Have you had one of those situations when your training, your
experience and your passion all intersect at one point? I have a degree in economics and 10+ years
experience working with financially struggling families. After
much thought, I realized that although I can’t personally employee thousands of
Americans, I can make a difference through purposeful choices in the products I
purchase. So I have a made a commitment
to purchase products that are made in the USA whenever possible.
Since
I love to organize , let me show you some of my favorite made in the USA
organizing products around my kitchen.
We’re a military family and move at least every 3
years. I use either repurposed items for
organizing or containers that are very flexible in how I can use them since I
never know what our next move will bring.
Fridge
I use binz brand trays from Costco to keep smaller items together. They fit perfectly on the bottom shelf, maximizing usable space. I also have a binz brand tray on the top shelf to hold less frequently used jars and bottles so that they don't clutter up the door shelves. I use a Tupperware container in the meat drawer to corral individual condiment packets for lunches. I prefer the clear Pyrex bowls to keep leftovers in so that we can see exactly what is left over and it's more likely to be eaten. And we keep a Tupperware water pitcher in the fridge to reduce the number of disposable bottles we throw away.
One of the binz trays holds yogurts and individually packed lunch box
snacks. The lunch box snacks are packed
in Tupperware and Rubbermaid Lunch Blox containers which are made in the USA.
Freezer
I use a binz brand tray to hold snacks for the lunch boxes. Another binz brand tray holds prepackaged
pasta or meat. I love the Itso bin I
found at Target for holding breads,
tortillas and pre-made pancakes for school day breakfasts. I tend towards fewer labels to reduce visual
clutter. I did label the lunch snacks
tray to minimize the time the kids stand with the freezer door open.
Pantry
Having grown up in a tropical climate, I insist that all
cereals, crackers and snacks are stored in air tight containers; Tupperware and
Snapware containers are my
favorite. Spaghetti noodles are kept in
a Tupperware container. I use one Longaberger basket to hold breads and
tortillas and another to hold different
types of lunch box snacks. And although
it's not marked, I'm pretty sure that the Coke crate I use to hold additional
lunch box snacks was made in the USA.
(Did I tell you that I have 4 people in my family taking lunches each
day? That's why I have so many lunch
snack bins and baskets.)
Baking Cabinet
Here too, I insist that all baking supplies are stored in
air tight containers. I found that Ball
brand Mason jars and Rubbermaid containers are flexible for use in different
sized and shaped cabinets. I use more
labels in the baking cabinet to help my teenage daughters find what they need
for baking projects.
Seeing everything organized in my kitchen makes me very happy every single time I open a door. Seeing everything organized in products that were Made in the USA makes me even happier.
