Let me explain.
Product packaging doesn’t help you in getting organised for 2 reasons:-
- It’s bulky and can take up valuable storage space
- It’s often difficult to access what’s inside the packaging easily
- You can’t see when something is nearly finished when it’s in the outer packaging
I was sick of trying to wedge large boxes of smaller items into the cupboards, and going to boxes one day only to find that they were empty – so something had to be done!
Now, when I bring home products that have a separate outer packaging to them (i.e. crisps, snacks, toiletries even!), I take away the outer packaging and contain them in something that’s open and easy to grab (a basket or box etc…).
Simple!
I find that this has the following benefits:-
- Much less to store so the cupboards look tidier and you can see things more clearly
- You can grab what you need quickly
- You can see what’s low in stock when you are doing a food shop
- You can have just one lot of recycling rather than having to deal with packaging every day
Let me show you a quick example from our fridge at the moment – we just did a food shop and bought some snacks that my daughter has after school or for pudding etc…. – in it’s packaging this is how it fits into the space we have in the fridge for it (the basket is used so we can pull things out and she can choose more easily – see this post for more details on how I organise my fridge):-
Yoghurts, drinks, snacks etc….. – and all of them come in bulky boxes that she (being only 6) can find hard to access. It also makes the basket a lot less easy to fit onto the fridge shelf.
By simply removing the outer packaging, and adding everything into the same container as before, you can see that the same foods take up a LOT less room:-
Much easier to manage, and much easier to see what we have as well.
If you do this for all the food stuffs that come with outer packaging, then you will automatically have a much more streamlined and organised fridge/cupboards.
Try it for things like crisps, biscuits, cereals etc…. – anything individually wrapped. You can even get rid of the packaging for things like pastas and rices by decanting into larger plastic containers which also saves loads of space – the list really is endless.
Yes, it takes a little more time to put things away, but it really does save lots of time in the long run.
Try it next time you go shopping!
EXTRA TIP – I also use for things like washing tablets, toiletries etc….
EXTRA TIP – Ensure you still have the best before date on the items, and if not, write them on instead
