Organizing, Party Prep and Rock, Paper, Scissors {Rubbermaid & Target}

Somehow, even with going back on two different occasions to refill the list, I managed to forget to register for food storage containers when Andy and I were getting married ten years ago.  Apparently I was overly concerned with just the right size of plumeria scented pillar candles.  Was this just the right shade of red or would I rather more of a sage green?

I realized my oversight right away.  Namely, the first time I made newlywed dinner and had to store the leftovers.  I bought a handful of pieces and over the years, slowly accumulated more as I needed them, or “accidentally” kept them after being sent home with food from grandma’s house.  After years of this hodge podge collection scheme, I was left with just about every size, shape, make and model of container.

The problem was storing said food storage in an organized way.  Nothing stacked right…every container used a distinctly different lid, and it was like a jigsaw puzzle trying to figure out what went with what.

I tried everything to keep it organized in the cupboard.  For a while we tried keeping lids separate…but it took forever to figure out what lid went with the proper bottom.  Four letter words may or may not have been muttered by the time the 14th lid/bowl combo proved wrong.

Then we went years with putting the lids on…and stacking everything precariously.  Stacks of empty containers would inevitably tip over, causing a domino effect of toppling like a bad jenga move, leaving me to reorganize and re-stack everything…only to do it again a week later.  After a while, we would literally just chuck the containers into the cabinet and close the cabinet door as quickly as possible to keep everything from spilling out onto the kitchen floor.

I wish I could tell you we were more civilized than this…but I would be lying.

After dinner, we would rock/paper/scissors to see who got stuck trying to dig through the wreckage for the right container.  NO ONE wanted that task.

It was a disaster.

One day, I finally had enough.  I had re-organized the cupboard for the last time.  So I bagged up everything I had…enough to fill a big black trash bag…and bought all new Rubbermaid easy lid containers.

I want you to know: it physically pained me to do this.  I’m cheap.  And I don’t like to be wasteful.  The reality was that everything I owned was in perfectly good shape…and they all had lids.  There was nothing wrong with what I already had…but I was losing my mind trying to keep it organized.  LOSING. MY. MIND.

(Luckily, a friend of ours had just bought a house so I was able to pass along our spoils to him.  Made me feel a little better.)

This is my cupboard.  Today.  Right now.  With NO staging.  No organizing before I snapped the picture.  Nothing.  And we’ve already established that organization is not my strong suit.

It just looks this perfectly organized all the time.

And I did this purge and replace gig OVER A YEAR AGO.

Here’s another picture.  Because sometimes it’s the really simple things that make me happy in life.

There are only a couple of different sized lids…the mouths of the containers are the same…it’s the depth that changes.  Everything stacks perfectly and the lids snap together so they don’t tip over.

Here’s the funny part  about all of this: we bloggers are weird.  I had planned to share my cupboard with you for months now.  It has been amazing.  Not in a all-expenses-paid-Hawaiian-vacation amazing…but an everyday-keeps-moms-sane amazing.  Because I planned on blogging about this.  Because again…bloggers are kinda weird and take pictures of things like cupboards because they think it would make a decent post.

But for whatever reason, I never got around to blogging about my cupboard.

Now imagine my delight when I got an email asking if I wanted to blog about Rubbermaid????

Um, yes please.  Done.  (I love it when the planets align like that.)

Lucky for you, Rubbermaid has a set of coupons on Target.com to help you get started.

I printed mine out and headed out.  Excited to pick up a few new sizes.

I didn’t buy this, but I thought it was pretty cool. This would have been perfect for packing lunches into the office.

Assuming, of course, that I actually packed in my lunches.  Which I never ever ever did.  Details.

Target has a great  selection.   If I remember correctly, my stash at home is made up of 2 of those 14 piece Premier boxes.

Worth. every. penny.

Even if it kinda hurts when you do it.

I ended up deciding on a couple of larger sizes of the Take Alongs.  These are great for those Super Bowl parties when someone asks you to bring 7-layer dip and you don’t want to worry about bringing the container back.

Or when you make soup for the new mom and the last thing you want to do is have her stress about getting your Calphalon pot back to you.

(Also, is it just me or does the Pillsbury Doughboy look all va-va-voom in that pose?  Subliminal messaging?  Possibly.  Saving money IS sexy.)

I like using the bigger bowl sizes to store heads of lettuce.  They stay fresher longer and it seems more sanitary than those plastic bags you get at the grocery store.

I also picked up a three pack of the glass versions.

We host a Super Bowl party every year (not to mention all manner of other party throughout the year), and I thought these glass containers would be awesome.  You can prep food ahead of time and store it in your fridge…put it right out on the table when guests arrive…and pop the lid right back on if there is any left.  Three in one: I’m a fan.  Anything that has me doing fewer dishes is my new best friend.

In fact, I’m loving the glass so much I think I want to go back and get more.  I have visions of premade oatmeal breakfasts for the kids…just warm it up!

In the meantime, Rubbermaid is hosting a Game Day Party Sweepstakes.  They are offering the chance to win an Easy Find Lids Party Pack, a 48Qt Cooler and $100 VISA gift card!  (Entries are limited to one entry per person / per email address / per day. Sweepstakes starts December 19, 2012 and ends January 21, 2013.)

You can also connect with Rubbermaid by following them on Twitter, Facebook, or even Pinterest

Is your cupboard a mess?  Do you have a system or am I just crazy?

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own, and let’s face it, I was totally planning on writing this post as some point anyway. http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

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jeannett

I'm a mom to four. A wife to one. I believe in story. I love telling you about mine and would love to hear yours. There's really no sense in wasting our suffering and not sharing in each other's joy. We're all in this together...even if it doesn't always feel like it.

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