My solution is only applicable if you have a place for this but it's turned out to be a grand idea for us so I'll throw it out there. We converted our old laundry room into a walk in pantry, and I bought 3 of the Trofast storage systems from Ikea in white, with white bins and it has solved a few different storage needs I had. I lined them up next to each other and filled an entire wall with them. The top is great to set things on and the bins come in 3 different sizes so you can mix and match in the sizes you need. I set ours up so we have two small bins at the top and 2 of the medium sized bins underneath. I use 2 drawers for containers and 2 drawers for lids.

I store mine in a drawer but for me, the ideal solution was buying a limited number of sizes. I like Rubbermaid's Premier line. I have three different sizes, but six different capacities. Each size has a shallower and a deeper size so the shallow & deep nest, and use the same lid. I nest the conainers and stack the lids separately. Takes up much less space than the myriad of sizes I used to have, plus these are stain proof and leak proof.

No matter which brand you prefer though, I think limiting sizes and sticking with square/rectangle with no round helps a lot.

Here is a link that might be useful: rubbermaid premier - i have nothing to do with them, just like their product

Rubbermaid Premier - are stain proof and leak proof.

They are also Microwave, Dishwasher, and Freezer safe. I use these as well and really love them. They stack easily. I keep mine in a drawer dedicated to these.

I have two drawers, one for square/rectangular, the other for rounds. They nest better that way. I also try to not keep too many. I found that I really had way more than I needed.

The Rubbermaid EAsy Find Lids have been a great discovery for us!! We bought a few sets especially because they were BPA Free! which not all Rubbermaid food storage products are at this time!

The lids are pretty universal. They snap to the bases of the storage containers and to other bases.

Very easy for storage.

We have a drawer in our current kitchen. It works fairly well except for the odd-sized ones (we also do the limiting-sizes thing, and it's been well worth it to keep the lids straight, too!) We will have drawer storage in the new kitchen too, but better tailored to the sizes.

I realized I had way, way more than I needed so I purged alot of it. And I find that I like glass storage containers better for microwaving. I plan to keep mine in a drawer and I try to stick with square and rectangular as they fit better in the drawer and the frig.

Purging is good. I have 2 or 3 pieces that I use all the time and keep them on a shelf with my other dishes. (A little plastic wrap over a dish can work as well as a specialized Tupperware dish.) I keep the infrequently-used Tupperware in the cupboard over the fridge, out of the way.

I used to sell Tupperware and so I have lots! The key is as many of you have pointed out, keep only what you use and USE IT! The storage type pieces should bein your pantry / cupboards with staples in them. If they are empty, they should still 'live there'. The fridge ones again should live their regardless of if they are full or not. you don't take out your srispers if you don't have veggies in them do you?
As for where I keep mine, bowls go in uppers above and around the fridge / pantry, leftover storage containers and 'snack containers' go under the microwave drawer and under the ovens. They are close to my prep and sink area so when I have left overs or am preparing snacks, I just open the drawer, fumble around for the parts and voila! whenit's time to put them away, I just oepn the drawer and toss them in.

PURGE - use only one brand, strive for having limited lid sizes, as in the rubbermaid premier, so you don't have a variety of different lids. I got rid of a lot of what I had as I could never find the appropriate lid, or had lost lids and bases. Having only a few choices makes life so much simpler and saves time. I have a single deep drawer that holds all the storage containers and lids.

I store mine in a corner base Super Susan. Stored it all in a Lazy Susan in our last kitchen and it worked so well I kept it in the new kitchen. Plenty of room for all the tuperware plus other items.

In my old house I used to keep mine on the top shelf in a cabinet. They were difficult to reach and were always falling on my head, but it was the only extra space I had.

In this house I keep the small ones in a drawer and the large ones, that I don't use often, in the cabinet above the frig.

I have promised myself that I will keep them under control by tossing the ones that are stained or have lids missing into the recycling bin. Let's hope I stick to that.

Totally Confused

Thanks for the Rubbermaid Premier remarks. When we move soon (Phoenix to New Mexico) I'm going to garage sale a lot of old Tupperware and similar, then buy new. Some of it dates to 1966, I think it's had a useful life! I like the square/rectangular items, much easier to store.

I have a strict "stacking things only/only a few sizes" rule. That keeps everything tame. It was a bigger outlay at the beginning, but it's been worth it.

I got an organizer at Bed Bath and Beyond and it is amazing.
It fits right into my kitchen cabinet. The top rack is the same height as the shelf inside the cabinet, so that gives me a larger area to put larger tuperware on. (I stack the tuperware bowls on top of their covers.) Then the bottom basket slides out like a drawer. I put smaller bowls in the basket and I stand their covers up beside them.

Here is a link that might be useful: tuperware storage

My old kitchen only had standard, one shelf cabinet lowers, so I stacked my containers in an orderly manner, same shapes nested with smaller of the same shape in the top. The lids were sorted by size, and stored on end tightly in some inexpensive plastic baskets with high-ish sides. It was really easy to take out the appropriate stack and basket, make a selection and put them back. I'm hoping the same baskets will fit in my deep drawer because it's even better than what my mother did when I was young: A rack like an over grown toast rack. The important thing, however, is storing the lids vertically. I don't know how people manage otherwise.

FYI for anyone who is interested, CostCo sells the Rubbermaid Premier. ItÂs a good set to start with as the individual pieces can be pricy. Then you can fill in as need be and as sales come about.

Another fan of the Rubbermaid Premier from Costco.

As for storage, I currently have mine in a basket inside one of the cabinets I mistakenly left as a door-drawer unit in my island. --One of the ones that will be changed to a bank of drawers. I have plans to move the plastic storage containers to a larger, deep drawer in our 'breakfast/sandwich/snack center.' Not sure they won't get moved back to the island, since it's more central to the after-meal food storage activities.

I learned last night that if you set it outside your back door the racoons will take it away....

I'll see if I can find where (and how) they store it....

I have a drawer that would work fine if I had a child-proof latch on it. I don't, so it doesn't.

ROTFL! I only have squirrels. Do you think they know?

Fori, there's nothing more funner when you're 2 than playing with the containers from the bottom drawer and the pots and pans.

First I went thru all the plastic containers & lids -- anything damaged or without a match was tossed. We have Rubbermaid, Ziploc/Glad, and some old but still good Tupperware.

We use a wide bottom drawer in the island, near the refrigerator & prep area. The drawer has high sides & is great for corralling everything.

I found a nice mesh box for standing the lids up on their edges to sort them & keep them from falling over. This is in the corner of the drawer, with the containers nested all around it.

Glass bowls & lids are stored in a drawer near the baking center & also handy for serving snack foods. Glass dishes and lids are stored in drawers under the speed cooker/microwave & near the refrigerator.

Here is a link that might be useful: Food storage organizer

If the squirrels want the tupperware I say let them have it...they're probably making roofs out of it for the bad weather ya'll are experiencing :oP

The coons on the other hand just take things to make me go "?" With the tupperware they also took a handfull of marbles which they spread across the porch in the shape of an S...ok what does that mean? And they keep pooping on the balcony of the 4th floor....

I'm sorry what were we talking about? heh heh

"Rubbermaid Premier - are stain proof and leak proof.

They are also Microwave, Dishwasher, and Freezer safe. "

I have cracks in one or two of mine..... so, leaking is imminent. (they have been microwaved and in the dishwasher...... pretty average wear, though.)

igloo... I heard the coons are swiping those containers to make crop circles in the snow.

One more vote for the Rubbermaid Premier at Costco. you can get extras of the individual sizes you use most by watching for them at Target or Walmart.

I like that the lids lock together for stacking. The lids actually lock on both sides, so you can lock filled containers in stacks in the freezer, and the soft rubber edges remain pliable and easy to use right from the freezer.

Because I keep lots of frozen fruit for smoothies, I appreciate the clear view into each container, and the easy open/close.

i have lots of tupper and i stack all same sizes and shapes where all lids stack side by side upright in the largest rectangular ones right beside the stacks, I use drawers and cupboards and find very easy to use if microwave, storage etc in groups with lids with each group..

and yes I prefer to keep them filled and enatly stacked int he pantry.. hence the reason i love it!

I used to have all kinds of plastic storage containers...from Tupperware to Rubbermaid to Glad/Ziploc to plastic ice cream containers w/lids I saved. When I packed up the kitchen, I get rid of all the containers with missing lids and lids with missing containers as well as the "ice cream container" types. That left me with mostly Tupperware & Rubbermaid. I still had two 33" deep drawers worth when I put our kitchen back together. It was OK then when I had an "extra" drawer, but now that I need that drawer for my Gluten-free-foods-only toaster, waffle iron, and a few other tools, I again went through what I had and got rid of just about everything except the Tupperware. I did save the big Rubbermaid containers for Christmas cookies once a year, but they're packed away the rest of the year. So now I'm down to older Tupperware plus the newer ones that have expanding tops (I really like those!)

I have also replaced some of the old plastics with glass Pyrex dishes b/c I can use them in my MW, Trivection, and regular ovens. I've become wary of using plastic in the MW lately...regardless of BPA content.

I just ordered Tupperware for my pantry (Modular Mates that are on sale through this week). I agree with Guppy_2009 and will leave those containers in the pantry even when they're empty.