From Mariette Mifflin,
Your Guide to Housewares / Appliances.
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Ever open your plastics cupboard only to cause an avalanche of mismatched containers and lids to come pouring out unto the floor? This is definitely a signal that this corner needs to become better organized. After all, you want to be able to quickly locate the right size container for your child's lunch, before the bus reaches your street.

Storage Solutions

One drawback to storing this type of product, is the inability of various sizes and shapes to properly nest together. They become strewn inside a large cupboard making retrieving them from the back area extremely difficult.

This can be resolved by either building a wooden box with a pair of drawer slides mounted on its sides to allow the box to slide forward, or using a small plastic bin set on a sliding shelf, that can be pulled forward to provide easy access to the contents.

Organizing The Plastics

Overtime, it seems that we either end up with too many lids or too many bottoms - and we need to review our stock and pair them up.

A solution to matching problems is to purchase the same brand and size of storage containers, or some that vary in size but have interchangeable lids.

Some plastic storage containers also tend to yellow a little when not used. You can restore these by cleaning them in hot soapy water with a little chlorine bleach.

If your plastic stock is low, you may want to consider a storage solution like Smart Spin Storage Systems which hold several containers and lids on a revolving storage rack. These would require a shelf or deep drawer space with easy access.

For those specialty items like divided trays, large salad bowls and serving pieces, you may want to relocate these to a pantry and keep your cupboard or drawer for the everyday plastics.

Food storage containers have certainly 'earned' their space in the kitchen cupboard, but let's keep them nice and tidy for easy retrieval. After all, it's so much easier handing out one of these modern day 'doggy bags' than having to retrieve your favorite dish later.

More Steps to an Organized Kitchen

• Step 1: The Gadget Drawer
• Step 2: The Spice Cupboard
• Step 3: The Junk Drawer
• Step 4: The Plastics Drawer
• Step 5: The Pantry