The Best, Beautiful, Cheap Containers For Everything In Your Kitchen
by Jenny Jiles
As we all know, a perfectly decanted kitchen is what happiness is made of. A glittering, glimmering collection of vessels and jars and bins in your kitchen and pantry is a visual nirvana matched only by a meticulously color-coded refrigerator, bursting at the seams with a rainbow of farmer’s market produce.
(Instagram has reeeeeeally done a number on us.)
However! The truth is, decanting can help you change how you feel in the kitchen, create amazing efficiencies for dinner and snack time, and even help reduce your calorie intake - in fact I wrote about that right HERE.
But first you need gloriously easy to find, effective, cheap, MOSTLY AMAZON containers to begin this perfectly decanted life you seek.
TWO IN ONE CONTAINERS:
These are probably my favorite containers of all because I use them as drinking glasses and storage jars. It’s great for a minimalist kitchen vibe, and how I love to live honestly. If something in my house doesn't have two jobs, then it goes to Goodwill. It’s also helpful when you’re full of smoothie, but hate to throw it out just yet - throw a lid on it and save it for later.
These containers and jars are great to store prepped chopped and ready carrots or broccoli, salad dressings, nuts and seeds you keep in the fridge (they stay fresher in there). And they’re great for drinking glasses or your morning carpool smoothie. They come in a variety of sizes and are super budget friendly - $20 gets you 12 of them. Oh, and get the wide mouth. Don’t make your life harder.
SQUARE CONTAINERS:
Finally a way to use your Bed Bath & Beyond 20% coupons you have shoved in your junk drawer. These are my favorite for storing fresh fruit, chopped vegetables and leftovers. When not being used in your fridge, they’re great to take a salad on the go. They stack so efficiently in the fridge and make everything so visible.
DRY GOODS CONTAINERS:
These are the jars that gives us the feeling we’re really gonna have it all. If we just had those, life will be different. I mean, I hate to overstate, but it’s true. These are so great for pasta, dried beans, dried fruits, sugar, cereals, quality crackers, snacks, etc. They are just so pretty with that wood top and look great for the items you want to keep on your counter like pink salt and pepper.
LARGE COOKIE JAR CONTAINERS:
These are huge but so think of what you use daily. What are you constantly opening the cabinet for? I use a lot of oats, for oatmeal and homemade granola, so that is what usually goes in there. I mean, I bet you could put your coffee in a container on your counter, but maybe overkill. Lots of people put flour and sugar in these large containers, but unless you own a bakery, you don’t need that much white flour or sugar on your counter top. No.
BOWLS:
I love bowls in my fridge for berries or eggs. It really helps the egg carton annoyance of not seeing how many eggs are left until it’s too late, and it takes up less space than that egg carton. Of course, as a helpful bonus, it makes your fridge look VERY adult and put together.
OIL & VINEGAR DECANTER:
Conveniently, these oil jars help you not over pour. Most bottles have a huge mouth and we end up pouring way more than we actually need.
SUPER BUDGET CONTAINERS:
I used to buy a lot of apple sauce for my kids as a sweetener for yogurt or baking low sugar muffins and cookies, and these jars are some of my favorite. They basically cost nothing, because they’re just recycled back into my pantry. So, think of the items you buy that are already in nice glass jars, and clean them out and use them. You’ll never have to buy a jar again, just use and reuse.
LABELS:
I don’t think you necessarily need labels, I mean it’s pretty obvious if you have granola in a jar. But sure, if you have a few different kinds of flours then you may need a label. A wine glass writer is my personal favorite because, it serves two purposes in my house AND, it comes off easily in one dishwasher cycle. Believe me, you don’t want to have something that is a struggle to get off. It makes you nuts. And chalkboard labels, get messy and ruins the whole purpose of the clean, organized vibe. Water based Sharpie is or Washi tape are good options too.
Jenny is a writer, cooking coach, and host of Cliffs Notes Kitchen, where she shows how simple, bite-sized shifts with minimal effort, can create lasting changes in your health. You can find more of her articles here.
