Organizing Disposable Dishes

February 3, 2014April 20, 2017

After posting about keeping your disposable dishes in one place, I received many comments about how to store disposable dishes and how much to keep in our homes.

Both are excellent questions and both I am going to try and answer.

How to store disposable dishes:

1. Find ONE container to store them all in. Make sure whatever container you choose, that you are able to store it in an appropriate and accessible spot. Whether it is a large plastic bin or a smaller box, whatever you choose, make sure to try to store everything in it. Disposables tend to sneak into the crevices of our cupboards.

2. Personal Example: I had a small-er bin that I had sitting in storage closet and I decided that everything had to fit in there AND be organized so that I knew what I had. This is what I came up with:

I used plastic cups as “containers” to store all of the silverware I had, by kind. Plates I lined up by size. Glasses and bowls I stacked according to size as well. Napkins, I could sneak into the side of the bin.

How many disposable items to keep:
1. Again, do not keep more than you can fit into one container.

2. Do not keep more than a few times worth of disposable dishes. For example, if you have a maximum of 10 people at your house at one time, keep 2-3 times that. So, roughly settings for 20-30 people. That way you have enough if more people arrive or if you have a gathering a few times in a month. Buying months or even years worth of disposable items only adds clutter (unless you already have the items leftover from a large gathering).

3. Disposable dishes are something I am actually not a huge fan of, but keep some around for convenience-sake. There are times when I have to transport a small meal and disposable dishes are nice. Also, we use disposable dishes when we travel. Instead of stopping at a fast food restaurant on the way, I will quickly make up a sandwich/meal and keep it on a disposable plate. Saves us money in the end.

The reason why I am not a huge fan of disposable dishes is that I don’t like to add garbage when it’s not needed. I do enjoy green living to a certain extent and disposable dishes tend to counteract this idea. Also, I do not want to live a “convenient life” always. I don’t want to do something just because it’s convenient. A challenge, but a challenge I want to live by. Again, that doesn’t go to say that I do not own any. I will probably always have a small bin stocked when needed!

I hope these pictures and ideas help you organize your disposable dishes and also inspire you to not keep more than you need!

What are your thoughts on disposable dishes? What do you most often use them for?

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2 Comments

MorganizewithMe says:

February 3, 2014 at 4:41 pm

Great tips! I love that you mentioned to keep everything in one container! I too am not a fan of disposable but they do serve their purpose from time to time! I am hosting a monthly link party and would love to have you link up! morganizewithme.com 🙂

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Kristin says:

February 3, 2014 at 6:49 pm

Thanks Morgan! You are right – the definitely serve their purpose at times :). I just linked up with you too – thank you for the invitation!

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