That's the story of the week where I was. It's okay as the little toddlers were allowed to play in the cabinet with the plasticware as it is one of the safe places they can get into in the kitchen.

But, it did make me wonder how everyone keeps up with their lids and bowls. I know when I go to organize a kitchen, plastics are always an issue.

Should they be on a shelf or in a drawer?
Do the lids get stored on the bowl or separately?
You can stack bowls but lids slide all over!
If you close them up, don't they smell funny?
It's a challenge every day to find the lid for the bowl!

At my house, I got rid of my collection. I bought, at the grocery store, some large containers with lids and some small containers with lids- same brand of each. So I only have two size of containers. So it is either a big lid or a small lid. I got a wire basket that hangs on a shelf and added it to my cabient so the lids are in the basket directly under them.

But, when I go organize someone else's kitchen, there are tiny bowls and giant bowls, squares and rectangles and lids of all sizes. How do you keep yours and what would you do with a jumble of sizes and containers someone else wants you to organize?

(And yes, I know some of you are going to say how you only use glass now- probably a good idea- but that doesn't help me organize the many cabinets of plastic that I must take care of!)

I have a plastic rectangular bin in which I keep all of the tops, kind of like in a filing cabinet. The bowl and containers have two homes, simply because that's where they fit. The good heavy pyrex type are in a drawer and the "disposable" cheapie plastic ones are behind my mixing bowls in a deep cabinet. The pyrex ones are used first, the others are backups.

I invested in the same plastic ware but only two sizes. Also the main one is square so when in the freezer or fridge better job, small round ones, and rectangle ones that are bigger. They stack on top of each other and then the lids on top of them. The rectangle ones I have a plastic holder that holds them. This has really worked for me.

I don't save butter tubs anymore. Plus the square size makes better use of space in things. I have mine on a shelf in my upper cabinet and I'm sure not embarrassed for people to open the door and see it.

My mixing bowls are stainless. They can outlive anything and anyone. They all set inside each other.

Cindy

When we all needed packed lunches I dedicated a drawer to those supplied which included stackable, sandwich sized plastic boxes & colored lids. The colors were identifiers so I knew who didn't return their box. I notice they still sell these at $ type outlets.

I favor the brand whose squarish container lids stack and are designed to have the boxes stack atop. The lids are all the same size for the various sized containers. I send stuff home with visitors in the square, cheapie plastic boxes whose blue lids stack atop. Both smaller and taller containers use the same size lids.

When DKs were little, they made me lid holders [two foam type paper plates glued & stapled together]. The top plate was cut in half, decorated and [blue] poster goop kept them attached to the inside of the cupboard door.

Whipped butter type containers have graduated to office supplies stapled together they hold smaller bits efficiently. The lids are used under anything with potential to make a mess like olive oil, soy, molasses etc. or between coated pans to prevent scratches.

I keep the majority of my plastic ware on a shelf, in a dish pan. It is easy to pull out the dish pan and take out what I need and then, put it back. The few larger items that don't have room in the dish pan are kept, stacked, on the shelf next to the dish pan. Periodically, I go through the contents, match the lids to the containers, and toss those that don't have their lids, etc.

My particular problem, contributing to the clutter on my counters, are the containers that are taken almost daily to campus & work and back. They get washed and kept on the counter overnight, rather than put back in the dish pan, because I know I am going to need them again in the morning or the next day; it seems hardly worth the time to put them back and take them out again.

I stack all my round bowls together, nestled, and the same for the rectangle ones. They sit on a shelf. All of their lids are in a large clear heavy duty bag that sits on the self next to them. Round bowls are nice for taking to potlucks, and rectangles for storage at home.