The Trick To Keep Your Plastic Container Lids Organized And Your Cabinets Clutter-Free

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One sure sign of adulthood is a chaotic plastic container drawer or cabinet that causes you undue stress every time you open it. Is an organized food storage situation a myth, just like microwave-safe plastic? It doesn't have to be, and it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg to get everything in order. While Tupperware has filed for bankruptcy (and could be on the outs), those dang plastic lids are going to be around forever, so here's how you're going to organize them: Rather than keeping them on the containers (who has space for that?), stack them side-by-side vertically and get them to stay put in their space using napkin holders.

Yes, napkin holders — such as you can get at the dollar store for super cheap, or like these metal ones from LAIHIFA, these bamboo ones from MaxGear, or these plastic holders from PITBVO — are the perfect size and design to hold most storage container lids. You can use separate holders for different sizes or shapes, and collate them in your cabinet from smallest to largest, so that each lid is visible, and it's easier to find the one you need. And then next time you spare your dinner guests from bad etiquette by offering them food to take home, you can let them marvel at your tidy plastic lid situation. It'll be so worth the effort.

If you've tried the napkin holder solution, but find that people in your household yank them out too quickly, causing them to fall and end up in a chaotic pile again, you can also try placing everything in separate plastic bins. Organized just like how you would with the napkin holders (which you can still keep in the bins to separate them by shape or size, if you want), these bins make it easy to pull out and examine the lids, as well as put them back without having anything slip out. And you can likely find ones that fit your kitchen cabinets or drawers in the same kind of places you picked up the napkin holders — the dollar store, Walmart, etc.

If your budget is a bit bigger, and your drawers are deep enough, you could also invest in drawer separators, like these clear plastic ones from Dntorx or these bamboo dividers from Fabsome, which are great because they're adjustable, so you can make different-sized spaces for different-sized lids. Or, if you're very handy or have the budget, create a vertical built-in space for your lids in the designated cabinet, complete with separate slots for lids of different shapes and sizes.