Decanting food: What storage containers practice I need and what fits where?

Anyone who spends fourth dimension on Pinterest or Instagram will know them: the perfectly organized pantries filled with shelves of matching containers. With beautifully organized food and uniform labels – without a cardboard box or plastic handbag for miles. We all love these pictures. But the visual is merely ane aspect

Why would anyone want to repackage food?

Why non but put the boxes of cereal, pasta and blistering powder right on the pantry shelf? The first thing that decanting food does is eliminate the obvious clutter. Look in your cupboard and you'll notice that there's hardly a box or tin that'south the same size. And so neat stacking is hardly possible. And there are packages (eastward.g. cornflakes) that have some other purse in the paper-thin packaging. This is a waste of space!

  • The overview

Let's stay with the case of cornflakes packaging: Who hasn't had the feel of coming dorsum from shopping and finding but a mini-rest of cornflakes in the packaging the next morning? If you lot repack them in a clear package, you ever know how much is left.

  • Longer shelf life and fewer bugs

Putting nutrient in airtight containers extends its shelf life. And you ward off unwelcome visitors, like mealworms or moths, which tin hands bite through paper bags. Even when decanting, yous tin can meet if the package comes out of the store with vermin infestation (which doesn't happen that rarely) and y'all can exchange it correct away.

  • Easier use

However, decanting into containers not only helps you keep runway of the quantity, just also makes it easier to use the food. Spooning flour from a container is much easier than from a torn bag that you additionally can't reseal properly.

The best container

There are three criteria that storage containers should meet: They must be transparent, close tightly, and brand the best utilize of cabinet space

Number 1: Why transparent?

In a transparent box, you can immediately see the contents and too the level of the food. But cutting out the best-before date from the parcel and stick it on the container with adhesive tape. If it should go fast and you do non desire to label extra stickers, so this also helps: Cut out the packaging lid or bag label of the food and simply put information technology on top. Through the transparent lid, you tin read everything so easily. If yous label your cans on the side considering the boxes are on a shelf, for instance, simply slide the label down the side of the container wall on the inside. The food will then automatically concord it at that place in identify.

Number two: Close tightly

Keyword food moths: Clearly, the tighter the chapeau, the higher the protection against pests. This besides prevents moisture from penetrating and everything stays optimally dry out and fresh.

Number 3: Make the best use of the closet.

Large jars oft look very pretty, merely due to the round shape do not use the space optimally. Swapping jars for square containers will save about 20% in space. Additionally, square containers are easier to stack and combine with each other.

The large question: which storage cans exercise I need and what fits where?

In fact, this topic is really heady. After all, when we buy food, it'due south normally measured in grams, and the sizes of storage cans are measured in liters. How does that fit together? Practice I take to convert my kilo of flour into liters now? Is it the same as with water – i kilo equals one liter? Unfortunately, it is not quite that simple. Unfortunately, one kilo of flour does non equal i liter of volume. And 1 kg of java beans takes upwards a completely different amount of space. Put the packages of i liter of milk, one package of flour (ane kg) and 1 kilo of java beans next to each other. This is the best way to run into the differences. What is needed to calculate the space required by a nutrient product is the majority density.

And so you don't accept to use a calculator every fourth dimension or pick the incorrect container, here's a chart.

The storage container size nautical chart


Amend to buy a trivial bigger

The following consideration is of import: What practice I want to transfer and how much of information technology? If you broil just once a year and shop a parcel of flour, you need a smaller container than someone who bakes cakes 2x a week. So the tin can should be twice every bit big to be able to shop more.

And i more tip: We volition stick with the java example here. 500g of footing coffee has a volume of 0.9 liters. And so a packet would fit perfectly into a liter container. But how does it look in real life? Ideally, the coffee is bought when the tin is not notwithstanding completely empty. So in that location is still some left in it and the new pack is refilled. In near cases, the new java then fits exactly into the can. Don't. No, let's be honest: Information technology never does and so at that place is always a remainder in the java bag, which and so flies effectually in the cupboard for days..

So for food that barely fits in a storage can, it's better to choose the side by side size up. In this case, it would be the 1.five liter tin.

I am unsure about the size

Flour is a practiced example of a product that almost all manufacturers sell in a 1 kg size in a paper handbag. Just it stops at semolina: Everything from kilo packs to 300g cans can be plant. If the food is sold in kilo, pound and half pound (1000g, 500g, 250g), and so the food can be quickly calculated downwards in the table and the appropriate container can exist constitute. But there are products that do not fit into whatsoever scheme. Neither of a comparable size, nor the package unit of measurement.

And so just trying helps: Simply place the bundle in the selected container. If the hat can be closed comfortably, then it is easily enough.

Comparing similar foods also helps: cocoa powder has a similar density to flour, ginger and nutmeg are only equally similar, and lentils and rice each fit a kilo into a 1.5-liter container.

Programme smart

If yous want to transfer your nutrient, you lot need to look advisedly not only at what things y'all like to keep in a can and how much of information technology you have, just also what your space requirements are. The first question to ask is where do the jars become? In a drawer? In a cupboard? On a shelf? How loftier can the cans be stacked?

Whether it's a drawer or a cabinet, the starting time thing to practise is to await at the size and mensurate it accurately. Once y'all have calculated this (length x width), you can work out how many cans can be placed in that location next to each other. This is relatively easy, because all LOFT cans have a base area of x cm (10×10 cm, ten×xx cm, 10×fifteen cm). You tin can draw the cans on a piece of foursquare newspaper and calculate your needs. But be careful not to plan also tightly! Considering the tins have a very slightly protruding edge at the top and you must however be able to take hold of him to lift out.

And then you tin plan the height. Depending on the depth of the drawer or the height of the shelf/cupboard and the need for dissimilar sizes, yous can now see which tins you demand. Since the LOFT tins can be stacked wonderfully in terms of size, yous can besides work with different sizes. For drawers, the tins should be labelled from to a higher place, for cupboards and shelves from the side

And some other tip:

Ever exit a small infinite in the drawer or shelf to accommodate small food scraps (that which no longer fit in the tin can, for case) or to store seasonal nutrients (e.m. in Christmas baking) that practise not have their own container.