The case for taking nearly everything you buy out of its original packaging.
If you've ever stumbled upon a TikTok video or Instagram reel of someone restocking their fridge and pouring all their juice out of its original carton into a clear bottle, putting all their canned beverages in a designated rack instead of the cardboard box they came in, and removing snacks from their container just to rearrange them some other way, you may have thought, "What is the point of all that?" Why do goods come in boxes and containers if not to be stored in them, too? While it might seem like a purely an aesthetic play, there are some good reasons for decanting all your stuff if you're looking to keep your home really organized.
First of all, it just looks nice if you store everything in glass bottles or jars. If your cookies are in a big jar, instead of a package that says "OREOS," or your laundry detergent is in a clear dispenser instead of a big jug that says "GAIN," you get a sleeker, more put-together look. It's good for the planet—to an extent. If your city has refill stations or stores, you can bring your containers in and fill them with laundry soap, dish soap, lotion, shampoo, and all kinds of other materials instead of having to repeatedly buy single-use plastics, which is a good habit to get into. Search "refill store near me" or "zero waste store near me" if you're not sure whether there's one in your area.
Beyond that, decanting and using your own containers is a major win for organizing. You can get vessels that stack easier on top of one another, for instance, which saves more space than if you try to cram all the different sizes and shapes of store-bought containers together in your fridge or cabinet. If you use clear containers, you can quickly see what you're running low on and what you have enough of, stopping you from accidentally buying too much and letting it take up space.
You may already be doing a little decanting of your own. Maybe you have a set of accessories for the bathroom that includes a matching soap dispenser, which requires you to pour soap from a large jug into a smaller decorative vessel. Hell, if you use salt and pepper shakers, you're decanting, too. But there are all kinds of opportunities for better storage out there.
Try this three-pack of half-gallon glass bottles with pump lids and labels, which you can use for laundry detergent, shampoo, or other high-volume liquids ($29.99).
These two plastic containers each hold about 50 ounces and are recommended for laundry detergent (and have corresponding laundry labels included), but can be used for anything you need to pour, like milk ($25.59).
These two 1.25-gallon jugs are multi-use, since you can access dry and scoopable goods from the top or use the spout at the bottom to dispense liquids ($39.59).
These drink organizers let you store nine soda or beer cans at a time with a much smaller footprint than if you tried to set them in the fridge side by side, but you can also use them to store cups and other round items in the cabinet ($15.16 for four).
You can get all kinds of things to hold and dispense various sauces. I have these restaurant-style squeeze bottles for my condiments ($7.82 for two) but you can grab this glass bottle that both pours and spritzes olive oil ($16.99) and this precision-pouring soy sauce dispenser ($14.99), too.
And don't forget a toiler paper holder, like this one that stores six rolls will making a seventh convenient for grabbing when you need it ($39.99)
