Stop the cabinet Tupperware avalanches and use this simple system to learn how to organize Tupperware on a budget!

Honesty moment time. After I shot this post, I started thinking about how mismatched my Tupperware was, and felt like things weren’t “pretty” enough. Then I remembered the reason why I do this. I love bringing practical solutions to you, whether it be for your budget or your kitchen. If I showed a perfectly organized kitchen, that wouldn’t be realistic. On a daily basis, our sink may have dirty dishes and our fridge might be a hot mess. But that’s life, and that’s what we’re aiming to simplify here on ASL. So if your Tupperware is just as mismatched as mine, hi, welcome. This is real life. I’m glad you’re here. 

Here is my list of common thoughts while I’m in the kitchen:

• Why are my dishes are ALWAYS wet out of the dishwasher?
• Why does my dog have to lay down right on my kitchen mats where I need to stand?
• How can two people make this many dirty dishes?
• HOW CAN I ORGANIZE THIS DANG TUPPERWARE SO THAT IT STOPS DRIVING ME NUTS.

That last thought is always in all caps. Even in my mind.

First, I tried to store things with the tops on so they would always be together. So much chaos and not enough room.

Then, I tried to store my lids in a pantry storage shelf. Lids would fall out the sides.

Most often, I threw Tupperware lids into the cabinet, closed the door quickly so nothing would fall out, and hope that I could find it later. Sometimes I felt like one of those ridiculously cheesy black and white infomercials where the person opens a cabinet and everything falls out and the person is really dramatic about it.

Do y’all know what I’m talking about?

Now I just have to show you. It’s this person.

One of my greatest achievements so far in 2018 is finding the best way to organize Tupperware so that I’m not losing my mind. Here are three key tips for organizing Tupperware on a budget:

#1 Store Lids and Tupperware Separate

The first tip is really simple: don’t put the lids on your Tupperware before you put them away. It takes up so much extra room.

#2 “File” Your Tupperware Lids

The best investment you will make for organizing your Tupperware will cost you about $4 and make you the happiest person alive.

Get a basket like the one above and “file” your Tupperware lids from smallest to largest so you can always see what you need.

The lids from this Tupperware set snap together, so in addition to sorting them smallest to largest, we also snap identical sized ones together. Here’s why these baskets are great:

• Your lids stay upright.
• The basket can slide in and out of a cabinet (or be lifted out of a drawer)
• Smaller lids don’t get lost.

You can find them at Target, Walmart, HomeGoods, or similar stores near the kitchen organization. You may want to measure your larger Tupperware lids and/or your cabinet to make sure you get the right size. You can always use extras for organizing your pantry or spice cabinet!

#3 Group Similar Containers

This may go without saying, but in the spirit of being thorough, we’re including it. Nestle your Tupperware into each other and group similar shaped containers.

This means grouping all square bottomed containers, all round containers, etc.

For saving space, put the most shallow containers at the bottom and the deepest containers at the top (as seen in the photo above). We have this 42-piece Tupperware set, so everything with the large square bottom is nestled together, with the shallowest items at the bottom.

This Tupperware storage system really is not complicated. In fact, I’m not sure why it took me two years to arrive at this solution. But for $4 all our dramatic Tupperware avalanches have ended and for that reason I had to share this with y’all!

Happy Organizing,

P.S., check out this post on how to organize a deep pantry if you’ve been cursed with one!