Last week when I was at my local home depot, I came across some plastic storage trays. My immediate thought was that these things are great! So I bought a few different types and took them home to try them out. I must say I was pretty impressed.
Workshop
Workshops can be a very messy place, which in turn can become quite dangerous. Buying some cheap plastic trays for storage of miscellaneous parts can be a lifesaver. Little trays are great for keeping screws and drill bits in where as a heavy duty plastic storage tray can easily be purchased for the larger, heavier tools in your workshop. The advantage of a tray over a larger bin is that you can stack them and store them in a small space (like inside a cupboard) when you are not using them.
As well as storing solid objects, plastic storage trays are good for when you are painting. It can be pretty annoying carrying around a heavy paint tin. Simply pour a small amount of paint into the tray at a time and you can place is safely on a ladder or stool while you paint.
Kitchen
Using a plastic storage tray to organize your kitchen and fridge can really make life easier. Buy some small plastic storage trays with multiple pockets that will fit into your drawers. Use these to separate cutlery and other cooking utensils. This will mean now more digging through hundreds of items and no more cut fingers from accidentally cutting yourself on a knife in the drawer.
Buy a few more storage trays to keep in your fridge. These are great for freezing home made baby food, ice cubes or home made ice poles. You can also buy trays with lids to store multiple items at once in a sealed container. Use these to chop up multiple types of vegetables all at one time and then store them in the fridge. This way when you need some vegetables for a salad, stir fry or stew you can simply grab them and not have to worry about getting the chopping board out.
You should be able to pick up small plastic trays for just a few dollars. If you pay anymore than that you are simply paying for the brand. The quality is usually much the same. If you are planning on keeping heavy objects in larger trays, I recommend that you do spend a little more for stronger plastic.
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