Kitchen Storage

Rice bins that hold the whole bag:

a household that cooks rice every day does better emptying the bag into one sealed bin than keeping it rolled shut in the cupboard, where weevils and ants find it first. Lidded bins with a scoop are the simplest; flip-top dispensers that pour from a spout keep hands out of the rice and suit a busy counter. Flour, sugar, beans and coffee go into smaller canisters, and the push-button pop-top kind made popular by OXO seals with one press and stacks square, so a shelf holds more than it would with round jars. If you bake, the tins those canisters feed are in baking.

Glass or plastic containers for the fridge and the lunch bag:

glass sets from Pyrex or Glasslock, with a silicone ring and four clip tabs on the lid, go from fridge to microwave, never take on the orange of annatto or tomato and wash clean of garlic smell. They are heavy and they break. Plastic, from Rubbermaid or Snapware, is light enough to carry to work every day but stains, holds onto onion and warps if it rides the bottom rack of a dishwasher or spends too long in the microwave. Square and rectangular shapes stack and use the fridge better than round ones. For guests, move the food into a dish from serveware.

Organizers measured to the cabinet, not the picture:

a turntable makes a deep corner cabinet usable, a shelf riser doubles a short shelf, and stackable bins keep packets from sliding to the back. Spice racks come wall-mounted, door-hung or as inserts that lie flat in a drawer. Measure the inside of a drawer before buying cutlery dividers, and measure around the pipe before buying a pull-out for under the sink, because that is where most of them fail to fit. Lids for the pots themselves stay with pots and pans.

Container sets live or die by their lids:

a set of four glass containers with clip lids costs under $15 new, which leaves an ordinary used set very little room. Take one when every lid is there and seals; otherwise new costs barely more. Branded pop-top canisters are the opposite case. A full set can pass $100 new, the lids are the expensive part to replace, and a complete set with working buttons keeps a good share of that value second-hand, while one missing lid takes a large bite out of it.

Clip tabs, seals and stains on a pre-owned container:

work every clip tab on a glass lid, because they crack at the hinge long before the glass fails. Lift the silicone ring out of its groove: if what is trapped underneath is grey and stuck, the lid was never taken apart to wash. Then fill the container with water, close it and turn it upside down over a sink; any drip means the seal has gone. On a pop-top canister, press the button and lift it by the lid alone, and it should hold. Run a finger round glass rims for chips and check the base for star cracks. Orange stains and a lingering smell in plastic are permanent, and a base that rocks on the counter has been warped by heat.

A cupboard of containers, photographed with the lids on:

match every base to its lid before you list, say how many complete pairs there are, and photograph them stacked with the lids closed so a buyer can see they fit. Name the brand, which is usually moulded into the base. Say whether they went in the microwave and the dishwasher, and show any stain rather than letting the buyer find it. For organizers and spice racks, give the outside measurements so people can check their own cabinets first. A buyer coming in from Arraiján for a rice bin will want to snap the lid shut and tip it over before paying, so bring it empty, dry and with its scoop inside.