Earl Tupper likely never imagined the frustrating matching game that occurs in American homes after meals. When he created his plastic storage containers with airtight seals 75 years ago, he must have thought that he revolutionized leftover food storage in an incredible way. And he did, if you can find the lids to those containers.
Somewhere between the time when we purchase Tupperware and when I need to use them, either the lid or the container plays an incredible game of hide and seek. Where do they go? And without their partner? I don’t understand how this happens. The lids seem to be the main culprit, at least in our home. We have dozens of containers and, theoretically, we should have dozens of matching lids. Not so. But we can’t throw them away quite yet, because in some Houdini-inspired way, they sometimes reappear. I don’t get it.
Why do I care so much about Tupperware? Well, I don’t like to cook, and I really appreciate it when Jolene, our kids or others cook, and I am happy to clean up afterwards. Part of that clean-up in our home involves storing the leftovers, and I dread opening the cupboard from hell where the Tupperware is stored. I especially abhor the 2-ounce container, which Jolene says is essential for taking salad dressing to work, that tumbles out each time I open the door.
Every so often, we partake in a Tupperware purge, usually inspired by our youngest daughter, Abby. And thank goodness. My obsessive-compulsive behaviors are then in check, at least for a week or two.
I once bought a knock-off brand of storage containers with the lids attached. Ingenious, I thought. Jolene hated them, as she said they did not stack well. They not-so-mysteriously disappeared.
I know I am not alone with this Tupperware match-up frustration, as a simple online search for how to store Tupperware lids and containers shows a month’s worth of reading on how to improve this process. I have tried many of the suggestions. Putting the lids sideways in one of the larger containers seemed like a good plan, but I feel like a toddler trying to put the round peg in the square hole after I fail at matching attempt No. 6. Meanwhile, the lids still disappear, and I am fully convinced that they are in the attic with my single socks, all laughing at me.
Earl Tupper died in 1983, but I have faith that he is still with us in an Obi-Wan Kenobi type of way. The Tupperware website says the company is driven by the desire to help save time, money, space, food and energy for people around the world. Now if they could just somehow assist me in finding the lids. Help me, Earl Tupper, you are my only hope.
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
