Unclutterer

1. Posted by Andy - 12/02/2008

   Using Cookie Monster as a place to store vegetables? Blasphemy!

2. Posted by sandi - 12/02/2008

   I have an antique metal breadbox on my (otherwise clear) counter. I use it to keep all our vitamins and daily medications handy but out of site.

3. Posted by VA - 12/02/2008

   Storing potatoes with onions causes both to spoil faster because of the gases released. So I think you should change up your storage strategy. Just a thought.

4. Posted by gypsy packer - 12/02/2008

   Cookie jars for gourmet coffees, bulk goods, or plastic bags.
   Vintage coffee cans for coffee storage, if you like them.
   My mp3 sleeps in a carnival glass sugar jar–in the bedroom.

5. Posted by JJ - 12/02/2008

   This is more in the area of uncluttering rather than storage. My son has always brought me “beautiful rocks” that he finds on his adventures. (He’s almost 11 and still bringing them to me.) The largest rocks line the window sill in the kitchen, but the smaller ones are in a clear glass vase on the counter top. I don’t have to move a million rocks to clean the sill, and I can still appreciate his offerings. Every once in awhile I simply dump the vase, rinse the whole lot and put them back when dry.

6. Posted by Erin Doland - 12/02/2008

   @VA — We actually aren’t big potato eaters. I only buy one at a time, and it will sit in their for maybe 24 hours before it gets used. Mostly, Cookie Monster stores garlic. LOTS and LOTS of garlic

7. Posted by Becca - 12/02/2008

   oh man, I love the cookie monster cookie jar. Love those googly eyes.

8. Posted by martha in mobile - 12/02/2008

   I have a 1950′s chrome plated globe-shaped bunwarmer that is inexplicably embossed with penguins and bakelite flipper-shaped handles. They were all over the garage sales in the 80′s and my girlfriends and I made a point of buying them for each other.

   Anyway, over the years it has held illicit drugs, incense, feminine hygiene products, and now it holds loose change and school lunch money. A moment of silence for the progression, please.

9. Posted by Shalin - 12/02/2008

   The Cookie Monster jar is awesome…but, you gotta have at least 1 cookie in there…c’mon!

   Best,
   Shalin

10. Posted by Nicole - 12/02/2008

    Brilliant! This was a head slapping post – why didn’t I think of that – moment for me. Hopefully I will remember where I “hide” everything.

11. Posted by Susan - 12/02/2008

    My husband was always bringing home screw, nut bolts, etc. I had a brushed chrome canister set but never used the Tea canister, so I started putting hubby’s treasures in that canister. I acquired another canister set that went better with our “decor” so the brushed chrome ones went out to my husband’s workbench in the garage and he uses the whole set for his stuff. Now the second set is also out of the house and in hubby’s work area as I store flour, sugar and coffee in the refrigerator/freezer.

12. Posted by Sarah - 12/02/2008

    We chill our wine in the crisper drawers.

13. Posted by Leslie - 12/02/2008

    This is great! I was just noticing the other day my husband’s old milk-jug shaped oreo cookie jar in the corner of the counter. It’s currently empty and covered with dust (and has been since we were married, I think). We certainly don’t need it to be continually filled with cookies, and repurposing it will make my husband happy ’cause he’ll get to keep it, and me happy because it won’t just be sitting collecting dust.

14. Posted by Tabitha (From Single to Married) - 12/02/2008

    I have some drawers that we put in our bottom cabinets and I use one of them for storing potatoes. Helps keep them off the counter and in a cool, dry place.

15. Posted by The Daily Click - 12/02/2008

    Now we know why Cookie monster looks like that, it’s all the garlic inside him, lol.

    But seriously, it’s a very good idea and I now have plans for my empty piggy cookie jar to become a bag container.

16. Posted by Declutter - 12/02/2008

    Very interesting use of the cookie monster. I am in agreement with the first comment as it is pure blasphemy to put healthy vegetables inside of him. He wouldn’t think those were yummy

17. Posted by Fit Bottomed Girls - 12/02/2008

    Ha! What a great idea! Plus it turns a nicknack into a useable item, cause gosh knows I can’t keep cookies in my house! (They go faster than you can say awesome storage.)

18. Posted by skittles - 12/02/2008

    I have a wooden breadbox on my counter & I store my teabags in sealed bags & containers in there. The top flips up & is shallow, so small quantities go there. The bottom section opens down & the containers go in there. I also bought 2-3 rectangular storage containers that fit in the lower section. (I did keep coffee in there for awhile) Everything ready in one place & ready for tea & company. I also keep my electric tea kettle next to it.

19. Posted by Gillian - 12/02/2008

    I keep a two-drawer filing cabinet in the kitchen with a few appliances in it, dog cookies, candy, spare vitamins to refill the weekly boxes, phone books, utility statements, and other sundries. I wonder if I can get rid of anything and put more counter top stuff in?

20. Posted by Melissa A. - 12/02/2008

    That’s a great idea. I have to start looking for more sneaky storage spots.

21. Posted by Angela - 12/02/2008

    I use my “Doughboy” cookie jar as my loose change catcher, and I keep the coin rollers in there with the loose change so when the jar is at least half full, usually 3/4 full, I can sit down and roll the change to take it to the bank

22. Posted by mhb - 12/02/2008

    You just saved me the headache of what to do with this extra jar and where to put that dang charger I keep losing.

    Thanks!

23. Posted by s - 12/02/2008

    Cookie Monster rolls with the times. Yup, he does indeed eat his veggies:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ent.....432415.stm

24. Posted by Liz - 12/02/2008

    I have a gorgeous ceramic jug we got as an engagement present. While in the past it’s been used as a vase, I now use it to hold random pens in teh kitchen as well as those gas candle lighters (we’ve accumulated a few), matches and an assortment of other odds and ends that would otherwise not have a home.

25. Posted by MikeTV - 12/02/2008

    Your house marked “COOKIES” contains no cookies. THIS IS A HOUSE OF LIES!

26. Posted by Cynthia - 12/02/2008

    Thanks for the idea. I have this bread box on top of my fridge that I don’t use, because if I put bread in it I completely forget about it until it’s too late. I like one of the ideas above where they used a bread box to store tea bags. This would free up some space in my cabinets and get some use out of the bread box.

    I also love the idea of putting rocks in a clear vase. My son also brings in rocks and I never know what to do with them, so I set them aside and they usually end up outside in the play area. But I do like looking at all the rocks he brings in, I know I must have a nice clear vase or clear jar where I can display all his rocks.

    Thanks for the tips! They are all great!!

27. Posted by Deb - 12/02/2008

    I have a covered casserole dish made of Blue Willow that sits on my counter full of various kinds of tea bags. It keeps tham close to the kettle and is prettier than all the little cardboard boxes sitting around.

28. Posted by LBC - 12/03/2008

    We use a beautiful white ceramic pitcher to put receipts in when we come home. It sits on a shelf near our front door. It’s deep enough that we can stick them in the bottom, and once they start to “creep” to the top I go through them in our office.

29. Posted by DCKate - 12/03/2008

    Oh my gosh… my mom used to do this ALL the time when we were growing up! I completely forgot about it until I read this post! She usually kept stuff like birthday candles and matches and ribbon in it, so that they were ready on the fly

30. Posted by MKN - 12/03/2008

    In the bathroom I keep a box that is labeled for the cigars it once held, called “The Repeater”. It’s where I keep my tampons.

31. Posted by Dream Mom DBA www.dreamorganizers.com - 12/03/2008

    I have a pretty white ceramic bread box in my kitchen that I store a hand mixer (to puree the fruit for my oatmeal)and some breakfast cereal. It’s covered and convenient in the morning.

    On my coffee table in the living room, I have a pretty teapot, cup & saucer and matching biscuit holder. In the biscuit holder, I store my ipod headphones.

    I love to store things in pretty dishes or boxes.

    I love the comment about the tea bags in the Blue Willow dish.

32. Posted by Emma - 12/03/2008

    This is such a good post… I’ve got at least three things in mind to do when I get home – bedroom, bathroom and kitchen will all be clearer. Plus jars I haven’t had the heart to get rid of will become useful!

    Thanks everyone!

33. Posted by Sarah - 12/03/2008

    This is just false advertising.

    If I reached my hand into a friend’s cookie jar – especially a COOKIE MONSTER cookie jar – and found garlic and a dirty old potato instead of a cookie … well, let’s just say the friendship would be on the rocks.

    Potatoes in a cookie jar! What a cruel world this is.

34. Posted by watergal - 12/03/2008

    Great idea but my cookie jar almost always has cookies. Instead, I use a breadbox on the counter next to the stove to store all of my spices. I even write the names on the top of the lids on the ones in the back so it is a little easier to see what they are.

35. Posted by LL - 12/03/2008

    I use my vintage cookie jar for dog biscuits and treats. Easy access and doggies know the sound of the metal lid coming off means it’s cookie time!

36. Posted by Karen - 12/04/2008

    We have a beautiful little ceramic bowl that was given to us by a friend who is an artist; it holds keys and change up on the mantelpiece. The same friend also, for a wedding gift, gave us a lovely covered pot (maybe a bean pot?) that she made; my husband uses it for storing batteries and old keys that he doesn’t want to get rid of. It also sits on the mantel.

37. Posted by Mrs. Happy Housewife - 12/05/2008

    Great idea about storing chargers in a cookie jar. I store specialty teas in a decorative tea pot and dish cloths in a vintage pyrex bowl.

38. Posted by Karen - 12/05/2008

    I have four cookie jars.
    The Elvis cookie jar is for dry cat food.
    The other three are filled with homemade cookies!

39. Posted by Kathie - 02/06/2009

    Stephanie Plum, the Janet Evanovich character who’s a bond enforcement agent who gets into amazingly funny adventures, is decidedly non-domestic, and keeps her small handgun in the cookie jar.

40. Posted by Sam - 04/12/2009

    I have a ceramic pumpkin that was made for serving pumpkin soup in. I keep it on my benchtop and store springloaded clothespegs in it because I use them all the time for fastening bags in the kitchen.

41. Posted by Kathy AO - 07/11/2009

    I have several ceramic bowls/vases I made once, I keep them displayed on the bookshelf and mantel. Inside are those marbles and superballs the boys insist on losing around the house (ready to dole out one at a time), and dead rechargeable batteries waiting to be taken to the battery recycling place. Also the spare change, and in the bedroom, random small items like tweezers, clippers, hair clips, paperclips… Anything that would be messy clutter if uncontained.

42. Posted by Lisa - 12/02/2009

    what a great idea! so glad i clicked back. we have an old (as in from my childhood) big bird cookie jar that would be just right to hold all those onions we have in a bowl on our counter. so much more attractive.

43. Posted by WilliamB - 12/02/2009

    I like the overall idea but I’m surprised that onions don’t rot faster in a nonporous container.

    I’ve heard the advice about storing onions and potatoes together also, but they live a long and peacable life together in my fridge drawer. (Specifically, the potatoes live a long life, accompanied by a frequently changing set of onion companions.

44. Posted by de - 01/08/2010

    re: vases full of special rocks. The clear glass hand soap dispenser on my kitchen windowsill has a small collection of semi-precious stones in the bottom, displaying them without using an extra container. The soap pump in the bathroom holds small seashells.

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