I’m sure a lot of you use today’s thrifty tip, but just in case . . .
The market is flooded with plastic-ware for storing left-overs like this:
The advantages are that they are transparent so you can see what is inside, and that if you like things uniform, you can stack them nicely (as long as you buy all one brand). The disadvantage is that they do cost money. The above was part of a box of “Snapware” I purchased at Costco some time ago for about $18.00. It has been nice, but, like everything else, eventually they break. My thrifty alternative is to re-use what I have in my refrigerator. I wash and re-use containers that once held Cool Whip, sour cream, margarine or butter, and yogurt. This morning the kids and I finished off this container of yogurt.
I find you can wash these in the top rack of the dishwasher (I don’t wash anything by hand unless I absolutely have to). We then use and re-use for left-overs and even freezer jams until broken, then recycle. They also work very well for bringing meals to people. I like to place food in containers that the recipient of my meal will not have to wash and return. I know some hyper-organized types may not like the lack of uniformity, but I’m “easy-going”, so as long as my plastic-ware is in one place and stacks neatly, I’m good. And it’s free (sort-of). 
On another note, happy anniversary to my honey-man (if he’s reading). Today we celebrate fourteen years of Paul making me laugh!
Related articles
- Staying Thrifty with Your Money after Graduation (redenvelope.com)
- Best BPA-Free Food Storage Containers For Baby Food and More (mymoneyblog.com)
- I’m About that Thrifty Life (creatividualworkshops.wordpress.com)
- One act of thriftiness (gardengirrrl.wordpress.com)
- How our thrifty, green lifestyle makes it easier to cut ourselves some slack (articles.earthlingshandbook.org)
Here in Pittsburgh people call that “Polish Tupperware” which is surely a comment on the sensible frugality of people of Polish ancestry.
I like yogurt so much that we would have more quart yogurt tubs than we can possibly use–even though we also use them for other things, like bath toys–so I take the extras to my church and stash them in a kitchen cabinet there. When we have food left over from an event, people can take home leftovers in a container that closes tightly (instead of some kind of makeshift bundle of foil) but don’t have to worry about returning it to the church.
Thanks for linking to my article!
Great idea for church!
Happy Aniversary! And I too, am a tupperware re-purposer! Most of my tupperware is comprised of the Hillshire Farms lunch meat containers, and butter tubs! Good to know there are other like-minded, money-saving women out there
I love those lunch meat containers!