THE CLUTTER WHISPERER OF NYC WAS RECENTLY INVITED BY...

The Clutter Whisperer of NYC was recently invited by Newell Brands to demonstrate to Bed, Bath & Beyond buyers how to organize a pantry using Newell Brands' Ball jars and the fairly new Rubbermaid Brilliance line of plastic food containers.

I was very happy to see canning jars again, as they were out of stock during much of the pandemic. Seems people at home were cooking and canning up a storm. Ball jars come in four sizes to satisfy most needs -- from canning tomatoes to transferring bagged bulk spices to containers. There are many uses for these jars but a new one I learned about is if you make your own baby food, you can contain it in the smaller jars. And there certainly were a lot of newborns during the pandemic!

I was also curious to see Newell Brands' fairly new Rubbermaid Brilliance line of plastic food containers. I cannot count the times I have walked into a client's kitchen, opened a cabinet door, and had the plasticware all tumble out. Many people buy inexpensive containers from a 99 cent store or a supermarket. The containers are flimsy, don't stack well, are irregularly sized, the lids don't fit well, and they can stain. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the Rubbermaid Brilliance line. First of all, they look so smart! Second, they stack beautifully! Third, they are guaranteed not to leak so no worries if they toss around in a lunch bag or car when being transported. If you are hankering to upgrade your storage containers, I say get online pronto and check out this product.

Honestly, I don't pay much attention to clients' pots and pans when I'm working in their kitchens. No matter the brand, I just assume they will be a challenge to store and make easily accessible. And I have never found a solution for all the different sized lids. There is a metal stand that you can slot them into, but I sense that it is unstable. And then, at the Newell Brands studio, I discovered the stackable Calphalon pots and pans. Because they are all one size, they stack beautifully! The genius part are the lids. They don't have knobs or handles on top. And, of course they are the same diameter as the pots and pans. So they stack as well. So no more wrestling with different sizes of pots, pans and lids.