Are you tired of searching for a food storage container, only to open a cabinet and have a tower of Tupperware fall on your head? Is your meal prep container collection so questionable that it blocks you from meal prepping altogether? It is time to organize your food storage and meal prep containers, once and for all!
Food storage and meal prep containers organization is an easy 5-step system:
- Eliminate the containers you don’t need
- Consolidate the containers you need
- Create a designated storage space
- Opt for containers that easily nest inside of one another
- Arrange those lids
There are 1001 different ways in which you can organize your food storage and meal prep containers in your kitchen! It all depends on which and how many containers you have and how much storage space you have available. Whatever your situation, here’s how to organize food storage and meal prep containers in your kitchen.
This post is all about Food Storage And Meal Prep Containers Organization!
1. Eliminate the containers you don’t need
As I mentioned in my post on How To Organize Your Kitchen For Optimal Efficiency – eliminate what you don’t need first! Stuff that you don’t need is in the way and won’t help you achieve the organized kitchen of your dreams.
Which containers should you get rid of?
Get rid of those warped or stained plastic containers which you stopped using five years ago, because you suspect they have become unsafe to use. Also get rid of any containers that are missing a lid or have broken lids.
Don’t throw them away though. They can be repurposed! You can use them as plant pots or herb planters. You could also use them as drawer organizers, or even a compost bucket.
If you have a lot more containers that are in good condition than you need on a weekly basis, consider donating or selling some.
2. Consolidate the containers you need
Once you eliminated the containers you don’t need, it is time to figure out which ones you do need.
This means keeping your favorite food storage containers. But also, investing in containers you don’t have yet, which are bound to improve your life in the kitchen.
What is the right amount of containers to keep?
As a weekly meal prepper, I have mostly meal prep containers. And I have a reasonable amount of them. In my post on What Are The Best Meal Prep Containers? , I not only list the best meal prep containers, but also how many meal prep containers you need to start meal prepping. Check that post out to determine how many meal prep containers you need.
If you only use food storage containers to store leftovers, you only need enough containers to hold the amount of leftovers you and your family eat before they go bad. You might also need a few extra large ones, to take a dish to pot luck parties, for example.
3. Create a designated storage space
No matter how big or small your kitchen is, designate a space for your food storage containers. There’s nothing more annoying than having to search in seven different drawers and cabinets to find the container you are looking for. This could be an entire cabinet, a single shelf, or a drawer.
Ideally, you should store your food storage containers close to where you will be dishing out food or packing up lunches.
In my kitchen, I store them in the large drawer underneath the cutlery drawer.
The advantage of a drawer to store meal prep containers is that you can use the full depth of the space, without needing to move anything around when you need a container.
I use this nifty pegboard drawer organizer to keep my containers in their place.
4. Opt for containers that easily nest inside of one another
Especially if you have limited storage space, make sure that you purchase containers that easily nest inside of one another! This will make food storage and meal prep container organization so much easier!
Not only will this allow you to maximize your storage space, but it will also allow you to naturally group like with like. Without even trying, you will have a system in place to know which containers go where.
Even if you have containers from different brands that don’t nest, the best way to maximize space is to stash the smaller containers inside larger ones.
Are you storing your containers on a shelf and don’t want to stack them too high? Add some shelf risers to create extra shelving space.
My favorite meal prep containers:
My favorite shelf risers:
5. Arrange lids
Many people will agree that the hardest part of creating a food storage or meal prep container storage solution is finding a place for the lids! And if you want to be able to find your lids easily, you better make sure they are in an easy-to-find spot.
If you are storing your containers in a cabinet or in a deep drawer, you can store your lids upright in a little bin or between two drawer dividers.
My drawer may be wide, but it is relatively shallow, so storing my lids upright is not an option. Instead, I could use a drawer divider or shallow container to contain my lids flat. But, to be even more space efficient, I decided to store them upright in the appliance drawer underneath the container drawer.
In a perfect world (and a perfect kitchen), I would be able to store my lids in the same location as my containers. But, as long as both have a designated spot to their own, not too far from one another, the system will work!
My favorite lid storage container:
Did you find this post helpful? Don’t forget to let me know, by leaving a comment below.
This post was all about Food Storage And Meal Prep Containers Organization!
Learn More About Kitchen Organization:
- 9 Absolute Best Tips To Organize A Small But Deep Pantry
- How To Organize Your Kitchen For Optimal Efficiency
- The 9 Best Kitchen Organization Products To Add To Your Kitchen In 2022