They hold leftovers, they hold your lunch. Where do you hold them?
This drawer is a great way to keep a toddler busy while cooking dinner. Good luck finding anything, though.
Tip 1: Match up every item with its lid. Extra parts should be discarded.
Tip 2. Sort the items in a way that works for your household. In my case it's me and a roommate so I separated everything into two piles depending on who it belonged to. You can have four piles, one for each family member or you can sort the items by what they are used for.
Tip 3. Add bins to keep each person's or each type of container in its place.
Tip 4. My biggest tip of all: Use all the same brand plastic dishes. When all the lids are interchangeable it makes it so much easier to put things away and stay organized.
I have tested three common brands. If it's time to throw out the old and get matching containers I have done the product testing for you! All three brands are similar in price and I could find at stores I regularly go to.
Last place:
Ziploc didn't do it for me. This was last place. The lids are hard to get off which hurt my fingers or caused the food inside to slosh out with the jerking motion.
They are also thinner than the other two brands. That says, "lesser quality" to me. They also cracked after being in the freezer when smacked down on the counter. They washed fine on the bottom or top rack of the dishwasher and heated up food in the microwave without incident the few times I used them.
Runner up:
Rubbermaid did well. The lids snap on with a satisfying click and are easy to pull back off. They are the thickest plastic of the three brands tested. The shape is a bit narrower as well. This makes them easier to fit in limited fridge space. They also reheated just fine. On the bottom rack of the dishwasher the lids got a bit wonky. They still worked but it made me weary how long they would last. The thing is, I put my lids on the bottom rack. I know I'm going to, so this was a deal breaker for me.
Winner is....
GladWare wins! These containers come in many sizes like the others. They have lids that fit several sizes of containers like the others. They are easy to open using the pull tab. When the lid is on securely they don't leak; even tipped on their sides. They come out ahead in the dishwasher. I have used this brand myself for many years. They withstand repeated washings, microwaving and the freezer. They will stain from red sauces but not for a long time. They wear out after more than a year of abuse. I had a harder time finding more this time around, so I decided to try the other brands- hence the product reviews.
I came right back to these and as it turns out can just purchase them here, delivered to my door. The price was even less than at the store at $2.97 for a three-pack using Amazon pantry. If you're not already a member, there is a 30-day free trial. Check it out here.
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