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What’s on your declutter your kitchen checklist? As you declutter your kitchen counters and cabinets, you may notice something: an overabundance of food storage containers. This isn’t the case for everyone of course, but a lot of people stock up on Tupperware containers and other plastic storage boxes to save leftovers and freeze ingredients. You buy these containers and sometimes you are gifted them. If they are falling out of your cabinet every time you open the door, it is time to go through them and decide what should stay and go.

You certainly shouldn’t get rid of all your plastic food containers. And you may very well end up buying some new ones after you get rid of the ones you don’t need (it may be that you could use a certain size that you don’t have). But here are some that need to go:

• Warped plastic containers that don’t close properly or fit together well.
• Badly stained containers that you cannot get clean ever again.
• Lidless containers that are no longer useful in the kitchen (some of these may be useful somewhere else in your house).
• Cheap, junky bins that easily break. You know the ones. They are flimsy and brittle and often crack at the slightest provocation.
• Containers that are already broken.

Once you get rid of the unusable containers, you can go through the remaining ones and figure out how many you honestly are going to be using. The ones you are not going to use are just taking up space. What can you do with your unwanted plastic kitchen containers? Here are a few ideas:

• Give them away. Know someone who could use a few extra containers? If you have a huge amount of excess, consider giving them the ones you don’t need which are still in usable condition.

• Thrift them. You can always donate containers that are in good condition. Make sure that lids match up properly with containers. You don’t want to donate something that is useless.

• Recycle them. If a container is no longer reusable, make sure you properly recycle it so that the material isn’t wasted.

• Use them for some other purpose. The awesome thing about clear plastic containers with lids is that they are useful for just about any storage purpose! They are not only great in the kitchen, but perfect in your bathroom, garage, garden shed, bedroom, office, or any other area of your home.

After you have gone through your kitchen containers and gotten rid of everything you don’t need, you may very well find that you have freed up enough space to buy some new containers that you really do need. Make sure you have a nice variety in terms of shapes and sizes, and that everything you buy in the future is high in quality. Decide here and now to go through your plastic containers regularly to declutter. You can then enjoy a much more organized kitchen!