Organizing Tupperware In 20 Minutes Flat

The “tupperware drawer” is one area of our homes that I think most of us can agree needs some organizing attention. I know mine did!  If organizing tupperware is a struggle at your house, you’re in the right place.

Today’s post is a rundown of quick steps to take to conquer your moutains of containers in 20 minutes flat. Yes, you heard that right. Today’s the day to organize your tupperware drawer!

As with many organizing projects, the biggest hurdle is just getting started! Every single time I’ve opened the cabinet door in search of a storage container during the past year, I’ve thought to myself: “Man, I really need to get around to organizing this someday!” In my head, it seemed like a daunting task. In reality, it only took me 20 minutes!

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How To Organize Your Tupperware

1 | Pull everything out

Whenever you’re organizing a space, the first step is clearing it all out so you have a blank slate to work with. I quickly pulled all of my food storage containers and lids out of the cupboard and piled them on the kitchen counter.

Here’s what my tupperware cupboard looked like before I started:

2 | Pair containers with matching lids and stack any duplicates

Stack up any containers that are the same brand and size and make a pile of corresponding lids underneath each stack. I have collected A LOT of different types of containers over the years, but this step still only took a few minutes.

3 | Toss containers/lids that are worn out or missing a mate

Once I had everything stacked up and paired together, I discovered a few containers and a TON of lids that didn’t have a mate! Why was I hoarding 13 lids when I only had two of the matching container? Toss everything without a mate and you’ll have a great start toward condensing things. This is also the time to toss any containers that are stained or otherwise damaged. I had several that were gross from being microwaved or stained from red sauces.

These two boxes below are all of the items I got rid of! I have a habit of hoarding old sauce jars and containers that I think I’ll use for something someday, so I got rid of all of those as well. Why was I filling up this cupboard with odd food jars when I had plenty of nice storage containers?! It felt amazing to purge those two heaping boxes.

4 | Donate the misfits and extras

Start a box for donations. Donate any lonely container that’s the only one of it’s size or brand. Organizing tupperware is much easier when you have multiple containers and multiple lids of the same size so they will stack nicely and can be used interchangeably.

Now’s the time to evaluate what’s left. Realistically, how many containers do you need? I bet I had at least triple what we would ever actually use at any given time. If you have more than enough for your family, donate the extras.

When I started this project of organizing tupperware, I realized we had such a hodgepodge. We only had a couple of any given container, so nothing looked very uniform. I actually decided to donate almost all of mine and purchase a few new sets of containers.

I picked up four boxes of these amazing Rubbermaid 10-piece sets and kept a few of my old containers that were smaller sizes than what came in my new sets. Everything else went in the donate box. You don’t have to buy anything new, but it may be worth it to you if your cupboard is mostly misfits and hand-me-downs right now. I love having new, higher quality containers that match and stack!

Here’s what I kept (keep in mind I bought some brand new containers):

And here’s what I donated:

5 | Organize your tupperware drawer / cabinet

By this point, you hopefully have a large chunk of your container collection ready to toss or donate. This makes it way easier to organize everything! Place neat stacks of your containers on your shelves or in your drawer, and tuck the matching lids next to each stack.

Here’s what my finished cabinet looks like:

You can’t really see in the picture below, but there are some containers in the back. I kept a few misfit containers to corral some of the very small containers and lids that tend to get scattered all over the place. Since we don’t use the tiny containers super often, I put them in the back and placed the sizes we use most frequently front and center.

The bottom shelf of my tupperware cabinet holds the rest of our nice containers in the front, with a few spare mason jars in the back.

I can’t tell you how awesome it feels to finally have an organized tupperware drawer. I have no idea why I waited this long! If you have been procrastinating organizing tupperware, there’s no time like the present! And I honestly did this entire project in 20 minutes with a curious puppy sticking her nose in the way the whole time and a few pauses to take photos ;).

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Organizing Leftovers With Laminated Labels (Plus Free Printable Labels!).

Happy organizing,

This post contains affiliate links to products I love. For more information, see my disclosure.