Hello, My Name is Gansie, and I’m a Tupperware-aholic
I’m not even kidding. That above is my tupperware cabinet. So not only am I terribly disorganized with my tupperware, but I have enough to fill an entire cabinet. Tupperware is definitely a learned addiction in my family.
At any given point, DAD GANSIE will have at the very least, six old sour cream containers that are guaranteed not to be filled with the intended substance. I’m serious. The man saves anything plastic. And then saves anything to put in that plastic. My family has 3 1/2 fridges, for 3 people, just to give you an idea of how much plastic is needed to fill all of that chilled space.
And, now, as an adult with my own place, and even after I swore I wouldn’t worship at the alter of tupperware… I own about 40 plastic containers. Some are ganked from when friends bring food over, some are leftovers from Thai, some are acutally bought and all of them are taking over my life.
80 begs me to throw some away. But I just can’t. I need that little glass jar that used to hold artichokes just in case I need to save half of a lime. And that tall, thin cylinder, yes, I need 7 of them just in case I make a large batch of soup and need to freeze a few servings. I have a container for every sort of leftover need, and some that I haven’t even used yet, but know that I will one day. Yes, I have a tupperware problem. I’ll admit it. But I’m just not ready to give it up.
Good for you, Gansie! We’re holding on to far more than our fair share of containers that brought us delicious wonton soup or fresh mozzarella, too.
They’re the perfect size for a lunch portion of homemade soup, pasta, or salad…besides, it’s better for the environment if we keep reusing them, right?
Beware of the effects of constant re-microwaving and dishwashering of plastics. Plastics have a ton of carcinogens that cause cancer. The continuous reuse of plastic, especially after it has been zapped or had boiling water splashed around on it, releases those baddies. May I suggest a pyrex set?
I love tupperwares too! I washed and keep all empty bottles and containers for that just-in-case moments. Of course I have lost a few though since I packed hubby’s lunch and sometimes the tupperware doesn’t come home with him. sigh.
You are so brave to post the picture of your tupperware cabinet. Im just to ashamed to do it. lol!
does anyone else have the problem of 20 tupperwares, 20 tops, and not a single one that fits together?
@BS – yes!
and, how to best store? that large container to the right (the centerpiece at my cousins bat mitzvah) was supposed to help ease the pain. i was gonna put all of the lids in there and then all of the bottoms in the rest of the cabinet. but, alas, that did not work either. help!
BS – I brought over some containers to Thanksgiving to take home leftovers and exploded in curses after carefully packing one, slapping a lid on and discovering the lid was 1/2 cm too big. It was really weird; I try to save containers that are about the same size – I’ve now limited myself to saving only certain sizes/shapes for specific purposes (ie, some are great for soup, some are great for rice, and some are great for when people come over and you want to give away food and don’t want the containers back…)
Gansie, I really think we were friends in another life. If I can find an email address for you, I’ll email you a picture of my tupperware cabinet. I think ours are even in the same general area of the kitchen – below, not above. I’m spooked.
PS When my BF and I moved out of our last apartment, I put all of my plastic containers into a big bag to transport more easily – they’re not heavy but take up space – and it “mysteriously” disappeared. I still haven’t gotten over it. It took me a LONG time to amass the number of containers I had in that bag. Sniff. And I get excited sometimes when I get the cute ones… the sizes that don’t come around all the time. So yeah… I have a “problem” too except I don’t see it as a problem WHATSOEVER. Hahaha
@Yvo
aaahhhh! first you dream about yolks, next you are obsessed with tupperware. i’m afraid to see what’s next…
send me your tupperware cabinet! gansie@endlesssimmer.com
actually, maybe we should make this into a contest…
WAY too funny because I too can relate! Should we start attending regular meetings?
I tend to let the finding-a-lid-to-fit frustrations build up until I explode (usually on a morning where I’m running incredibly late and trying to pack my lunch), rip all of the tupperware out of the cabinet and recycle the misfits.
Dishwasher is to tupperware lids as laundromat is to socks. How do these things happen?
Also, while I transport leftovers in tupperwares, I have started microwaving in a ceramic bowl that I leave at work. I get plenty of carcinogens as it is.
I call BS, (not that BS) on this post. I’ve seen that tupperware cabinet, in fact I have tried to stuff seemingly endless varieties of bowls and lids in there. There is no way that is all the ones you “own”. I’ve seen it much more packed than that.
That pic only makes it look like you have a moderate addiction.
fine. about 1/3 were at work and about 1/3 were in the dishwasher.
gansie’s right, i’m bad too, it runs in the family, my mom is still horrible collector at 82. she sold her philly condo, an hell i saved for the kids some old ones, i couldn’t throw them away….sag is moving shortly..in fact a friend gave me some of their good chineese take containers which we saved some in sag’s room getting ready
i do throw away cracked ones, and have stopped refilling water bottles. i use the hard reusable plastic ones, gansie and sher have good metal ones
that big tin container was a flower centerpice, ours is somewhere in the house…too big for or new tupp draw, which is now pretty neat. i’ve even started to put some tops on containers to make sure they fit, it does take up some room but it is easier. the sour cream ones are great sizes for mom gansie’s tom gray and lunch time chick meat, they’ll take several freezing and heating
however, i will still collect, for all the gansie’s love doggie bags( actually they leave in plastic bags too, sometime paper), must of used at least 15 or so for TD. Ask gansie about the chicken feet, my mom and sherry. had for TD…
keep tupping away
dad gansie
to all es’ers best wishes for the holidays and new year Especially in good health
Holy shit…Gansie, Anna has this obsession too. And it pisses me off. For me, the most annoying thing is the amount of room they take up in the dishwasher. Not to mention having to unload said dishwasher and then find a way to stack them together. I have given up and just throw them in the designated cabinet. I’m pretty sure Anna has thrown some away because it had really gotten out of control.
While I agree that they are great for lunches, I do not bring my lunch to work so I can’t sympathize.
The tupperware cabinet is one of the most feared cabinets in my kitchen, topped only by the pots and pans cabinet. Every time I open it, i must mentally prepare myself for the torrent of falling tupperware that is about to engulf me.
I wish I would take the time to organize it, but I always think its just going to get messed up again. I’ve been switching to ziploc bags wherever possible lately.
One word only: Gladware.
Tops fit multiple bottoms. Huge help.
Husband just bought Ziploc, now the cabinet’s a mess again 😉
that cupboard makes me break out into hives.
I think you should invest in real tupperware containers instead of crummy mis-matched ones! If they ever break, they will replace them for you. Too bad they won’t send you a free lid when you need it!