The Best Sizes of Food Containers

Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni Glass Milk Bottle 33.75 Ounce/1 Liter with Airtight Lid

In recent years I’ve become super orgainized. I tend to buy larger sizes of foods you might consider staples such as 4 lbs - 5 lbs of flour, sugar, dried legumes and sometimes pasta. I dislike having a job before starting a job, so having a little extra in storage containers means I can decide to make bean, lentil or pea soup without having to go to the supermarket. The same with baking, I never lack the flour or sugar to make pizza dough or a coffee cake if I get a craving or a visitor.

The 3 most useful shapes and sizes of food storage containers that fit most compactly into a pantry, refrigerator or freezer may surprise you!

1) 1 liter sized glass milk bottles - I discovered Bormili Rocco Quattro Stagioni Glass Milk Bottles with airtight lids at T.J. Maxx. Initionally, I only used them to store milk, eggnog, juice, Kombucha, i.e., liquids. But the mouth is wide enough for dried beans, peas, lentils and many pastas, and they take up less space than 32 oz canning jars, which are another great type of food storage containers. Had I considered compactness though, I’d have bought more of these than canning jars. The milk bottles are more versatile and can be lined up side by side inside a cupboard. 

2) Large (about 1 gallon) rectangle storage containers - They fit enough potato salad, cole slaw, guacamole or slices of an entire coffee cake to feed a family, but take up less room in your refrigerator or freezer than round or oval shaped contrainers. You could invest in glass or hardy plastic, but the takealong lighter plastic ones hold up surprisingly well for less moola.

3) Half cup Rubbermaid containers - When I got 8 of these as part of a set I thought it was a ripoff, but you’d be amazed at how many times they are the right size for condiments or leftovers. They also stack and snap together which is a useful space-saving function.

After I pack leftovers from a home cooked meal, I always think one day someone will design a more storeage efficient refrigerator! I notice flatter rectangles that hold a good portion of food fit better inside a refrigerator than round containers. When you get the black bottom containers or the plastic round ones for free with other food you buy, reuse them as they’re great for leftover soup or beef stew. 

Today I’d always aim to get shallow rectangle-shaped containers as the best space-savers for storage. You can stack them up!

Like-foods organized in (too thin for shoes but just right for a freezer) plastic shoe boxes bought at Walmart

If you’d like to add other space-saving-tips or brands for storing food in a cupboard, pantry, refrigerator or freezer, please comment.

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Brightroom For Storage Solutions At Low Prices

In writing my blog on versatile Storage Drawer Carts I stumbled upon Brightroom, a vendor of Target stores. It turns out you can not order directly online from the seller. I'm impressed with the vendor's wide range of storage solutions (more sweeping than what many Targets carry) and its low prices. Similar items are much cheaper than at Home Depot and The Container Store, which is fabulous! Savvy Shoppers never overspend on storage containers!

The price of Brightroom's 3-tier carts is about the same as Walmart's Sterlite 3-tier carts, which is cheap.

I'm posting a small sample of Brightroom's storage solutions. The merchant aims to bring organization to any room and offers attractive modern functionality in a comprehensive range of forms, whether you need to store big or small things.

With such affordability, we could organize everything we own without emptying our wallets! After browsing, you'll love Brightroom's many low-cost offerings too!

Unfortunately, the Brightroom Skinny 4-Drawer Tower (14 1/4" x 8 3/8" x 31 3/4") will be discontinued, it's perfect for a kitchen utility cupboard. There are only a scant few left for pickup at Target stores. At $22, I bought one to organize plastic trash bags in one drawer, cotton tote bags in another, and extra household supplies in the remaining drawers. No longer will everything fall out of our utility cabinet wherever we need to retrieve something. In fact, no longer will we have to search for anything! Less money and work by far than building shelves or finding tension rod-type racks.

{This blog isn't sponsored.}

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Do You Repurpose Your Things?

bbudgetbungalow.com

Are you a shopper who buys things with a single purpose? If so, you may own rarely used appliances, pricey storage containers, or new stuff when the old stuff still sufficed.

When I was just starting out, I bought more than I do now, probably due to my inexperience. What cured me was after replacing a set of bath towels I thought were showing signs of wear, I noticed that the new towels looked no better then the old set after a few washes.

Now don't get me wrong, you want to replace articles if they wear out, and sometimes you really do need to buy a specific item if it does an important job properly. Obviously, you wouldn't wear a lamp shade for a hat to shield yourself from the sun, nor use a magnifying glass to read when you need a pair of eyeglasses. When something is essential; it makes your life better, safer or happier, buy it.

But nowadays, I'm more mindful about buying new things. I try to separate my wants from my needs; and consider the cost to the environment with a desire to lessen my carbon footprint. Furthermore, I learned not to buy toys, tools, or kitchen gadgets that aren't very practical. How often will you use a bread maker, or a tomato slicer? I mean, you can make bread in a mixing bowl and your oven. It takes two seconds to slice a tomato using a sharp knife.

I also try to repurpose things when it makes sense. Here are four ideas that might let you use an old standby in a new way, resulting in savings:

1) Mason jars (above) - Canning jars are sturdy, transparent and come in all sizes. You can repurpose them in so many ways! I store everything from dried spices, flour, sugar, refrigerated leftover food, loose buttons and small office supplies in them. 

I will probably never again buy another candle holder. Mason jars make beautiful glass candle holders, and the price is right.

Photo: instructables.com

2) Cake pans - A Lazy Susan will set you back $10 to $25. But you can easily make your own Lazy Susan by using extra cake pans of the same size; or go to a dollar store to buy two 9-inch round pans and a package of marbles for a couple of bucks. (Better yet, repurpose table salt so you don't have to buy marbles. Salt works!) Pour the salt (try what you have at home first) into the bottom pan. Stack the pans, one inside the other. Voila: a turning Lazy Susan for your spices.

Photo: iPhone

3) Plastic pillow casings - I repurpose the protective plastic casings that come with new pillows. They are usually heavy duty plastic, plus have a handy zipper. I use them to store other items that need protecting like my Everly Brothers paraphernalia, or blankets that get put away until next winter.

Photo: instructables

4) A shoe organizer as a vertical herb garden - This last idea is one I must try as a space saver in my apartment. Clever, right? My research says an indoor (or outdoor) vertical garden is easy to grow. Remember to test the caddy for leakage as you will be watering it, and hang it in a sunny area. Very efficient, indeed!

Shoe organizers come in both cloth and plastic. You can repurpose one to organize all kinds of things to hang in your bathroom; on one side of a door; or inside a closet. Vertical storage saves horizontal feet! There is no reason to restrict a shoe organizer to just shoes.

Have you repurposed something you'd like to share? Your ideas may be even better than mine!

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