I have this drawer in my kitchen that is full of various tupperwares and storage containers. They have been purchased over the years as singles, parts of sets, or given to me as gifts. Some I have no idea where they came from. Someone probably sent some food home with me and I just never returned the containers (sorry about that.)

Half the time I can't find the stupid lid for the container and then I go to close the drawer, and it doesn't shut because stuff piles up in there. This bothers me probably more than it should.

Does anyone have a set of these things that they have standardized to? I have some Rubbermaid ones that seem decent, but the lids don't necessarily work with containers from different sets, even from the same company.

I just want to put in a huge order on Amazon, or go to Walmart or CostCo and buy like a hundred of these things. There should be various sizes. Plastic and glass containers, depending on what they are used for. The plastic ones should fit inside of each other and ideally the lids would snap together as well, for convenient storage. For glass, maybe having differing sizes of bowls, where smaller fits into bigger.

Does anyone else have this dilemma? What was your solution?

The solution:

Tupperware sets can be had for about $20-$30. It's a cheap product. I tell my wife every year to year and half to throwout (recycle) all the tupperware and go buy a new set.

Problems solved.

That's pretty much where I'm at as well. Do you have any recommendations for sets? I know a lot of them are pretty similar, just wondering if there are any of them that are particularly good value or have nifty features that I haven't thought of.

I basically just want to stock up on one type and when they inevitably get lost/destroyed/not returned, replace them with something I already have on hand.

Snapware makes some of its storage containers with the bottom part made of glass (or Pyrex). Pretty nice.

Get a good vacuum sealer. You can use disposable bags, re-useable canisters and vacuum seal large and small lid mason jars.

Solution? Go through all of it, match up the lids to containers, get rid of the rest.

Every other or third year we buy a new set on Black Friday and purge the old, beat up and non matching.

Head to Ollie's. I bought 3 sets of Rubbermaid stuff for like $15-$20 a few months ago. lol

I believe she bought this Tupperware .

I really don't care about it enough to worry about the features. I'm more along the lines of "this clutter is bugging me, throw it all away and start fresh because it's cheap."

That place gets me in trouble... I buy back-ups to the back-ups of stuff I really don't need.
Good call though.

I always lose my Tupperware. It’s like it vanishes without a trace

That's actually a good idea.. I'm going to look into that.

I've been sending people home with food in those old, beat up, non matching containers when the opportunity presents itself.

Plot twist here. People actually bring those ones back.

Some old tupperware sells for quite a bit. No idea why.

"Keep the tupperware, too and if you don't want it, just throw it away. I have plenty."

Problem solved again!

I don't like messing with leftovers, so I try to cook as much as I'll eat. I stick to simple meal plans - meat (or fish), carb (potato, pasta/noodle, rice, or bread), and a frozen steam-in-bag veg. The exceptions are when I make something like chili, spaghetti sauce, soup, an occasional mess of breaded pork chops, etc. The liquid leftovers, I split into some cheap, portion-size Rubbermaid containers that are about 1-1/2 quart sized. Leftover pork chops / meatloaf / roast whatevers are separated into meal portions in freezer bags. In other words, I don't mess around with little 1 cup containers because that small amount of food is going to end up being a science project in the back of the fridge. If I am cleaning up and I have just a bit of veg or mac 'n cheese leftover, I am either going to snarf it on the spot while rinsing or I'm throwing it away.

I'll make huge bunches of food, when I am able to cook. I then send some to my mom, and leave out a couple of meals for myself. The rest gets broken down to meal size portions and frozen.

I might buy a vacuum sealer. That might make it easier to stack meals up in the freezer in less room.

As far as vacuum sealers go - this thing has been making a big buzz. Super-cool idea, but since there's a valve on every bag, bags run about 50 cents each.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/waring-...y/929WVS50.html

I also tend to build meals around having a protein, vegetable, and starch, though in more combinations than you are getting at here. I also love to have leftovers. The way I look at it is, I like to cook. I just don't like to cook every day or spend too much (active) time when I do.

So for example, if I'm making chili, I like to make a huge pot of chili. We eat a lot here, if people happen to be over I offer to send some home, and the rest ends up in the refrigerator or freezer.

Admittedly, most things don't keep as well as chilis (or soups/stews), but most things get a few leftovers anyway. So I'm constantly rotating stuff in and out, though as you mentioned, those little 1 cup containers tend not to be worth it. It depends what it is though.

We switched to the Member's Mark version of this, bought at Sam's Club. We really like them.

Our old storage containers started looking like artifacts found on a sunken ship.

Now, if someone could tell me how to clean out the pots & pans cabinets in my kitchen. They seem to be procreating, because they never fit back in like they did when I took them out. The clash and clatter when I empty the dishwasher and put them away always sends my dog skittering away. Do I really need two 8 quart dutch ovens and five 10" frying pans? Its time for a ruthless clean up, I think.

If you've not cooked with them in the last six months, it's time for a garage sale.

Or a delivery run to the Goodwill store.

I never had this problem, but I do remember watching a 30 minute info mercial round about 2003-2007 which was all about sovling it,
It had a whole group of bowls which somehow would guarantee you'd never separate the lid from it's bowl,
and they came in all sizes, maybe shapes.

On a lighter note, I think it is interesting Cleveland Browns' fan logic that you have a drawer that won't close because stuff piles up in there,
and
You just want to put in a huge order and buy like a hundred of these things.

! Wait! Are you Jimmy Haslam? Hello Sir!

I'm shocked that nobody is screaming at you about causing Climate Change with all the plastic your using.

You may need to get rid of a few things, or as I did, move the least used ones to a shelf in the garage or something for that "just in case" time but at least you aren't digging through them constantly

I bought and installed this for my wife a few years ago, she still says it is one of the best things I ever bought her. If it doesn't fit in here, we don't need it. (at least not on a daily basis)

And no, we don't have purple pots and pans... not that there's anything wrong with that.

That's a really good setup there. (I knew I made this thread for a reason.)

I've been considering one just like that. It's getting harder and harder to get pans off the little shelf in the back of the bottom cabinets

That’s a great idea/way to organize

I'm debating getting one of those knowing that we're eventually going to take it out when we redo the kitchen. Eventually, the pots/pans and lids will hang over the island.