The last couple of clean-out challenges may have freed up some leftover containers. Today your mission is to pull out all your storage containers and ensure each one has a lid. The lid should actually fit and create a seal. If not?
Into the recycling bin or trash, it goes
I’ve found using a plastic dish tub to store lids useful.Â
I recently had a question about removing tomato stains from plastic storage containers. It’s a giant pain in the rear, and while a chlorine bleach soak OR (please pay attention to that OR) a scrub with good old Bar Keepers Friend can remove the stains, some may remain. Â
Preventing tomato stains in the first place is your best bet.
Freeze things like leftover spaghetti sauce in gallon ziplock bags. Lay the bag flat on a baking sheet to freeze to utilize your freezer space best. This also prevents the obnoxious problem of freezing spaghetti sauce around a plastic wrinkle.
Glass storage containers are another option. But please note that not all glassware is freezer safe.
Water expands when it freezes, and if you haven’t left room for expansion or cause thermal shock, you’ve got broken glass all over the inside of your freezer. No one wants that.
Didn’t feel this challenge was ambitious enough? We’ve got a bonus challenge. Look through your mugs and random plastic cups. Do you use them? Do you like using them? No? Out the door, they go.
Cheap freebie plastic cups could be recycled, and mugs and old glassware could be donated. Please note local recycling programs vary with the types of plastics they will accept.
Oh dear. I took the word “refrigerator” in last week’s challenge to mean just the fridge and not the freezer. I figured we’d tackle the frozens this week. I have a deep freeze full of CSA meat and a fridge freezer full of mystery containers. In theory they’re leftovers that I’m supposed to be eating for lunch, but I’m not that good when it comes down to it. Anyway, guess what I’m doing this week? I am really enjoying this challenge. I’m on a giant organizing kick this year and your goals are so easy that even if I get nothing else done, I feel like I’ve accomplished something.
Regarding this week’s actual challenge, I’d like to point out that while most plastics are made of recyclable materials, that doesn’t mean they can be recycled in every area. Our transfer station only recently started accepting certain storage containers. And they still can’t handle the lids. Be sure to check the rules for your town or recycling service before tossing anything into the bin.
Great point, Jennifer. I probably should have worded that a little more carefully.
Well, I didn’t get this week’s challenge done due to a health scare & learning that my in-laws are coming to visit next week, for a week. (A totally different type of scare.) Deep cleaning time! But maybe I can still catch up over the next couple of weeks.