Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Plastic Insurrection

It's a problem I have suffered from for years.  I have tried multiple strategies and none have really successfully worked.

I take my life into my own hands when I enter my kitchen.  At my own risk, I open the door to the corner cabinet, and prepare to juggle, twist and capture falling objects while protecting my face and head.

Let's sum it up.

I hate plastic wear!


Yet today's homemaker just can't seem to find her way through life without the insidious little chemically formed protectors of the "the left overs."    Media hysteria tells me to toss ALL the plastic and only use glass.  But I challenge them to carry a lunch box of glass containers.  My beloved already complains about the weight of my lovingly crafted lunches...

I pore over self help manuals the size of a booster seat to somehow bring order to this giant mess.  When I see cabinets like ...


I feel and fight the urge to slap someone. (In the name of Jesus of course.)

Although I also note with fiendish delight that the containers in the above photo are NOT all EVENLY stacked.  A few of the towers are a little wonky...which makes me believe perhaps this cabinet owner is not TOTALLY obnoxious.

I read the suggestion to purchase the nifty containers that have lids that snap right onto the bottom.
"It will end the search for the illusive lids" that makes my life miserable.


My daughter in law received some as a wedding gift.  So after checking out hers...with the ingenious lids that click together on the bottom of the bowls...I was impressed.  I threw out my old containers.  

I'm proud to announce the lids do as they claim.  They all click together.  The bowls all snap to the lids.  They stack and sit together.  They did not advertise all the stacking and clicking allows HEAVIER containers to hurtle out of the cabinet to crash upon my head.  (I also found they leaked all over lunch bags.)  I maintain the best containers are the ones that came with ice cream prepacked as a bonus.  Many even come with handles!  


I still open that wretched cabinet with a flinch, ready to defend my face against the marauders of my homemaking peace of mind.  I have not found the answer to my quest...although my first answer would be "a bigger kitchen."  Truly, you would be amazed at my prowess of the small kitchen foray...



See those two walls behind my beloved?  That's my kitchen.  Those are my counters.  They are clean and empty because this photo was our pre-move inspection.  The counters now require a bulldozer.  *I'm frowning as I type that*   That corner cabinet to my husband's left is the source of these contrary contraptions.  That is all the kitchen I have.  Well we added a fridge to it.  And a work table.  And a steel shelving unit.

I have made this kitchen do things I thought impossible...Thanksgiving Dinner!  What I cannot make it do it keep plastic containers out of sight. Alas, I still continue my fruitless search for the best solution to my plastics dilemma as they plan their mutiny again cabinet containment.

If you have found ways to contain your plastics, please share for us who are still dodging!

5 comments:

  1. My problem with those containers and their lids that stack and snap onto the bottom of the container is that no one but me does it! If my daughter puts the clean containers away she just tosses them in. If either she or my husband dig around for a container...they aren't about to take the time to stack things back up nice and neat. I am contemplating putting ALL leftovers, don't care if it's soup, into ziplock bags. X-P

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    1. I have seriously considered the same thing Stacy. In fact, I recall I once froze soup in a ziplock bag while it sat in a bowl. When I decided to use the soup, I cut away the plastic and it fit perfectly into a bowl for defrost and reheating. No awkward square edges to try to fit into a pan or bowl.

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  2. Ha! You think THAT's small?! Take a look at my kitchen - http://stephaniesmommybrain.blogspot.com/2008/02/decluttering-my-kitchen.html. What isn't seen is another bottom corner counter with 2 doors and a narrow set of drawers next to the fridge and a tiny pantry.

    At the risk of sounding like a heretic, might I suggest you simply get rid of the extras? There are only 2 people in your house. Do you REALLY need that many containers? Also, just say no to the margarine tubs and cool whip bowls! You'll feel a lot better without the aggravation of stuff falling out all the time.

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    1. I attempted to check out your kitchen and it told me the page didn't exist. I'll do a larger search on your site to find it.

      Actually I have gotten rid of excess. I have those snapfit containers which as I noted are a leaky disappointment. Then I have the odd container that serves a specific purpose...like a tall canister style piece of Rubbermaid that I "ferment" starters in...it's tall so the starter can bubble up without flowing over. I have 2 divided plates for the hubs to use for lunches. I don't buy margarine and cool whip bowls are kind of flimsy.

      I DO use larger ice cream bucket containers, but I try to store them in my basement shelving. I find them excellent for sending left overs home with the kids or taking soup to a tired out or ill momma in my Bible study group.

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    2. Ah, I hunted and found your post, and I do perhaps have one more cabinet set than you. I have no pantry of any kind, so I have shelves in the basement. The plastic...I confess that while I am the only one putting it away, I am often too lazy to click everything together. :( But I also quickly get irritated at the way all the pieces hurtle out of the cabinet, and usually once a week I will get the step ladder to corral the pieces and start clicking.

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