Never! Mine is a disaster and usually when I open the cabinet, something jumps out at me.
In our new kitchen, I have designated a drawer for the bottoms and one for the tops. I am not sure how I will keep them organized nicely, but they will be in large drawers (36" wide) and that has to be a better system than we currently have!

I don't have a picture handy, but I have all my lids stored vertically, sorted by size in rigid plastic baskets. It's easy to see and choose the ones I want. I started these when I had lower cabinets and could just take out the basket and find the lid, but they work in a drawer even better since I don't have to take out the basket. The baskets also make it possible to use uppers for containers. My new Pyrex bowls have lids which are currently just kind of near their bowls, but I'm thinking it's time to go basket with those too. Simple to put away, simple to use, cheap. Works great. :)

We use the canvas bins that IKEA sells, which are cheap and work decently. I like plllog's idea, though. The other thing I've done over the years is to try to mainstream our storage so we don't have multiple sizes---most of what we have now is jars which take two sizes of lids (but vary in size from a half pint to a half gallon), Pyrex sets that have multiples of a few sizes, and Rubbermaid and yogurt containers, which also have set lid sizes. We have a few big rectangular containers for large quantities of things that live elsewhere. Having fewer lid sizes helps more than anything else---I can just grab one and know it fits.

Exactly what plllog and artemis do -- vertically, in a container (ours is in a drawer now, but it was in a cupboard in the old kitchen). And the golden rule: never keep a lid that doesn't have a container to go with it!

I have a similar system to Pillog and Artemis, I use a drawer that has dividers and keep the lids in one section standing on end, and the bottoms in the larger section, nested by shape. I didn't think it would stay nice, but it seems to work surprisingly well, and stays organized, even with my lazy male teenagers unloading the dishwasher. I do have two LARGE tupperware bowls that get stored with my mixing bowls though, since they nest better there in the drawer above.

dianalo - that is exactly what happens to me! My relatively shallow drawer is so full with lids they prevent me from opening the drawer smoothly. When I yank open the drawer, a few lids fly out.

Interesting ideas on vertical storage, and the use of baskets or dividers. In my small kitchen, I won't have very many deep drawers. I might need to create a hybrid system in a regular depth drawer - I can segregate the smaller lids and store them vertically, with the larger or irregular lids stored horizontally (with the largest lids stored whereever I store the largest bottoms). If this reduces my hunting time, that could work very well.

Jon

I was hoping to see some pix added by now, but the ideas mentioned sound good. I was thinking of sort of like that for the new setup but the illustrations would help even more....(hint hint)
This will help bump up the thread so we can shamelessly copy any great ideas posted ;)

I should add that our lids are *not* stored vertically (though that sounds like a great idea!) We have canvas bins for each of the main sizes in regular-depth drawers, and the lids go into the appropriate bin. That drawer (27" wide or so) also stores shorter jars. Then all of the actual containers are in the drawer above. Since there's only so much lid size variation within a certain bin, there's not too much shuffling---this probably wouldn't work too well if every container you have is different, though. This is in our current kitchen, so in the new kitchen I will probably try to put the containers and the bin of coordinating lids into the same drawer, if possible....we'll see! Also hoping to find some other storage solution all together for the jars, too.

I store my lids vertically in a clear plastic ice bucket that came with the new refrigerator. Easy to find and keeps it in one place. Very, very easy to match to the corresponding container.

Here's one drawer -- like the others above, I use an ice bucket and another container for the smaller lids -- those are in the super susan. Here's a picture of the drawer with a plastic bin for the larger bowls and lids.

The basket is a little too big, so we throw a couple small plastic cups in too.

I hadn't really remembered yet because of the kind of cooking I've been doing (and not) since I've been back in the kitchen, but I've banished most of the Tupperware and other heavy containers, with their baskets of lids, to the back of the cupboard over the Advantium (no picture forthcoming). The disposables are as safe (chemically) and are see through, and easier to deal with. The long flat ones are in an upper because the drawer won't hold them. The drawer is overfull right now because I didn't get to make soup or anything during the remodel. The basket is clear, so you can't really see it. There's a handful of little round lids wedged between the basket and the containers, and others, in the front, on top of the little bowls. This will change as they get filled and frozen. The organization, baskets, etc., are the same as in the old kitchen where I had lower cupboards with fixed shelves. I would just pull out the stack of containers I needed and choose one, then pull out the associated basket of lids. No lazy teenagers, but my put things in the right place challenged housekeeper didn't have any problem with this system, other than putting lids in backwards so that they didn't line up nicely (i.e, so they took more space).

I can't... I'm buried and I can't get up

No picture available, (although if you really want one, email me through GW and I'll post one). I store my lids either under the containers which they fit or stacked next to them. I still have some odd shaped containers but for the most part, I use Rubbermaid containers which come in sizes which stack easily. Each shape has a shallower and a deeper container which use the same size lid.

Three sizes of lids = six sizes of containers. All these containers are in one drawer. The stacks which are short enough get the lids underneath. But some of the sizes, I have a LOT of so the stack is too tall and the lids just stack next to the containers.

For me, the key was to streamline what I owned. Like I said, I still have some oddies, but as they wear out/crack/stain, I ditch them and replace with more Rubbermaids.

Here is a link that might be useful: I don't work for them, or profit in any way, but I do love these Rubbermaid containers which I bot at Target.

I'm just now moving in to my new kitchen (even though it has some parts missing (like working sinks!))

I've thrown out most of it. If it didn't have a matching lid or was stained or scratched, out it went. I then ordered some Anchor True Seal sets. Glass. I'm not microwaving in plastic or allowing the kids to do that anymore, so I figured I needed stuff that could be safely microwaved. Most of the disorganization was due to odd sizes and shapes that didn't fit well together. Now that is solved!

Plastic containers used to be the bane of my existence in previous kitchens. This time around, I threw out any containers without lids and any lids without containers. I now have containers that nest easily, and I keep the lids for each type of container tucked into empty space by the containers they fit (i.e. round lids by the stack of round containers). Mostly, everything fits in one medium sized drawer:

Depending on how much stuff I have in containers in the freezer, I also have a few extra/larger containers in the next cabinet over:

I've had this set-up for two years now, and I'm so happy not to be dealing with the mismatched, overflowing, disorganized jumble any more.

Okay- here's my picture

I love my drawers!! My previous tupperware storage was a lower cabinet and required a flashlight and kneepads to access some items. I even have an empty drawer still! (don't tell my family, it is where I hide the "treats")

Like Arlosmom, when I moved back into the kitchen I weeded out all the containers w/no lids & lids w/no containers. I still had a lot, but I went with them for awhile...as a matter of fact, they took up two 33" wide deep drawers! I then observed over the next year what containers I used & what containers just sat there. This past spring, I again thinned out my "collection" so now I just have one drawer w/containers + lids (stored vertically for easy access) and containers. I realized that I invariably went to the Tupperware first, before all others. I have found over the years that while Rubbermaid is less expensive, they don't always seal tightly. Also, the Tupperware seem to stack better. So, I started w/this right after I moved back in:

...and this...

and now have this...

The drawer also holds the lids for the various Pyrex glass dishes I have (round & rectangular). Since I don't often use the lids on the Pyrex, I decided to store them w/the Tupperware and not w/the Pyrex.

I did keep the larger Rubbermaid containers, though. I just now store them elsewhere (basement). Since I only use them for Christmas Cookies, there's no point in them taking up valuable storage real estate full-time.

Mine are in a basket, stored vertically in one of my deep drawers, designated for tupperware/plastics. My containers are neatly stacked by size and shape. It is such a joy to me now, as my old *ahem* set-up was in a base cabinet, where the stuff fell on our feet every time we opened the door. Of course, putting it away was even more fun. It was--QUICK! Open the door--and haphazardly throw whatever it was into the cabinet. It was one of my most grouchy cabinets, and it didn't matter how many times I would sort through and rearrange the stuff; it always ended up the same.

I don't have access to my photos at the moment, but can post a photo later. This is one drawer I am not embarrassed to show now. ;^)

I have most of my tupperware in an upper cabinet. I store the lids vertically in small plate racks like the one below. You can put a lot of lids in each section, and it keeps them tidy. This would probably also work in a deep drawer as well. Lids for very small containers I keep in a separate small bin.

Here is a link that might be useful: wire coated plate rack