round drawers?
That being said, I still struggle with lid storage. The tubs nest just fine, but the lids tends to be squirrely and shift around. This is a First World Problem :-)
Glad you liked it, Aline!
ReplyDeleteLouise, I'm not at all surprised you use rectangular containers that nest, given your living quarters. I've personally gone for the "thin out the collection" approach; I just don't need that many containers. With only five of them — glass, with plastic lids — it's hard to have much of a lid problem. But I know many other people need more than I do.
I love 3M Command products! The one that Donna shows is new to me, though, and I look forward to sharing it with clients on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing the ideas, Jeri.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this! I have (& genuinely need) a lot of reusable containers of varying sizes, so lid storage has been a problem & I've recently been looking around for a solution. The Command organizers look perfect--I hadn't known about them.
ReplyDeleteNancy, I'm so glad this was helpful. I'm with Marcie; this specific Command product was new to me, too. (I learn a lot as I write these posts.)
ReplyDeleteI have lots of different plastic containers (hubby says I have a fetish). We have a stand-alone drawer/shelf unit in the kitchen that has a very deep bottom drawer. All the lids go in the drawer; all the containers go in the shelves.
ReplyDeleteI have also recently invested in silicon lids in various sizes. They stretch somewhat, so fit various size containers. When I really can't be bothered looking for the right lid or I'm convinced it's hiding out with the missing socks, I just grab a silicon lid.
This is something that drives almost everyone crazy. Love the reference to lost socks. Why are we so hopeful that we will find the missing one of the pair and reconcile them? Maybe the same reason we read romance novels...
ReplyDeleteI had no clue that 3M made Command organizer baskets! I've only seen their hooks and poster tabs, which I love. I agree, clearing the excess is the best approach, but it seems when I do that, someone decides we don't have enough and buys more, of yet another shape of course. Because the stores have changed their stock.
ReplyDelete