I have had many different sets over the years. Tupperware holds up best in my opinion. It's more expensive but worth it in the long run. I have some that is 30 years old and still going strong!

It seems I send a lot of food home with guests and take a fair amount of food to friend and neighbors....and when I buy "expensive" containers like Tupper or Rubbermaid....I was going broke buying plastic containers. So I started buying the cheap Gladware stuff....lots of it and it grew....and sometimes a lid would break but the bottom was fine so I would toss the lid and keep the bottom.....and soon I had a mess like you describe.
So about 3 months ago I bought a bunch of Rubbermaid wehre the bottoms snap together and the tops snap on the bottom....and tossed everything that didn't fit together. And made a new rule. That new stuff never goes out of the house and I keep a stack of the cheap stuff to take or send food....and say please don't bother returning the container.....which most people don't do anyhow!

Tupperware--the best but I keep some cheapies that I share with others & don't expect back.

here is my container stash, about a dz. They all have the lids and if either lid or container warp or is otherwise damage it gets removed from stack. It is hard to not overbuy as there are so many pretty/clever ones at Home Goods etc. but self discipline prevails. I can't say I've ever been in a situation where all containers were used

simultaneously, so it must mean it is sufficient for my needs.

I store the lids like Bossy's picture above, but in a drawer on their edges and smallest to largest. I keep the containers on a lower cupboard shelf. I find it easy to locate a lid that fits.

I also put lids on their edges, in drawer organizers or baskets. My trick is that I put all the same sized lids together when putting them away after washing. The household knows that if they can't be bothered to put them away right, they should leave them on the counter for me. Similarly, the containers are sorted and stacked by size. There are a few that have almost the same size lid, so it's the house rule that one checks that the top fits at the drawer, before putting food in and getting it dirty.

I've had this system for awhile, but when I remodeled my kitchen some time back, the odd sized Tupperware and other "good" containers weren't stacking well. The Tupper weren't used often and I didn't know whether the others had the "bad" chemicals in them. The Polypropylene of "disposable" containers is considered the most food safe, so I bought more of them, and use them almost exclusively. Most are Glad or Ziploc, some are house brand and probably made by one of those two but in different shapes. There are no recriminations when one of them is broken (just put in recycling) or lost. They don't get weird in the dishwasher.

I also have some Pyrex storage bowls and dishes and French "working glasses". Both are shatter resistant glass with plastic lids. The round lids go on end in a basket. The big rectangles in a stack with the dishes. Again, easy to see which one goes with which size. Those are all stored with the kitchen dishes, however, rather than the containers. Same vicinity, so easy to choose.

I have a mix of Tupperware, Lock N Lock and Pyrex with lids. I like the Pyrex best, but the Lock N Lock containers are a close second. I can turn one upside down if the lid is locked and it doesn't leak, and that's happened.

I bought a huge box of Tupperware containers at the on-line auction, most were about 2 cup square containers and had labels like "venison stew" and "chili mac", so I'm figuring someone was making and storing meals. Since there were about 200 of the things, I send those home with leftovers, if they are big enough. Oddly enough, I'm down to about a dozen, LOL. Otherwise, leftovers go home in cottage cheese containers or whatever, I have a bag full of those in the garage, waiting to be used for that purpose only. Well, I also use them to dip scratch feed for the chickens or to mix Copenhagen's twice daily Aniprin to help his lamintis. Yeah, I give my horse meds twice a day, is that a problem? (grin)

I store mine with the lids on them, it's the only way I can keep them straight. I have this big deep stupid corner "lazy susan", and lids fall off behind or under the revolving shelves and cannot be retrieved. So if something doesn't have a lid, it goes in the trash.

I did go to the outlet mall a few months ago and buy new lids for the Pyrex, the glass stays intact but those stupid plastic lids split and crack. I know Tupperware has a lifetime warranty but I tried to replace a lid and by the time I paid shipping, I could buy a whole new container, geez.

Annie

I really don't use many plastic containers - mostly glass/pyrex or stainless bowls or cooky tins - but the ones I do have are stored w/their lids on as well & if 1 can fit inside another w/ the lids on, I do that to save some space. I hate searching for the right lid - esp. when there are a bunch that look alike.

I use way too many of these. I do favor Rubbermaid because they are stackable, and the lids are also stackable and snap together when storing, and the top lid will snap onto the bottom of one bowl. I just basically need more storage in my kitchen, and I already have an overflow into my garage for seasonal items, such as my roasting pan for turkey/duck. I even store my blender in the garage because I use it so seldom, since I generally use a stick blender instead.

I have some Tupperware from the 1970s that has held up better than anything else. I was shocked the other day when I was eating some leftover grits and found what I thought was a shard of glass. Fortunately, I chew slowly, and so when I bit on it, I was able to remove it from my mouth. It turned out to be a shard of hard plastic from the bottom corner of a Rubbermaid container, and this is one case in which the lid outlasted the container, but I am keeping the extra lid.

What I do not understand is how I can have 20 chop sticks but only two matching pairs.

LOL, glad I'm not alone... ;)

When i moved ten years ago it was out with the old. Best thing i ever did.

got rid of all of the plastic.

I started with the basic pyrex set...the two larger rectangles and a few rounds in different sizes. Then added a couple more of the two cup, four cup. I store with the lids on. Stack easily. Always ready. And i like glass. The lids have started to crack but noticed amazon has replacement lids. I have the French jelly jars in three sizes and also lid them before storage. Stack nicely.

A dozen ball jars on the top shelf, quarts and pints with the plastic lids. The fridge at all times seems to have a few of everything and i can see the contents easily with glass. Also keeps everything nice and cold.

I do have a misc cabinet downstairs with ten years of yogurt containers and various oddities that need to be tossed and sorted. And i do find the Shiracha containers useful for some dressings and sauces. Just a hoarding habit thinking i can give some things another use or two. And can take sauces or spice rubs to a friends bbq without wanting the return.

The pyrex set i've had for ten yrs. pyrex basic set

Sleevendog, I'd forgotten, thanks. My canning jars with lids and rings are one of my all time favorite storage containers. They fit well in the fridge, are reusable until infinity, and you can see the contents. Funny, though, everyone else has figured this out too and I never seem to get a jar back anymore. I go to another family member's house and find a jelly jar on the counter with cinnamon sugar, or a pint jar with one of those new "drinkable" tops that turn a jar into a travel container, or a quart of milk or juice in a canning jar because one of the kids dropped the lid and can't get it out from under the refrigerator.

I can with them, freeze apple cider in them, use them for storage, I love my Ball canning jars.

Annie

I agree with sleevendog and Annie about using canning jars. I start with something that was stored in the food storage room in a 1/2-gallon wide-mouth jar, and as the food item is used, down-size the contents to a quart, pint and 1/2-pint, and they all use the same wide-mouth jar lid (I use both metal rings and lids and the plastic screw-on lids for jars, and metal lids I have spray-painted with chalkboard paint and use chalk pencils or liquid chalk markers to mark the contents on the lid.)

For dry storage in the pantry, the quart to 1/2-pint jars I use take up the same amount of space since I store my jars on their side with the lid showing the contents of the jar. I have my shelves adjusted so they are the same space as a 1/2-gallon jar between them (and have between 75-80 jars in my pantry holding dry-goods).

I stopped and counted 15 canning jars in my refrigerator.

We also use a number of glass Pyrex storage bowls with plastic lids (1-cup and 2-cup). Hubby takes them to work in his lunch - so they are filled with leftovers from previous meals and stored in the freezer. They go from the freezer to his lunch bag, and then microwaved when he eats lunch.

A plastic container I like to use are Ball Freezer Jars - the 8-oz. size often used for freezer jam works great for single-servings of soup/stew/broth, and they also come in 16-oz. size. I like the screw-on lids. These plastic jars stack nicely and the lids nest together.

-Grainlady

Lock N Lock. Great for storing dry stuff. I also use them for taking salads to work (no leakage), but then with wet stuff I must remove the rubber thingy around the lid for cleaning.

So true about people not returning containers. I'm going to buy some cheapies so I won't mind not getting containers back.

Oh and I keep bottoms (not Lock N Lock) if they're big eough. When I paint doors, windows and suchlike they're just great for putting the paint in - then toss without having to clean them. All I need to bother with are the paint brushes & rollers.

Thanks a bunch everyone !!! Great ideas....food for thought.

Anymore ideas out there?

I have about a dozen canning jars...various sizes. Great idea.

I also like the Lock N Lock containers, the Pyrex and Tupperware.

Thanks again

Before I finally tossed well used assorted plastic containers, I put numbers or colors on the bottom of the dish and on top of the lid that fit. I have some rectangular containers that have green lids, so just wrote green on the bottom of the container. I have since replaced almost all of the containers. I try to buy just one brand so everything matches. Which works until said brand changes the style of the container again! I like grainladies and Annie's idea of using the canning jars, but just don't have that much space in the kitchen. Love the idea of using the chalk board paint for labels!

I also have the Pyrex containers with lids but find them prone to chipping and are more difficult to store. I also have a set of Pyrex mixing bowl that have lids, but I use them for mixing instead of storing, but at least they stack and store nicely. I also store a lot of things in canning jars and vacuum seal them.

I also find it annoying that when I have committed to one brand of plastic container, they change their design so that if I buy replacements, the old lids will not fit.

I have some Italian glass containers with the Lock & Lock style lids, but they are not Pyrex and are for storage only. They are square or rectangular, and I cannot bake in them, but they are microwavable. I would like square or rectangular Pyrex with Lock & Lock lids so that I could go from oven to storage without having to use foil and/or plastic wrap.

I have Frigo nesting bowls. I put the plastic lids in between each one to "pad" the glass for stacking in my cabinet. Then, I put the largest lid on top of the stack. Works really well. I have two sets as my "go to" for my own food storage. I don't send these to anyone's home. BUT -- you cannot microwave the tops.

For sending things to people, I use Glad with the blue lids. I keep those out of my kitchen cabinets and on a shelf, using wire dividers to keep those sorted.