Good for you!

I don't have too many storage containers, and they have to be kept a certain way to fit the space I have them in.
So I am good with this one!

Done! I'm enjoying your challenges and have been looking forward to them. Thanks!

I did this challenge just before Thanksgiving and the new system is working well. I'm slowly replacing the odd-size bowls so it will be easier to have most everything match. Still, my system now is easy-to-get-to (they are on the bottom and second shelf of a wall cabinet) and like-sized bowls are stacked on top of their lids.

One of the FLYLady tips that has improved my life was "Don't keep plastic-ware in the bottom cabinets. You have to bend and reach and crawl in to find anything. It's too hard to keep them organized." That was an ahh-haa moment for me.

My plastic-ware has lived on the lowest shelf of an upper cabinet ever since...going on 12 years and three houses now.

If the fantasy kitchen ever comes to life, ALL the lower cabinest will be drawer cabinets. Not pull-outs; I don't want to have to open a door and then pull out a shelf. I just want drawers!

Done! Thanks.

I re-organize my lids and containers and containers about once a year. I think it's due this month...

This is a great idea and allowed me to recycle a bunch of things we don't need. I did this last Fall and took it a step further. Located the local Tupperware dealer and gave her a list of missing parts. Within a week everything matched.

What do I do w/ the bowls that are missing their lids?
(kidding--I use them)

I have lids that I seldom use--I do have the bowl or the Corningware casserole. I'm going to keep those.

Cross_stitch, I love that you got lids for your Tupperware!

For the leftovers containers, I'm OK w/ keeping a few extra lids; we're pretty standardized. But then again, Glad has two styles going, so I ought to discuss w/ DH how we're handling that. I'll update later.

Sort of related to this topic:

How often do you need 1 or 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice or tomato paste and don't have it on hand? I reuse those small take-out containers that hold ~1/4 cup. With their snap-on lids, they are perfect for these freezing these ingredients. Five of them stack perfectly in the old Crystal Light Lemonade containers. But alas, they now make them oval. So glad I saved a few. I have one for tomato paste and the other for lemon juice in my freezer at all times. Oh, and evaporated milk, too.

As an alternative:
Tomato paste can be bought in a tube similar to toothpaste.
Lemon juice can be bought in bottles, full strength.

Copy that for the tomato paste, LuAnn. But I have a lemon tree that bears from June through December. Squeeze what we need, use the rind too, and freeze the rest until we pick another one. So it's home brew for me.

So nice that you are able to have fresh lemons!

This is one of the very very few areas where I excel at organizing. In my last house, the kitchen was so tiny, the storage containers had to go in a very narrow upper cabinet so we got very good at putting them away just so - because there was really only one way they would fit. To make this easier, we tossed out old mismatched stuff and bought a new set. Wow. Just having one kind of storage made things SO much easier. Fewer types of lids and much easier stacking.

Oh, I have done that. I got rid of most of my plastics, bought a few glass pieces. Since I got rid of so much I have room to store the lids on the glass bowls and stack them. I even got rid of my large mixing bowls because I don't cook anything except breakfast on week ends. I have donated a lot to The Bethesda Gently Used Store. Except for rent and utilities it all goes to the Lutheran Charities.

What an easy challenge. I only use deli containers (available cheaply at local bar/restaurant supply store). They come in sleeves of 50 for about $7. They're available in 1 quart, 1 pint, 1 cup sizes. The lids fit all. So much easier to organize than all those different sized containers. I have a cardboard box that exactly holds the for stacks (3 of containers, on of lids).

I actually did some of this challenge yesterday. In addition to goodwill'ing the myriad freebie water bottles, I found mystery plasticware. They are gone, and now the things I DO use every day - like my Tervis tumblers - have a proper place to live. I will take the challenge further with storage bowls for sure. What a great idea!!!

Quality of life should be considered. And although I might find a use for a lid-less bowl once a year, is it worth sacrificing storage the rest of the year to keep it?

5 minutes. 18 lids with no bottoms. One very large, invasive, bottom with no lid.

Done! Amazing what a 5 minute focus area can yield. Ok, what's February's challenge?

Azzalea - can you put those deli containers in the freezer?

I'm constantly buying new containers since I send home food all the time with my son and my brother. I'll buy new disposable containers, think they're the same size as the old ones, and then find out they're slightly different.

How about February being socks or underwear? I just threw out some bras that were over 10 years old (and looked it) and I'm going thru socks as I do wash. The sock orphans are all going!

I keep all storage containers in one deep drawer on my island. The drawer below I have two plastic baskets one for square lids and one for round lids. My system seems to work pretty well for me!