Our Plastic Storage Organization

Is anywhere out there like me? (Scary, I know.) I don't know about you, but I call all our plastic storage in the kitchen "Tupperware." And when I try to think of another name, all I can come  up with is "Rubbermaid." Do you do that? I don't know what else to call it, even though we use other containers besides Tupperware and Rubbermaid. Oh well. Now you know why this post has such an awkward title. :)

Those plastic containers that we use in the kitchen to store food (hmmm...I'm thinking that isn't a good thing to call them, either) can be such a pain to store! We had two cabinets full of them. Our method of putting them away was, open the door, throw it in, and close the door quickly so nothing falls out! NOT a very good method (shame on us) and not very helpful when it comes to finding a container....or its lid!

So I decided, with a little help from Rachel, to tackle those shelves and create a functioning space we could all keep neat. We began by emptying the cupboards and wiping down the shelves:

Lots of different containers in several shapes and sizes! Mom also keeps a few of her smaller pots in these cupboards as well. What a mess!

We then sorted the containers out by shape (square, round, rectangle, etc.) and them stacked them by size. We made stacks that fit nicely inside each other and weren't in danger of getting stuck.  We also took all the lids and corralled them in one square container that doesn't get used often. The result was SO much better!

Here is an example of our nice stacks. We put the oddly shaped containers that are rarely used in the back, and kept the most frequently used ones in the front.

We even somewhat organized the lids within their box....we are organizing machines, I tell ya! It is super easy to find the lid you need with this new system, and it is just as easy to keep it all organized with daily use!

Lemme show you this picture again, to point out a couple more things (so you won't have to keep scrolling up and down!)

• The pots get their own shelf now that everything is so uber organized.
• See the really large round containers on the bottom right? The lids beside them were too large for our "lid box," so they stay nicely propped up there on the side. And the lids underneath those round containers were too big to stand on their side! So they get stacked flat underneath. It may seem a little awkward, but there are so few of them that they stay there nicely.

It is WAY easier to keep this area organized, even with so many people using it. There is no going back now! We are all so thankful for a nicely organized space.

I'm dying to know...what do you call your plastic kitchen storage? Help me out here! How do you keep it all organized?