Plastic tub storage

ubamother · 26 July 2011 at 9:25AM

Morning all.

I am declaring war on all my lock n lock, tupperware etc. - every single tub and lid will be put in a large box until there are no more to be found in the house. When I have done that any tub or lid that doesn't have a lid or tub to match will be out. After that I need to find a better way to store the damn things - I use them a lot for freezing, salad lunches, storage etc etc but can never find the right lid to match the right tub easily and don't have the room not to stack the boxes. I'm tempted to mark a great big number on each lid and tub to see if this makes finding the right one easier!

If anyone has a failsafe way of keeping their tubs and lids under control do please share!

annem38 · 26 July 2011 at 9:40AM

had a similar problem, also chucked out a load of mismatched lids/bottoms or just plain rubbish ones, and then yesterday went for the jugular and decided to store approx 50% of all old marg tubs/takeaway boxes in the recycling box...........the bemused binman took them away about 40 mins ago, now just wondering what to do with all that extra shelf space!

sorry not much help but i do like your idea of numbering tops and bottoms, or what about colour coding as i have alot of same size boxes with interchangealbe lids and others that look the same but annoyingly have ever so slightly different lids

would also suggest that if you can't get them all into a big box then it is time for a declutter!

good luck

anne

rachbc · 26 July 2011 at 12:10PM

I ended up binning all mine and buying some from claus olsen which all have the same size lid and are just differnet depths - they stack all togther and no scrabbling around for the right lid. Tupperware bliss!

anguk · 26 July 2011 at 12:25PM

I've got a big collapsible crate that fits in the bottom shelf in my cupboard and all my plastic pots live in there. I had a big cull and chucked out all the old stained and mis-matched ones and now I store them with the lids on, except for the take-away containers which are stacked inside each other and the lids are underneath. Most of my containers are lock & lock so I store the smaller ones inside the bigger ones, my favourite lock & locks are a blue set of three that nest inside each other with the lids on, I'm sure I got them on special offer for about £5 from Lakeland but I haven't seen them since.

I think when I need new ones I'll get the nestable lock & lock:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/p13780/Nestable-Lock-and-Lock-Containers---Small

lizzyb1812 · 26 July 2011 at 1:18PM

Like anguk I stack the boxes and put the lids underneath. I got rid of all the non-matching ones, not just the lids/tubs, but those that weren't part of a set. I now have 6 different types/sizes - up to 10 of each. By storing them stacked, lids under, I only need cupboard room for each of the 5 types/sizes and the tubs and lids are always together.

The bigger ones I have are stored elsewhere as they are not used so often until I have a fruit or veg glut when they get used for flash frozen stuff poured into the big containers for freeflow fruit/veg.

bigfatpig · 26 July 2011 at 4:37PM

Most of mine are empty icecream tubs, me and DH are icecream addicts! The good thing is they are all the same size so fit nicely in a stack, I always have one on the side to put bits in to go out to the composter and then it gets thrown out in recycling when it gets a bit grotty so I don't end up with a cupboard full.

I do have a few little ones as well but not enough to cause staking problems.

[Deleted User] · 26 July 2011 at 5:54PM

I do have a collection of lock'n'lock and value them jighly but I also save the white take-away boxes from the chinese shop.I don't eat chinese but my eldest DD and grandson does and they save them for me .They hold exactly one portion which is ideal for me as I live alone, plus they stack beautifully in the freezer I use my lock'n'locks in the cupboards to store rice,cereals ect

oldtractor · 26 July 2011 at 6:05PM

I stack all mine in a large one which sits on its lid. Infact in seveal large ones,all in a dedicated cupboard. Hope this helps.

laloopi · 26 July 2011 at 6:47PM

Most of ours are the same design which helps enormously! They're not the posh locking ones, but use them for absolutely everything.

Whistling_Gypsy · 26 July 2011 at 6:59PM

I have the tubs in the deeper bottom drawer of a kitchen unit and the lids in the normal drawer above. By Friday night when all the pack-up boxes are done with it takes some figuring out how they will all fit - but a bit of practice and remembering what fits inside what and I get them all wedged in

My OH despairs and will leave them on the worktop above after a quick 'man glance' into the drawer and deciding they absolutely will not fit (so much for males being more spatially aware:rotfl:)

Would love to bin most of them and start again - but I just know even if I could justify the cost of a full new set I'd hang on to most of the others.....you never know when they 'might come in':o (hence the extraordinary amount of MCI stuff in the garage....:D)

ChequeredFlag · 26 July 2011 at 8:47PM

Whistling_Gypsy wrote: »

My OH despairs and will leave them on the worktop above after a quick 'man glance' into the drawer and deciding they absolutely will not fit (so much for males being more spatially aware:rotfl:)

... now that did make me laugh! My OH leaves them all on the top of the microwave waiting for the magic fairy to put them away!;)

I tend to think that rachbc, bigfatpig and laloopi have the right idea, which I'm hoping to follow. If all containers are the same size then all lids will fit - bingo!

At present, mine are all in the big L'n'L cake box with all the lids together in a separate little basket - then just take out basket to hunt for lid. Trouble is the collection seems to keep increasing and boxes always seem to fall out when the door opens in the first place, so I can understand the OP's frustration

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Plastic tub storage

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