I Finally Found a Solution to My Food Storage Container Chaos

As a Virgo, I take pride in my organizational skills. I love all things order: storage bins, labels, strategically placed hooks, containers, and magnets. If there’s clutter or disorder, I’m usually able to find a solution. But one corner of my kitchen has baffled me forever: the cabinet full of food storage containers.

Is there anything more chaotic than organizing a Tupperware collection? I have glass Pyrex and plastic deli containers, none of which are the same size, plus all the mismatched lids that come with them. I’ve tried all sorts of storage solutions, none of which I’ve been especially satisfied with. While stacking containers with their lids on helped keep the pairs together, it also sucked up precious cabinet space. Putting all the containers together as if they were nesting dolls solved the space problem, but without their matching lids neatly arranged, I could never find the one I needed at the moment. Throwing everything into the cabinet and hoping for the best surprisingly doesn’t work either.

After moving into a new home last year, I committed to finally solving my Tupperware storage conundrum. We live in a rental, so customizing our cabinets or outfitting them with pull-out drawers wasn’t a practical solution. Instead, I took stock of the containers we had and worked to find an affordable and space-savvy solution.

Before I could revamp the cabinet, however, I first had to declutter. If a container didn’t have a lid or was stained, it got tossed. I kept all the plastic deli containers—you know, the ones that once held things like miso soup in sushi delivery orders—which are essential for storing homemade chicken stock in my freezer. But otherwise, I got rid of older plastic Tupperware I’d acquired over the years, as we’ve gradually been replacing our old plastic Tupperware with glass food storage containers, which are safer to microwave and far sturdier in the dishwasher.

My Solution: An Adjustable Lid Organizer

In my new kitchen, I have an entire cupboard dedicated to food storage containers, but it’s relatively narrow, so I focused on finding the best lid storage contraption to fit the space. It’s the lids, after all, that are always getting lost, just like socks in the laundry. I settled on this YouCopia adjustable lid organizer, which allowed me to alter the dividers to fit various lid sizes. They’re now sorted by type and size, making it easy for me to grab the exact lid I need as I’m putting leftovers away. And at around $16, the price was right.

After avoiding the Tupperware organization challenge for years, I’m relieved to finally have found some relief. My boyfriend appreciates the orderly system, too. “I used to just toss the lids in there and hope for the best,” he recently said to me while unloading the dishwasher. “Now I can see where things go.” A place for every lid, every lid in its place—a Virgo’s delight, indeed.