I am confused by "restocking" videos
So lately, either Instagram or Facebook has been dropping me some suggested videos that fall under the "restock" category.
Basically, they consist of people noisily arranging food/toiletries/drinks in aesthetically-pleasing storage containers or drawers, rather than storing them in the packaging they came in.
And often, they put labels on the containers, even though most of the containers are see-through.
(Probably no one was gonna be confused about what the Fruity Pebbles container has inside...)
This genre of video is easier to understand if you watch, so.....
Here's a snack-food example.
Here's one for a guest bathroom.
Here's a coffee-centric one.
And here's a big compilation.
I have questions/thoughts about these.
Who buys this many products for a guest bathroom?
Who uses so much stuff that they have to do restocks like this all the time?
Who actually uses so many repeats of items, especially things like deodorant?
Are these people running a convenience store out of their homes?
If these people have children, how do their cabinets/pantry stay so tidy? (I'm guessing they don't.)
But my main question is this: where do these people store the items that don't fit in the aesthetic areas?
Like, I saw a beverage fridge restock, and I thought, "Ok, there's no way this fridge magically holds exactly as many bottles as this person bought."
So...where are the partially-full boxes of La Croix going?
Or when they refill their aesthetic glass jar with powdered detergent, where does the box with the rest of the detergent go?
Is there some dedicated area of their houses where they store all the partial packages? It's not the pantry because apparently, the pantries look perfect too.
Hmmmmmm.
I do think this makes sense on occasion
When you have a huge container of something, it's handier to pour it into a smaller container for regular use.
For instance, I pour Chiquita's cat food into a smaller container so that I don't have to deal with the enormous 50-pound bag every time I feed her.
Same thing with my flour; I don't want a huge bucket in my kitchen!
I also understand that some food containers are not meant for use over time.
For instance, I always pour my sugar into a plastic bin because sugar bags tend to leak little grains of sugar out.
And I pour my chia seeds into a little Mason jar because I feel like the bags chia seeds come in are way too easy to knock over.
I do not want to send chia seeds skittering all over my kitchen floor.
But really, most food packaging is actually meant to be used until the food item is gone.
And a handy thing about food packaging is that it is already labeled; you can just glance and know what's in it! No need to pay for a label.
I should add: obviously if you buy bulk foods from a packaging-free/low-packaging store, then it makes sense to put that food into containers.
I know at Whole Foods, you used to dispense bulk food into a thin plastic bag, which was clearly not meant for long-term storage. Labeled glass containers make a lot of sense in such cases.
This is an expensive hobby
I know some people probably just do this restocking for fun, which is fine. Or they're just doing it to make money by posting viral videos for people.
But there's no getting around the truth that these videos show a lot of spending.
The containers are pricey, of course. Even if you used inexpensive containers, buying so many would add up.
But there's also the fact that most often, people are stocking expensive individually packaged/bottled items.
No one wants to see someone fill a fridge with things like a pitcher of tap water, a gallon of milk, a jar of mayonnaise, a jug of maple syrup, a quart of yogurt, and so on.
I have to wonder if some waste happens when you operate this way, especially with food items.
If you are always keeping so much food around (like ten bottles of salad dressing or six kinds of crackers, or whatever is required to keep each container and shelf totally full), it seems like it would be an extreme challenge to avoid letting something go bad or at least go stale.
Restocking is definitely not for me
I'm not going to lie; I can see the aesthetic appeal of having such a beautiful pantry or bathroom or fridge.
But, I am:
- too cheap to do this
- too practical to do this
If someone wants to live this way, I think it's a pretty morally-neutral choice. We all have our things we "waste" money on.
I do have some hesitations about how healthy it is to consume this content, though, mainly because of the effect it could have on people.
If we never saw a kitchen/bathroom/pantry/fridge that looked like a colorful, tidy store, we might think our very normal homes were fine.
But I kinda worry that these videos might be making people think they ought to go buy a whole set of brand-new containers so that they can attain the (probably fake) aesthetic these videos are presenting.
(To be clear, I AM a big fan of reusable containers! But I like to use them for things that aren't already packaged, like leftovers, or homemade yogurt.)
Ready to be de-influenced?
I know I'm not single-handedly going to normalize a regular-looking house with regular-looking cabinets and shelves, but hey, here's my contribution to level things out a bit.
Let's start with my bathroom. I don't have a medicine cabinet, so my regularly-used stuff just sits on my sink.
My bathroom cabinets have some baskets/bins in them, but they don't match.
And the things in my bins are just haphazardly thrown in there. I think that's the point of a bin: to make it easy to corral things!
My shower has brightly colored bottles in it.
Next, the linen closet.
Chiquita was here, of course.
Not to brag, but some of my storage containers are old shoeboxes. ARE YOU IMPRESSED?
Here's my coffee station, with coffee in original retail bags.
This is my spice cabinet, in its natural condition. Which is, to be fair, a little messy.
So I tidied it up a bit. But this as good as it gets, people.
Mismatched bottles as far as the eye can see. 😉
My pantry has exactly one thing in a glass container: the discounted M&Ms I bought at Safeway this week, because the original bag wasn't sealing easily.
Mostly, it's just original packages in here. 🙂
And my laundry room just has laundry soap and stain spray in their original packaging.
Ohhh, and we can't forget the fridge. Mine is never aesthetically pleasing.
The food I keep in my fridge lacks uniformity and individual packaging, generally. It's always been that way and probably always will be!
Sooo, that's what my not-done-in-restock-style home looks like. I hope you feel de-influenced. 🙂
In conclusion...
If maintaining a home in the "restock" style makes a person happy, and they have enough money to afford it, I don't really take issue with it.
However, I definitely don't think this style is manageable or attainable for the vast majority of human beings.
So, if you enjoy watching people do restocks, awesome. Have fun!
But do remember that most of us live in houses that are way, way less aesthetically pleasing, me included. 🙂
I totally agree with you and why do they have to be so noisy about everything? My other concern is the amount of plastic I see in these videos. Plastic storage containers filled with individually plastic wrapped items. It makes me so very angry. My fridge and cupboards look similar to yours. I have some food in storage containers such as cat food, flour, sugar, loose tea and coffee (which I get from a local roasters)
@Jennifer, I feel like it might be some kind of ASMR thing? I hate watch these videos in the same way I hate watch those unboxing videos where some random person with (admittedly gorgeous) acrylic nails clicks their fingernails on every aspect of the packaging. I find it soothing, but also completely maddening. WHY do you have to tap your fingernails on the cardboard box and the plastic wrapping inside the box and then the package inside the box and then the item inside the package inside the box?
The videos make me crazy for many of the reasons you state.. WHY decant orange juice into a different container... that doesn't hold the same quantity?
Whose laundry room needs GLASS containers on the shelf above it and who uses THAT many laundry add-ins?
NOW I freely admit I have an addiction to mason jars. My space is limited in my kitchen and storage is for the most part in view on open shelving so while I would love to have a cute matchy organized kitchen.. I don't.
I have 2 cereal rubbermaid containers I pour cereal into- forces the kids to eat what is available. I fill mason jars with all the nuts, raisins, seeds, croutons etc and when there is overflow I have 1 cupboard that I store that stuff in.. with my rubbermaid containers of flour, sugar etc.
@jes, I also use mason jars for food storage in the pantry. When I see cereal in boxes, all I can think of is exposure to draw in pests, so stuff like that goes into a sealed container. If the item closes with a rolled down top and/or clip/rubber band, it's not secure. I've dealt with pantry moths, mice and other nasty crawlies that want to consume my food, so it all gets sealed nice and tight. Plus, the sealed jars and containers helps keep food fresher for longer.
@Mary, YES!
Why can we twist the lid back on fine but folding/closing the bag with a clip was too hard? lol
My unprofessional psychological study also found out if it is visible in a jar it is not left to linger.. Someone will see there are only a few snack items left and will pour them out, eat them and put the jar in the sink.. But bags and boxes were left until the end of time piling up to stale... Maybe it is just the desire to make more dishes? lol
Either way I will take it- less food waste
@jes, I do have my laundry detergent in a glass jar, but that is how it was sold (made by someone in Virginia).
I try to buy non-perishable foods unpackaged and put them directly into my containers (whenever possible).
I transfer packaged foods (like flour, rice, sugar, nuts) into storage containers (or old jars) because I have had problems with pantry moths in the past. It is a pain to get rid of moths!!!
@Christine81, me too. Anything that a moth would find tasty gets sealed up. The rest is just practical: I keep white sugar in a big Rubbermaid container and pour up easy to handle amounts in a reused applesauce jar because it aggravates the arthritis in my hands to haul out the big container.
Like Kristen, we pour up a smaller amount of cat food in an Oxo container for daily feeding and keep the big bag tightly sealed.
My many tiny spice jars are corraled in small plastic tubs in the cabinet just to keep things tidy. All in the original jars and the only fancy effect was to label the baskets with terms like "baking," or "savory."
@Christine81, Yep, I freeze rice and flour for 24 hours to kill anything before putting it in an airtight storage container. I should do the same with oats, but I've never had a problem with oats. But we have had mice so...yeah, I should get on that.
@Karen A., Freezing rice and flour is a good idea, thank you!
@Christine81, You're welcome! It can also be a good idea to freeze dried beans and lentils, because sometimes eggs can be in there as well. I have never had an issue, but I'm still being cautious.
I suppose this type of restocking appeals to the aesthetically inclined welltodo prepper.
We do some stocking up but mainly foods in its own packaging and within reason. The only transparent labeled boxes I use, are for some stock that I manage and that my family members will not be able to easily find otherwise: a medium sized box with spare toothbrushes, soaps and other toilet items (bought at a discount, obviously), a M box with "medical" stuff like hot/cold pakcs, a thermometer and other -meters that I bought during covid, some mouthmasks, a pulse brace etc etc - you get the drift. A M box with my knitting supplies to keep me from being tempted to buy more.
We also have sturdy boxes in our garage that have smaller containers with nails, screws, glues etc all ordered (since recently, halo appearing over our heads now). Spoiler alert: you can easily and cheaply label your boxes with painters tape that your write on and it leave no marks on your containers.
O yes, the containers we use for hardware are partly empty icecream containers -
@JNL,
Thanks for the laugh this morning. I saw "partly empty ice cream containers" and first thought "why put these kinds of things in with ice cream, that would be messy". Then I reread and saw what you meant. I need more coffee...
I love this deinfluencing! Maybe we could see your closet and feel better about ours too. 🙂 I do use containers for sugars, coffee, flour and tea bags. I had all of these boxes with different flavors of tea and didn't know how many were in the box. My containers for tea are the mason jars that I get from buying spaghetti sauce and the jars with lids from candles, and now its easy to see when I'm almost out of something since the containers are clear and it really does make me drink the tea more since its right there.
@MommaJo, I think Kristen can be our frugal influencer! If I use storage containers, they are from a thrift store or they are repurposed items from around the house. Such as a broken storage box (hinged lid broke off) used as a recycling bin. Also a laundry basket that split. And my favorite: the sturdy zippered plastic packages that sheets and blankets and bed linens come in....they can be used for all kinds of storage or for packing things for a trip.
@MommaJo, Love the moniker "deinfluencing"!!!
I buy the stir kind of peanut butter because it does not contain extra sugar. And since my husband loves peanut butter, I would like him to eat a little better. Since I have so many of these jars, and our community does not recycle glass (don't know why either!) I use these jars for my bagged purchases like seeds, etc. And I have a cutting machine and make some cute labels for them, but I am no means an influencer. I also do not put each laundry pod or each cookie into the jars individually to make a pretty statement. I just dump it all in. That's what makes this restocking thing ridiculous. No one needs cookies to look perfect in a jar. Keep them in the originally packaging if you want to keep them neat.
@Maureen, places do not recycle glass because of the breakage especially when all recyclables are thrown in together.
Some towns recycle glass if you keep them separate.
@Fru-gal Lisa, oh I love those clear zippered bags!
Methinks I should post an Instagram video of our garage full of reused plastic cat litter tubs, which all have duct tape/sharpie labels. They all match, so I’m definitely influencer material! 😛
😀
@N, HAHAHHAA! We have these too! And it made me so happy when my husband finally put those labels on them so I could find things!
You can not have lots of followers, which lead to fame and fortune, unless you post things that are out there. Everything must be taken to the next level.
The answer to everything in America is to buy things. Even on Earth Day you are told to replace what you already have with new items. As if new bamboo sheets or towels are more environmentally friendly than using what you already have.
It sounds like many social media posts involve waste. I have heard it is common to show off hauls of cheaply purchased clothing, even if the items are never worn and are of such poor quality that they will not last.
I ignore social media 99.9% of the time.
I reuse glass jars that food items came in for storing things like chia seeds, homemade granola, nuts that I chopped, and leftovers. I even giveaway extra jars on Freecycle once I have amassed several that are the same, like pasta sauce jars.
I am sorry to hear about this trend but won't give it another thought once I post this comment. That is the good thing about being old and not caring what other people think.
@K D, Those Earth Day promotions for buying more stuff frustrates me so much! Throwing out perfectly fine stuff to buy more stuff is the opposite of what the planet needs.
@K D, I snorted when I read “being old and not caring what people think”. I feel like too, especially since I hit my 70s.
THANK YOU!!
But one question about your decanting - would you be able to share your favorite flour container? My family just bought one of the 25-lb bags of flour and a 25-lb bag of rice at Costco. We will go through it quickly (we have a bigger family who loves these things), but I’d still like to store them well. Any recommendations?
@C, Speaking of de-influencing . . . I have a big flour canister on my counter, but I store my 50-pound bag of flour in my chest freezer inside the bottom part of a cut-off chicken feed sack. The sack is plastic and keeps the paper flour bag from getting ripped when I'm moving things around in the freezer. I always think of Jeff Foxworthy (you might be a redneck . . .) when I do this. 🙂
Haha, I feel like you are equipped to do a lot of de-influencing, since you are very very practical.
@kristin @ going country, I think we all need to share our non-social-media-ready storage solutions. I've been reusing cocoa powder containers for my Celestial seasoning tea bags---they're square, they fit nicely in the cupboard, and I can label them, and they keep the tea fresher than the original boxes. Ha!
@C, I use the 64 ounce ( large) Ball jars to store my rice in that I buy from Costco. I use one for brown and one for jasmine.I also put beans in these too. Then the rest I put in 2 gallon bags and freeze for a few days to make sure any bugs are wiped out. Also I use the jars from Ikea that are glass and lock down for coffee which I buy in the big bags(2.5 lbs) at Costco. Also, if I'm really getting into the prepping, I go to Winco and get the buckes and lids( the cheapes place to get them) and then store the beans( I usually buy 25 lb bags) directly in those and rice too.I keep flour in a large OXO container and 1 gallon jars. the 1 gallon jars I've had since the mid 70's. I've always bought in bulk and still do now. But i don't do the everything match thing. Just what works. The Adams large peanut butter jars are great.
@Karen A., I am going to steal this idea!
@C, We keep our flour in a large 5-gallon bucket with a lid that locks. Rumor is that a local bakery in our town will give away their extra food-grade buckets if you ask. Maybe you have a local bakery that would do the same.
Sadly, the only flour container I've ever used is still at my other house. It's the same as my sugar bin except it's larger. Right now my flour is in one of those containers that's meant to hold things like cereal, and it's not great for flour.
I'm hoping to get my original flour container at some point.
@kristin @ going country, Someone makes those plastic chicken feed sacks into tote bags here in the Hamptons. This is the area that has a chicken coop that's won architectural design awards, after all.
@C,
A family member goes to the local deli and picks up gallon mayonaise and mustard jars for free as food grade 5 gallon buckets. Both work well.
@Kristen, send one of your daughters to rescue the flour container! (Something you mentioned earlier gave me the impression that one of them returns to the other house on occasion.)
@C, I put large bags like that into a 30 gal rubbermaid bin. I probably bought the bins new but it was so many years ago I've forgotten.
@C, A 25-lb bag of flour fits nicely inside a 5-gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid - it sits in my "pantry" (utility room where the furnace, water heater, and water softener reside). I also have buckets for sugar, brown sugar, and salt - EVERYTHING in its ORIGINAL packaging. I don't want the mess of decanting, and then you can use up ALL the old below starting on the new.
I love how you describe ASMR as "noisily". LOL It is noisy and I don't prefer that type of video.
The Home Edit has contributed to everything in a plastic container (even the fridge), and I think they're the ones who started organizing in clear containers and by rainbow order. Of course, they aren't the only ones who organize this way.
I don't have a pantry, so a lot of my food storage is visible on an open shelf I have in my breakfast nook. For the visible food storage, I do have glass jars (for things like rice, beans, oatmeal, coffee, etc, not granola bars and packaged foods). They're usually things that I buy in bulk and store the excess in the freezer. Some of the things I just pour from one container to a glass jar, but I personally don't want containers mixed with jars so that's what I do. I don't decant anything that goes into my fridge or kitchen cabinets (except for flour and sugar into closable containers).
@Tammy, I borrowed the book, The Home Edit from the library when it first came out. Everything did indeed look neat and organized. However, I could not get past the section on arranging your book shelves. They had taken the covers off all of the books and arranged them by color. However, this doing this makes more sense than the current design trend of placing books on the shelves backwards so that only the pages show. Yes it looks uniform, but what if you want to read something?
@Bee,
Years ago I saw Erin Napier (Hometown) say that the reason designers on tv put books backwards was so that there weren't any copyright issues with filming. I'm sure there are other reasons that designers are doing this as well, but I do not understand people doing this in their own home. They for sure can't be readers LOL.
@Bee, Backwards...books? But part of the appeal of bookshelves is the lovely colors on the spines, and the different fonts, and being able to see the titles and remember fondly reading the books, or looking forward to reading the books...
I think I need to lie down for a bit.
@Bee, I never heard of such a silly thing as placing books backward on a shelf. What is the matter with people??
@Bee, The reason that real estate agents do that is so the prospective buyers look at the house and not the books.
I can't agree with you more. But. How is your linen closet so neat? Oh, my. We often cannot close the door properly because of the over-stuffing/wrongly-stuffing.
@Jody S., I thought I needed to buy some new towels until I cleaned out my linen cupboards (not a closet, nothing so fancy, just three cupboards on top of one another). Voila! Brand new bath sheets, bath towels, hand towels, bath mats ... You'd think you were in the Beyond section of Bed Bath & ... No shopping for me!
Well, a couple of things:
-it's only Zoe and me here now, and she has a linen closet in the basement by her bedroom
-I don't own a lot of linens. I only have one set of sheets for my bed, plus a few twin bed sheets for what used to be Lisey's bed.
I'm sure in a bigger household like yours, my closet would also be more full!
@Kristen, Mine is pretty full. I have two sets of winter flannel sheets, two sets of summer cotton sheets, and at least one set per other bed/bedlike item so I can host a lot of family all at once.
@JDinNM, I am fairly certain I would find a few things if I tried to organize it. I think I could tame it a little if I put a little effort into it. (There are those twin sheets of characters that feel icky to the touch that none of my children use.)
@Jody S., I definitely ran all my "finds" through the washer and dryer!
Thank you so much for this. I find this online trend so misleading and wasteful. Along with all of the “this week’s amazon haul”. No thanks
Thanks for normal photos!
my pantry is small so SOME of the snacky foods will be all dumped together in a "bin" for my family to sort out what they want and i recycle the box immediatly. i also have people in my family that will take the last of something (that i might not typically eat) and put an empty box back on the shelf. so taking them out of the boxes does help me with repurchasing when an item is out. the only thing i'm "decanting" (which is it's technical term per the cleaning you tube channels i frequent) is like you my flour, sugar, animal food and my laundry pods (which those get dumped from their bag into a wooden box on my shelf for easier grabbing. where are most people keeping the half empty non stocked items? in their garage.
"Not to brag, but some of my storage containers are old shoeboxes. ARE YOU IMPRESSED?"
Lol, love it. We definitely have fancy shoebox storage around our house too! Thanks for keeping it real 🙂
@PD, yes to shoeboxes for storage! Until recently I used a shoebox for the storage container lids in the cabinet with the containers. It lasted for years. Just recently switched to a plastic container that we already had because the shoebox was finally breaking down. I use shoeboxes in many other areas as well. And have a few in the garage “just in case!” Haha!
@PD, we not only have shoeboxes, but also the cardboard trays that once held 24 cans of cat food. So we apparently are even more fancy (or maybe just more Fancy Feast).
@PD, Some of the shoe boxes I've gotten lately are works of art -- heavy duty cardboard, with clever attached flip-top covers, neutral colors with no logos or printing. Definitely reusable storage containers!
A couple of kitchens ago I had very dark cabinets and frequently lost food in original ally packaging because it was hard to see in there. So I bought clear plastic containers to put stuff in (cocoa powder, chocolate chips, brown sugar) the containers fit perfectly and it made it so much easier to see what I had, partly because it was so much tidier. Interestingly in the kitchens since then I don’t use those containers for as many things because I can see my shelves much more easily.
1000% YES! I like an aesthetically pleasing space as much as the next person, but how affordable/maintainable is all of this! Awesome post. Thanks so much, Kristen!
Haha I know what it's about! Remember in the early 2010s, at the dawn of Pinterest, when women would show off how they had all of their dried beans and oats and homemade laundry detergent in Mason jars, next to colour-coordinated folded towels? It was, as the kids say, a flex. It's that, but for Gen Z.
My guess is that it's got something to do with economic downturns; that in rich times influencers show how they travel, luxuriously, and in hard times they show how they stockpile, but luxuriously. As you say, it's totally impractical.
I wonder if some/most of these people are stocking an Airbnb? Because it seems wildly impractical for everyday life.
I wondered that too! This would be great for an AirBnB but not so much for everyday life.
@Lori, I've stayed in AirBnBs and never have we been given so many supplies or foods! One time we were just happy there was toilet paper and dish soap, LOL.
@Lori, My first thought, too, but my second thought was that I don't think it would be an Airbnb because the owners would have theft concerns. Many Airbnbs have limited supplies of coffee, cleaning products, etc., for that reason.
I used to watch a lady who did house cleaning motivation, and she did this. Mostly I didn't like how everything was so packaged, especially all the snacks she kept neatly organized in her pantry for her four children, at their level, so they could grab a snack whenever. So wasteful and unhealthy.
I do use a lot of glass canning jars to store things because I buy a lot of things in large quantities, but no one would call them aesthetic. I rarely bother to re-label lids, so they'll either be mis-labeled or the lid will have like three things crossed out before I write the actual label. My houseguests have learned to ask me for positive identification before using something. 🙂
I love this post, and your photos, Kristen! Thank you for normalizing real storage spaces. I like looking at pretty photos of ultra stylized pantries (it appeals to my OCD tendencies), but it's definitely not something I would want or could maintain or would recommend. I also get discouraged when I think about the promotion of all those containers and bins and plastic and money spent. Sigh.
I cannot agree with your assessment of these videos and this trend more. They set unrealistic expectations and encourage unnecessary spending.
There are some bulk items that I place in jars and other storage containers so they stay fresh for a longer period of time. However, having raised 3 children, I can honestly say that doing this with everyday items, especially when you have a house full of kids, is just not practical. My kiddos were wonderful, but I was lucky to even have them put something back into the refrigerator. Forget conforming to an elaborate storage system. If I had six bottle of ketchup in the refrigerator, they would have opened every.single.one. As teenagers my sons would consume a box of cereal at a sitting. They just poured it into a mixing bowl. Why decant it?
Reality and function win out at times over aesthetics. That’s why pantries and cabinets have doors on them.
BTW, I can’t imagine why the guest bathroom needs to be so well-stocked.
I was wondering how many guests these people have! Maybe they do a whole lot more hosting than most of us.
I love these because I love the uniformity and the ASMR quality of the sounds. I also love kinetic sand cutting videos for the sound quality.
I wonder if lots of this stuff actually gets returned after the video?
I loved this post! Love love loved it! I also am also on trend with the ‘old shoe boxes’ for storage thing.
This post made me laugh but also made an important point about influencer culture.
I love watching these. I like the noise and how orderly it is. I always assumed they don't actually live this way - it's basically like filming an ad. It did inspire me to corral some things in bins (that I already owned) in my fridge and I've lost less things behind other stuff, so call me an influencer haha!
I have very rich cousins who do this. They hire an organizer. And it is a nice experience for guests. I wander around the bathroom going oooo, ahhhh. The guest bathroom is like the perfume/make up counters of an expensive department store with plush linens and rugs on the floor to sink your toes into while you explore.
I however do not have their excessive flair. I did buy an expensive shampoo only because I liked the bottle it was in. I refill it with my cheap dollar store shampoo that works well on my curly hair. I also do this with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I buy a beautifully bottled one that I refill as need be with bulk cheaper stuff. I tend to store foods in mason jars. The goodwill bins stores have tons of organizer bins and boxes that others have discarded. I’ve bought a few to organize cutlery and other drawers.
You have a lot of food in your house. You would last a good while in a doomsday scenario. I have one shelve in the kitchen cabinets with food and one shelve in the fridge with food. I wouldn’t last too long.
I like my cousins, they’re no better or worse than other people they just have more money than some countries.
( and they want you to use the stuff in the bathroom and even try to give it to you and there isn’t any Rubbermaid stuff in their house)lol
I am truly delighted by this post. I have been getting targeted ads for a copycat perfume company recently and they horrify and delight me. An anonymous woman click clacks with her fingernails to open a package with nine different perfumes in it, which she then organizes onto a tray somewhere. All of the bottles are the same clear glass cubes and I am so baffled and so clearly not the target audience. I kind of get the asmr appeal sometimes, but most of the time I just want them to do everything with less noise please.
All I can think of when I see those videos is...that's a lot of junk food. "Fruit snacks" are just gummy candy. Pringles, Lunchables, Fruity Pebbles...I think it's all just done for social media.
And so much packaging waste...why the small cans of Pringles? Why the Lunchables? So much trash in the making!
I love your shoebox bins, Kristen--I use shoeboxes with the lids off to organize my clothing drawers! That reminds me, I need to get on that this week, I have some shoeboxes laying around. 🙂
@Karen A., My son, for a long two years or so, would not eat anything at school that wasn't a Lunchable. No Lunchable? He just wouldn't eat all day. I eventually gave in.
@Rose, Oh, I get it if there are issues like that. One of my kids, for a long time, would not eat anything but hot dogs and boxed mac and cheese. Or plain noodles. Some kids have texture/sensory issues and you just have to roll with that.
@Karen A., I don't even think that was it! My son is actually way more adventurous than I am and has always been. I think it was just that in fiftth grade, the cool kids ate Lunchables ergo my son would only eat them. Taking a sandwich from home? Gross. Buying school lunch? DISGUSTING. etc. (Both my kids steadfastly refused school lunch for at least ten years.)
@Rose,
I ask myself what would a kid like this would have esten/done day some 30 years ago? I mean there were times stuff like Lunchable did not exist at all.....
@Karen A., The main advantage I can think of for small containers is that they're portioned. I'll eat the entire container of Pringles in a day, so if I get the large container I eat a large container. For whatever reason putting Pringles into a TellFresh doesn't have the same outcome for me.
@Rose, Ha! I do get that, though. I did eat a few Lunchables back in high school (that was when they were just starting to hit the market), but soon my dad, who did the grocery shopping, put his foot down and said if I wanted those I'd use my own babysitting money, and I realized you didn't get much food in those little boxes, so I gave them up. Thankfully my kids never wanted Lunchables, probably because they're homeschooled and never saw one except maybe on TV or in the store, and then they were puzzled by them! 😀
@WilliamB, True, true. Personally I'm more of an abstainer than a moderator, so my solution is to not buy the Pringles! 🙂 If I had a bunch of small containers of Pringles I'd eat more than one a day, sadly.
@Karen A., I'm usually fairly disciplined about eating but I have a little issue with Pringles. So I don't buy them. Mmmm, so fake tasting, I need to eat more and more...
I am hoping to get a part time gig reviewing local restaurants, and you better believe I'm dragging my son along because our local eateries are all about the fish and shellfish and I loathe both of them. Meanwhile my son has been devouring large lobsters on his own since he was two.
@Lea,
I think it has always been that way. My father was in grade school in the 1940's and early 1950's and he brought sandwiches on homemade bread. He didn't want homemade bread. He wanted sliced Wonder bread because that what all the kids had. As an adult he definitely went back to loving homemade bread,
Color me ... confused. This is a new one on me. Don't these people work for a living? Or is this ... what they do for a living? Couldn't their organizational skills (if that's what these are) -- not to mention their money -- be put to better use stocking ... an actual neighborhood Food Pantry? You know, the kind for people who actually need ... food? To eat? This is just sad.
Well, yes, I think a lot of these people DO make a living making videos like these. So when you think of it like that, it makes more sense. They might have time to devote to this because it is their 9-5.
@Kristen, Then that is REALLY sad.
@JDinNM, isn't it weird that people make money producing nothing but a vapid video while it is hard to find an electrician or a plumber? Sigh.
I do think this is some kind of ASMR thing. I guess it's a soothing noise to hear cereal being poured?
All I know is, my after decluttering pictures look like other people's before. In fact, I added some open shelves to the kitchen thinking I would put some of the nice pottery I collect on display there, but the kids were too fast for me and now it's covered with cereal packets, ramen, pasta, and looks pretty terrible. The struggle is real.
On a vlog I sometimes watch, I noticed she had taken the cocoa powder out of the original container and put it in a fancier container. I thought that was unnecessary, but if she wants to do it, nothing wrong with it. This trend seems likes busy work and impractical. It's making money for the container producers.
Influencers, like influenza, are spreading all kinds of terrible habits. I don't do social media/ feed/ trending etc. so I wouldn't know what you're talking about- that saves so much time, and brain space and my wallet is happier. I never understand the point of using/ consuming something just because it's available!
+Are these people running a convenience store out of their homes?"- LOOOL!
@Farhana, I have never been on Facebook, Instagram, etc. so this was something I knew nothing about. Thank goodness. Sometimes ignorance IS bliss.... So many hours in these people's lives they will never, ever get back.
I'm of two minds about it, which is funny since I'm the one who wrote this post.
I guess here's my perspective: if someone wants to skip the hours of TV watching/internet scrolling that most Americans engage in every day, and instead wants to pour cocoa powder into a glass container, it's hard to argue that that's MORE of a waste of time.
I think the argument about it being wasteful (financially and environmentally) is a little easier to make.
And I definitely am arguing that this is NOT FOR ME. I wouldn't find it a fun hobby; I'd find it to be unpleasant work.
@JDinNM, When they could be ... I dunno ... pursuing a career in nursing.
@JDinNM, Hey, if they can get people to pay them for this junk, more power to them, I say.
As for social media--I like it, it's fun. Really no different from commenting on a blog which (checks notes) we're all doing right now.
Also, one could argue that what they are doing is not SO different than what I do to support myself. I make content and post it on the internet.
Look at me, arguing for the restockers. lol
On the other hand, I do make a concerted effort to keep my blog/social media content real and true, not aspirational. So that's possibly a difference.
People like aspirational, though. It's no different from Vogue magazine, um, except for the amount of Froot Loops.
Basically I just don't care if people are making honest money (not breaking the law) off their work, whatever it is. If Kristen can make a decent enough income writing about her life and frugality, go her. It might even be argued it's useful to more people than nursing.
Ahh, but what if I can nurse AND write a blog? Then I can be doubly helpful.
@Farhana, I like the "influencers = influenza" comparison. We could also say that the influencers are suffering from Affluenza, which was the title of a book about excessive consumption that came out a while ago.
@Farhana,
You made me laugh with influencer - Influenza! Thank you 🙂
@A. Marie,
Influencer - Influenza- Affluenza....
A. Marie, thank you for that laugh!!!!
In my opinion, there's nothing new under the sun.
I know people here want to flex about how little they care about social media and influencers*, but really I see it as little different from ads in magazines, back when people read magazines. And of course, influencers then were named Ronald Reagan smoking Chesterfields or Florence Henderson advertising Wesson oil.
*while reading and commenting on a blog, of course
As I said in another comment, the brilliance of a good ad is that we do not even realize we are being influenced.
In the same vein, I really think that a lot of us are more influenced than we realize by what we see on the internet. So as consumers, it's important to choose what we expose ourselves too.
And as a (very small-time) influencer myself, I think it's on me to be responsible about what I promote and expose people too. Which is why you got to see my very regular-looking spice cabinet today. 🙂
Kristen, I thought to myself when I saw your spice cabinet that I needed to send you a few thyme slips! Heh. Thyme requires precisely zero effort to grow, spreads, and you can (and I do) eat the leaves fresh all year round. Lemme know if you want some; I have a ton.
@Kristen, your blog is real people talking about useful and practical things, helping one another with frugal living. It differs from "social media" where a lot of strangers are showing off, trying to get famous or rich.
My daughter does some of this-arranges her pantry and fridge like this, not makes videos about it. I attribute a lot of it to her time spent in retail doing store displays, making everything orderly and visually appealing. The people in the videos must be feeding enormous families to need all that at once. I suspect it is just for views.
@Ava, I spent about 8 years working in retail while in college. And everyone who happens to see any of the closets in my house are flabbergasted. Sheets neatly folded and put in the pillowcase for storage. Clothes arranged by sleeve length and then each length is in rainbow color. I always know where my white 3/4 sleeve top is. Once it was originally completed only takes a moment to put everything away and maintain it. 🙂
I wonder who has time to do all of this decanting. I do decant a few things--flour, sugar--into canisters that allow me to keep things tidy and access what I want easily. My canisters are about 35 years old, and are from the "country" decorating style of the 80s (anyone remember that?) with a farmyard scene. I know you will be shocked, but I'm not a social influencer. 🙂
Oh yes, and I feel like the "country" look extended into the 90s some too.
I hadn't seen these, although I heard something about them. I'm not on social media much at all - mainly just to see if my old hometown or my kids posted something. I have to agree with Kristen!
I watched the guest bathroom re-stock - that was some expensive stuff she was stocking up with! As a guest, I'd be afraid to use it. I use it once if I spend the night, and then what, she throws away the rest of the bottle/package after I leave because it's now imperfect?
I also use shoeboxes! Here's what else I use:
I use mismatched secondhand organizer baskets plus an old ice container from a fridge that didn't have an ice maker, to corral the small stuff in a bathroom closet.
I have a random basket in my guest bathroom cabinet with small hygiene items like shampoo collected during hospital stays and travels . Also, I stock a few feminine hygiene products (in original packaging), because I raised girls and have mostly granddaughters.
I have a big oblong basket holding some of my sweaters in my closet shelves. It was a Christmas basket full of goodies given to my office, and I asked for the basket. The rest of my sweaters are in a wooden cubby unit that sits on a shelf, built by a man who used to be in a small choir with me (he's now deceased). It was for the choir members to store their music notebooks and the dividers are adjustable. The church eventually sold it at a yard sale so I bought it for $5. My husband cut it in two and the shorter section sits on an open shelf in my kitchen and holds my cookbooks.
I use a lot of glass and some rigid plastic containers in my pantry after I got the weevil infestation from h-ll one time. They can chew holes through plastic bags and cardboard or get in around glued edges. I bought 90% of it from thrift stores or re-used packaging from foodstuffs I bought, so it sure doesn't match. My spices are in a wildly random assortment of jars collected from everywhere; I buy most spices in bulk. The spices hang in unmatched wire baskets I screwed into the pantry door.
My favorite is: my husband used to use an early model of a continuous glucose monitor for which the sensors came in divided boxes. The divider sections lifted out and were just the right height to fit in the small top drawers of my vintage dresser. I put my hosiery, slips, scarves and stuff like that in them.
I had the same thought about the guest bathroom supplies. I'd feel like I'd visited a spa and I wouldn't want to use anything for fear of messing it up. lol
Kristen, I think your house looks like a normal American home -- and a pretty neat one at that. I suspect all these influencers are probably making some kind of commission on all those storage products they are recommending. Or they are making money somehow by posting these videos. Maybe very wealthy and persnickety people use matching jars, bottles, coat hangers, storage baskets, etc.. But the rest of us probably like to spend our money on other, more important things. Such as housing, utilities, transportation, groceries, clothing and education.
Speaking of the latter, this has nothing to do with today's post, but I got an email from abebooks.com. They were saying they had a limited supply of $3 school books. I thought I would pass along that info for anyone needing textbooks. I have no idea what books they are offering for that price, or what level (preschool, elementary, secondary, college) the books may be or even how good/bad they are. But perhaps this would be helpful info for a homeschooling family, someone entering nursing school (ahem), or others.
This kind of aesthetic definitely does benefit places like The Container Store!
@Kristen, We all know how much I love the Container Store ... and I still won't do this.
On the one hand, I do have a weakness for storing beans and grains in pretty mason jars (some of which are old blue glass). On the other hand, ask me about my lovingly trashpicked set of large plastic Folger coffee containers, which do duty as my canisters for sugar and various flours!
@A. Marie, ooohh - better yet, do a video and post it on YouTube!
After having pantry ants one month and pantry moths several months later, I decant almost everything from its original packaging into mason jars because it wasn't fun or cheap to replace all of my dry goods twice in one year. I did it as I emptied jars I had and only bought a few 1/2 gallon jars and containers for things like sugar, flour,etc. - I cut the label or instructions from the package if needed and put it in between a reused lid and ring. It keeps food fresh longer, I can see what I have at a glance when making a shopping list so I don't under or over buy. Any overflow goes into another jar and we eat that first. I don't buy a lot of stuff in bulk, but the few things I do like dog food - the resealable bag goes into a large plastic pet food container with a sealing lid. I don't buy a ton of individual packed stuff either.
I have some dollar store drawer organizer baskets in the refrigerator to keep condiments and such corralled and to make room for groceries and leftovers. I use the same kind of bins to organize stuff in bathroom medicine cabinets which allows me to cram more stuff in those spaces since storage space is at a premium in my small house. Some of my fancy coordinating bathroom storage jars are empty Aldi candle jars because the original package won't fit in the space. It also saves money because I can store one package in containers in more than one room instead of buying one package of of the thing for each room. I also don't need to store the extra because I've decanted a liter of shampoo in a pump container between 2 bathrooms. I installed shelves and baskets over the doorway to store the on deck or the rest of a bag of package of a thing that doesn't fit into a full candle jar. Many of these things are repurposed, Mod Podged box cabin fever projects, or coordinate by luck or color choice.
The inside of some of the storage containers may be a free for all but it keeps us honest about putting stuff back where it belongs, saves money because we can easily see what we do and do not have, and most importantly, saves me from having to constantly answer, "hey were is that thing?" because it has a home (in theory.)
I watch some of the videos because they are somehow soothing if background is quiet. However, I am too frugal to operate in that fashion. My house looks like your house which is AOK!
This is way too much for me. I am more like Kristen. My family never recycles a shoebox without asking me if we need it for something first. When I upgraded my bathroom storage from the reused soft butter container - I replaced it with a plastic 2 for a $1 container from the local dollar store - and still thought twice about it. But it did look nicer.
Wow -- I've never heard of these videos and think I will happily continue to live without them. A lot of my groceries do get transferred to other containers -- because we live in the country, and mice can be a problem. Storing stuff like cereal, pasta, and chocolate chips in glass jars keeps them safe. But all my jars are freebies I've collected over the years and they don't match, which is fine with me. And my bathroom shelves look a lot like yours.
I appreciated this post.
I admit I used to love the show Home Edit. The aesthetics of it appeal to me so much, but all the plastic/packaging waste did get to me. I could only imagine how much everything cost for these big projects! However, I was inspired to organize and found some good ideas. For example, the top shelves of my kitchen cabinets now have some clear plastic containers so I can see and easily grab less used items, like a container for our cookie decorating sprinkles, another for birthday candles and cupcake liners. I also found a turntable for oils, vinegar, honey, etc. saved me from pulling everything out of my cabinet to reach something in the back. Overall, besides the cost, I got intensely frustrated trying to organize everything due to the waste of space from all those containers! It did not work in my small kitchen full of imperfect things.
@JenRR, Efficiency is the main reason I buy a container. I generally want something clear, rectilinear, and whose lid doesn't stick out. TellFresh and the Container Store's shoe boxes are my faves and they last decades. I'm OK buying new when the thing is going to last so long that it costs me pennies a year.
Let's face it: who has time, money or the want to to continually make everything look like a magazine layout? If I can find it and get it used, I'm good. I do things pretty much the way you do. I have to straighten regularly. I do buy extras of things but then I live in the hills of northwest Arkansas where the closet shopping is 21 miles away....one way. I buy a years worth of cat litter at a time and have it delivered. Same with paper products. I don't have to deal with crowds and loading and unloading my truck. Do what works best for you.
I guess if you think of it as a performance, that's one thing.
But as I perused some of the comments on these videos yesterday, it seems like the followers are not viewing it that way. They're responding as if the person does actually live this way on the regular, and that concerns me.
Then again, that's the brilliance of a good ad; it makes people think what's shown is attainable if you just buy the right stuff.
I spent a couple years working as a taste tester for a large dairy company and I cringe every time I see someone pouring dairy products from their original packaging into glass containers. The original packaging protects the products from going “off” in a variety of ways. Just being exposed to light makes dairy products start to break down, that is why the packaging is opaque. I would also like to see the second fridge where they keep the rest of the original product that didn’t fit into the pretty containers.
I do keep quite a few dry-goods pantry items in mason jars, but I ‘ve been doing it for YEARS. My dad and grandpa used to can all the things so I’m sure many of the jars I use are older than me, I know they are older than my twelve year old. I just can't stand mostly empty packaging where I can’t see how much of an item I have left. I use painters tape to label the jars and cut the original package directions and tape them to the jar just in case. I like the way it looks and I can see how much I have at all times.
Early in my first marriage one of my monthly shopping “treats” was one spice/seasoning/herb in a glass jar. I still have those jars to this day, I just refill them as they are used up and it looks nice and organized and brings me joy when I’m cooking. I do have the shelf of spices that doesn’t fit with those jars but I don’t let it phase me because that’s what cooking is – never, ever perfect.
@Geneva, I think your dairy point is excellent to consider.
Has me thinking about the difference between packaging for sale and packaging for storage, which might not be the same thing.
At the rate the comments are being posted, I don't think there is more that I can add to this!
I have a related question-- Why oh why in television programs and in movies, when a character goes to get something out of a drawer, like a murder weapon or incriminating letter or jewelry box, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE IN THE DRAWER?
Who has that much space?
That's because it's a prop. lol
@Kristen, I actually spent time a few weeks ago while awake at 3AM trying to figure out where I'd hide a murder weapon in my house. Everything seemed too obvious.
Took me back to the Extreme Couponing show,when they showed garage shelves totally stocked with items and I wondered how it could possibly be used before it's expiration.
Thank you for this post! Couldn't agree more!
I spent a couple years working as a taste tester for a large dairy company and I cringe every time I see someone pouring dairy products from their original packaging into glass containers. The original packaging protects the products from going “off” in a variety of ways. Just being exposed to light makes dairy products start to break down, that is why the packaging is opaque. I would also like to see the second fridge where they keep the rest of the original product that didn’t fit into the pretty containers.
I do keep quite a few dry-goods pantry items in mason jars, but I ‘ve been doing it for YEARS. My dad and grandpa used to can all the things so I’m sure many of the jars I use are older than me, I know they are older than my twelve year old. I just can't stand mostly empty packaging where I can’t see how much of an item I have left. I use painters tape to label the jars and cut the original package directions and tape them to the jar just in case (if needed). I like the way it looks and I can see how much I have at all times.
Early in my first marriage one of my shopping “treats” was one spice/seasoning/herb in a glass jar per shopping trip. I still have those jars to this day, I just refill them as they are used up and it looks nice and organized and brings me joy when I’m cooking. I do have the shelf of spices that doesn’t fit with those jars but I don’t let it phase me because that’s what cooking is – never, ever perfect.
I would say I'm in the middle on this. I do have an appreciation for being very organized and for things being as aesthetically pleasing as possible, even in closets, etc. where no one but you see. This is mostly because I think things should be pretty for me, not just for guests or company.
I have tried some fridge organization, but you're right-- nothing ever fits perfectly in just the right amount (unless it's in a video!). I also have a counter-depth fridge, and my leftovers aren't exactly pretty. We do our best to avoid food waste, as you do, so that doesn't lend itself to this type of thing.
However, I've found that decanting my crackers, oatmeal, cookies, etc. has been helpful. My boys (10 and 13) aren't always the best at closing packages. But they do better when they just have to snap a lid. So I've found things go stale less often. I only decant a handful of items that are their staple snacks or baking staples where it's easier to scoop from a container vs. a bag that makes a mess.
I don't think anyone has perfect-looking closets without having at least *one* overflow area where the items stay in their original packages. Nor would this level be where I'd want to spend all my free time. So I think like any social media, there's a lot of mess and normalcy that you don't see behind the scenes.
@Tara, I agree about decanting crackers and such. I did that when we were still buying Cheezits (oh gosh, those are good but not good for us!), and they stayed fresher longer. My youngest is horrible at clipping chip bags closed, as well.
@Tara,
Re: Fridge organization
Yeah, where's the chicken carcass, the beets getting a bit elderly, the limp greens getting refreshed in ice water, the apple with one bite out of it (thanks, kid) and the half empty jar of jam with jam stuck on the lid? Is it really even a refrigerator if you don't have a half-empty bottle of Lea & Perrins with a brown ring under it because no one ever wipes off the last drop when they use it?
@JD, That's another thing-- there were no condiments (jam, sauces, pickles) or anything that lasts longer than a week or two. The quantity of items is large, but the variety is small. I can't see anyone realistically living like this.
Who are these people that stock Olaplex in their guest bath?? I need to have a sleepover at their place! I’d venture a guess it’s for the views then they move the expensive stuff to their own bathrooms. I love how organized it all looks but it’s not practical for my life that’s for sure.
Haha, Lisey said she wants to go visit them.
Ay, ay, ay! I think I may join Karen A., and lie down for a bit! ☺ A lot of things lately have made me feel that way: decanting, wedding insurance, backwards books on shelves, pet insurance, life insurance scams, social media, etc. etc. etc.! Maybe I should have been born in another planet, at another time!☺
@st, WEDDING INSURANCE??!! Never heard of it.
This is an excellent post! I appreciate the points that you made. Until this morning, I had never seen a restocking video or heard of ASMR. I did peruse a Home Edit book once and thought surely they must be joking in arranging vast quantities of stuff by color.
The restocking videos strike me as breathtakingly fake (fake nails, fake food, fake reality), unsustainable, and an environmental shi*tshow. And here I thought my mason jar pantry was a bit anal and holier-than-thou. There's a visual in my old Meet a Reader post here: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/meet-a-reader-mb-in-mn/. We not only store our bulk items this way, but we take those same jars to the store to fill them. And I've been known to decant some other things into those jars as well.
I also have a label-maker and I'm not afraid to use it, although I refrain from using it for things that are already identifiable.
I needed some containers/baskets to organized baby clothing and other items. I almost added a fancy basket to our registry but then I remembered the Dollar Store/Tree/General. They have nice enough plastic bins and we plan to pick up a few for baby.
I haven’t seen this type of videos, but has gotten some pictures like suggested for me on Instagram. And I’ve thought about the waste also, both for the products as I can’t imagine that people use so much of what I’ve seen and not least all the new plastic products.
And then, I will admit that I do this myself. For several reasons:
- because it soothes my mind to not have to look at all the colorful packaging.
- I prefer to use glass so I know bugs and such don’t manage to get into the food. If I buy flour with bugs at least it won’t contaminate everything else in the drawer.
- I buy much in bulk so it will keep better than in the big paper bags they get delivered in.
- I also prefer to not use plastic since I already struggle with hormonal issues and I’m sure there will be more discoveries like the effect of bisfenol A in the future.
But I buy my glassware secondhand and reuse what I have since I’m frugal 😉
And I have a bunch of shoeboxes and other reused boxes, but I cover them in pretty paper or fabric. Like the waste bin in my sewing room is a cardboard box covered in gift wrap paper and clear tape that I made 14 years ago 🙂
This is truly fascinating. These videos merge the wants of consumerism on the one hand, and the stress it brings on the other hand. Consumerism has contributed to our hectic lives where we are surrounded by stuff, the pursuit and chaos if it, and the desire to order and calm our lives down by organizing and controlling our surroundings. We also think that by finding the best possible gadget or consumable we can somehow solve the things that ail us. The ASMR bit is there to calm our fraught minds. I use ASMR sounds when I suffer from insomnia, partly brought on by stress and anxiety. Of course, the stress and anxiety would be less if our lives were calmer in the first place and we were not running in the wheel of acquiring and achieving things... So strange to think the people behind these videos have a found a way to make money from this modern ailment.
@Kristina M., Maybe MBinMN put it best: "an environmental shi*tshow".
My fridge looks just like yours. Happily. My spices are home dried and in tall Tupperware spice organizer thing (I was once paid in Tupperware to babysit in the 80's - my hope chest was brimming with the stuff). I happily do not partake in social media and all of it's noise. My cousins were showing me their favorite videos at a family reunion recently and I was entertained-ish.
I organize in shoe boxes, too! I have been picking up plastic organizers for $.50 or less at estate & garage sales. Having cleaned out 2 homes from deceased loved ones, I am in the purge of my life right now!
Bulky items (flour, sugar , dried beans) are stored in gallon glass jars. We buy flour, sugar, rice and dried beans in 50 lb sacks, split between 4 households.
My youngest is 8 years old, but the baby wipes containers from their baby years are still in strong rotation as organization bins in cabinets! Doesn't look perfect, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good!
there's only one conclusion for me : social media is becoming weirder by the day.
Wow - this post has been up for maybe 3-4 hours and already has 90+ comments. I'm looking forward to reading them.
I don't get the restocking thing either. They aren't even aspirational fun. I decant everything I buy in bulk but use in small quantities but other than that, I don't understand moving something from one storage container to another.
I do do a few things differently. I use many boxes or containers in my drawers and often buy them at the Container Store (who still doesn't pay me when I shill them). Many things that come in bags, such as beans, I move to a container because bags don't store well.
The Halloween container for the M&Ms was awesome, though.
PS: I suspect that this trend was started by influencers who were paid by the storage division of Rubbermaid.
PPS: I viewed the guest bathroom one. I bet she bought the things that fit perfectly in the bins that fit perfectly in her cabinet. Real-life needs aren't that tidy. I just moved, ask me how I know.
Last year I redid my badly designed pantry. It was a bedroom closet when my house was one finished floor and what is now the dining room was a bedroom in the 1950s. I ripped out the multitude of shelves (and the hanger bar support—ha!) and installed wire racks. I also got a lot of matching containers because I buy grains, etc. from bins at the health-food store. It was practical. But my kid is always urging me to organize our fridge like those ASM videos, and it seems silly. So much work moving packaged food to a different package so that it can look organized and fill for about 20 seconds. I think these are just done for the video ad revenue.
I agree with you. I have watched videos and even thought my pantry area is organized with out buying special containers for everything. I like the "neatness" of it but they expense is just way to much for just neatness. My spice cabinet look just like yours, has since we moved here 7 years ago.
Haven't seen these videos and don't plan to. I think there is an issue of moderation here.
We store some items in glass containers (pasta, rice, flours, grains, dry lentils and beans, for example) because we are concerned about critters and also about maintaining the quality and accessibility of these items. Once a package is open, it's a hassle to reseal/close so that nothing else can get in (air, moisture, critters). Hence, we take such items out of the plastic packaging as soon as we get them. We label with expiration date. We don't worry about instructions because either they can be cut off packaging and affixed to the glass jars or we look up online.
FYI: Many of the glass jars/containers we use to store these items are recycled. (Our spaghetti sauce jars are excellent in terms of size for storage. And basically paid for because we buy products on sale. So we get the product itself and a storage container, in many cases, for $2 or less.
The rest of our pantry remains in the bottles and jars and cans they come in.
We store our leftovers in the fridge in a series of Pyrex containers we've acquired over the years. We don't drink anything but water and milk and those remain in original containers. (Bottled water is a necessity where we live. We've tried sink filtration and other units but still had water issues so it's bottled water Huge jugs, not individual ones, that we then put into our insulated water bottles.)
This post was kind of a surprise for me. It seems it really irritated you so much that you would take the time to write about it. I don't know why anyone would even watch this kind of stuff or pretty much a lot of what is on TikTok or YouTube. (With the exception of happy cat stuff. I can't resist that. Sooo...judge me for that!)
TOo much commercialization of platforms today, for sure.
It's one thing to opt for some entertainment (provided it doesn't take time away from real life) or for How-To information (a big plus of YouTube) or research for relevant info on products, services, etc as needed.
I can't imagine people taking the time to do all this repackaging let alone filming it, but I guess if there is a financial incentive, well, it might make "sense" then.
I do some of the things you mention to:
1. Manage food and household inventory and waste less on buying what I dont need or buy 2 because I cant find the first.
2. Because I am sick and tired of hearing "where is the...?"
3. Because i hate digging through a bunch of random things to find what I need (a sturdy bin with all like items make it very simple for everyone.
4. Aestetics are extremely important to my serenity. I hate visual clutter. It's pretty. .
5. I it helps my memory. As a professional person, it eases my home lif, so i have more time and energy for things and people I love.
The noisy videos, ugh!
I also don't like the restocking videos. I don't like the packaging, or the noise, and I am especially annoyed by the people who tap their long fake nails on everything as they're doing it.
I generally just leave things in the boxes they come in, but I've got a whole bunch of mason jars that I put things I buy at the bulk store into. I also decant the cat food into a smaller bin.
Side note: I've got an old booze box that I had used as a moving box. I cut it in half to store my plastic containers - I still have it, and I still use it for storing my plastic containers. It has moved house with me several times over the years. I'm occasionally embarrassed by it (I've had to re-enforce the end that I always grab with some packing tape) , but it lives in the upper cupboard where no one ever sees it. It's the perfect size and when the box gets a little too full, I recycle some of the containers. I've had this 1/2 box since 2003 or so. I can't justify replacing my cardboard box when it works just fine.
Angela
Love the shoeboxes, they used to be the norm for storage, my Mom used them all the time as well as reusing other containers food came in and glass jars. Seems so wasteful to buy so many plastic containers to pretty up your pantry and fridge. As you point out where is the excess that doesn’t fit in the new containers, now you need an extra space for that. I think we will see a lot of these containers showing up in thrift stores soon when people realize it is unsustainable to keep things this perfect. I like the organizing accounts that stress “reuse what you have first before buying anything”. Most us us have what we need to organize already.
I have wondered (uncharitably) if these people are so addicted to shopping that they desire to have their homes resemble a store.
Our bathroom's lower cabinets have no shelves and are so deep and dark that stuff just disappears into them. The wood would have required massive work to paint and I am not limber enough to do it, so I took measurements and covered the interior with a very sturdy white textured vinyl wallpaper. A dozen years later it's holding up great. The shelves are free-standing white wire shekves we can move around as needed.
The one thing with the guest bath that I've thought is they could be fostering - that would explain many toiletries that any child/teen may need! But I agree. Tidy is good enough for me!
So...when I got married, I invested in Tupperware containers that fit nicely in my cupboards, and I loved the neat and tidy look for my baking ingredients and other staples. But over the years, the plastic has become smelly and discolored. I am now using glass jars, which I happen to have an abundance of because I do a lot of canning already. I think the food stays just as fresh in them, without the old plastic smell. One thing I miss, though, is the way that everything was very tidy and easy to see.
That said, my fridge and most of my other cupboards are NOT uniform, neat or tidy! Having things in their original packages makes it easier for me to spot what I'm looking for! I would not expect to find mayo in anything other than a jar in my fridge door!
My rule of thumb is...if it's behind a closed door, it ostly doesn't matter! I dont have a lot of storage options and as a result, >I tend to struggle with clutter, so if it's in plain sight, I do appreciate matching baskets, etc.
Yeah I think those videos are silly too. Plus they always seem to have so much processed food and so much packaging. My fridge always looks a hot mess because it is full of leftovers and random things and sauces and syrups and homemade pickles in old peanut butter jars. I would bet they just do it for the views, because they are satisfying to watch.
What a timely post! I saw one of these videos last night on FB - for the umpteenth time - where the person decants those laundry scent beads into a glass jar that is intended for candy, cookies or crackers. Whenever this kind of "organizing" is called out in the comments for being unsafe around children, the fan-girls respond with "her children are older and know it's not candy". Yet, the same children are too young, it seems, to pour a glass/cup of milk, juice or water and therefore Mum has to decant the beverage into little plastic bottles for them? Are those bottles even reused? I agree that these videos are more about making money for the so-called "influencer" than for showing us how to organize. I hate the plastic waste most of all. With regard to my own organizing, I am a huge fan of glass jars - I pick up most of the big ones at yard sales and the mason jars come from Organic Classico sauce from Costco - I buy the reusable lids from Amazon. Our dogs' kibble is stored in gigantic glass pickle jars.
I also decant items that come in large bags ( coffee, dog food), bags that tend to leak (flour/sugar/oats), or things that might be attacked by pests ( but not a big problem for us). Bur if i put everything in a jar, I’d need a pantry twice the size of mine! The pasta we buy most regularly comes in a box that will stack 3 boxes high on it’s side (name of pasta type shows on the end) on my pantry shelf. Far better use of space that 3 or 6 jars. I keep my spices flat in a shallow drawer and those bottles do mostly match because they fit better. Now that I’ve accumulated the bottles (when spices were on sale!) , i bulk buy to refill them.
Filming one's restocking efforts and the finished product—what an indication of more dollars than sense, complete self-absorption, or not much purpose in life.
A friend who works for a dairy told me that when people complain about the milk going bad before the date, it is almost always a result of what the dairy industry calls "heat abuse". This is when the milk isn't stored at the back of the fridge (the worst spot is in the door). STOP ABUSING YOUR MILK, KRISTEN!! 😎
@Central Calif. Artist, P.S. That type of thing is another reason I pay no attention to FB or I'gram. Those suggested posts really bugged me when I tried both of those platforms. Made me feel inundated with information and stalked.
Great post! I use shoeboxes for organizing as well. I write with a sharpie right on the box regarding contents. They are great for batteries, flashlights, home office supplies, and such. I only use jars for things I buy in bulk at Sam's, like oats, chocolate chips, waffle mix, and such. no labeling needed - it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a jar of chocolate and a jar of oatmeal!
So true! I especially love the refrigerator ones where they color code the veggies and buy 12 lemons and 12 oranges to look pretty! I love organization however that is a completely different level!
I have bins in my bathroom closet similar to yours but I try to be a minimalist and only buy what’s necessary! Many people spend $$$ to copy those and I have to laugh as I am too frugal!
Love your realistic posts!
Kristen I laughed all through out your post today!!! So funny.
I too have seen lots of these videos pop up on my Instagram feed. I find them entertaining as I love to see beautiful organized spaces but I also feel like they are unattainable for those of us living real life. I don't mean that negatively but if you have a 7 yr old and an elderly person taking things our of your pantry/fridge regularly, not to mention a husband, it will never be organized like that. It is just not possible.
I too use reusable containers for things like flour, sugar, quinoa, chia seeds & oats. I also have some of the clear plastic bins that I like to put my son's snacks into. I find this makes it easier for him to spot and keeps my pantry a bit more tidy since his little hands don't have to rummage. I also clean my pantry out once ever 8 weeks or so to be sure that I am removing any expired items and bringing items that need to be used up quickly to the front. Also I am weird in that I like the look of packaged items on my shelf. It has an almost vintage quality to it in my opinion.
My fridge. Goodness when I look at those organized fridges I often wonder...where do they put leftovers?? I have two fridges and I clean them out weekly. I don't think I could function with all of those bins & labels and such. I don't have time to keep up with it and it defeats the practicality in my opinion.
I have several baskets in my laundry area but they are catch all spaces - one for rug/floor cleaners and pads for the Bona mop. One with all of the dryer sheets, dryer balls. I am so thankful for your posting of your linen closet photos....it encourages me to clean and reorganize that space in our home 🙂
If folks have the resources, space and time to do this type of restocking I say go for it. In my life it just doesn't work.
Can I just say I freaking LOVE that red pesto from Aldi?? It only is out once a year (if that) where I am, so last time it was out I went to several stores and got 11 jars of it -_- lol. I use it as a no-sugar pizza sauce (along with some tomato paste) and it is one of my favorite Aldi products out there.
Also, even Konmari says a shoebox is a great box for home storage items! You are in good company.
First of all, I'm not sure you qualify to comment on these videos unless you wear lots of rings and have ridiculously long nails. The noisily clicking is the point, right?
When we bought our first home in 2001, we didn't have central heat and air. Stuff in the cabinets was going stale and getting bugs. I was shopping in Annapolis at an Amish market at the time, and everything came in mismatched plastic bags, paper bags, and small containers. So, I measured very carefully and splurged on Tupperware. Lots of it. I started saving spaghetti sauce jars (Atlas) and somebody gave me some small canning jars. I still use all of it. My ONE kitchen cabinet is perfectly organized and labeled as it has been for 22 years and 3 houses. The rest of the house? Don't look.
It is very sad to think how many people follow these videos and how much money is wasted in products and containers to store them in. I, too, wonder where the other 30% of stuff is that didn't fit.
I think the organizing and labeling of stuff like snacks is nuts. My kids would destroy that in an hour. We do keep a full pantry (and bathroom cabinet) though…I shop sales and coupon so will absolutely stock up on things at good prices (I probably have 10 boxes of cereal in my pantry now…my kids eat it daily for breakfast so I stocked up last week when tbere was a great price). It is not particularly aesthetic though…just stacked high in my pantry, unlabeled!
I love this so much! Thank you!!
Not one to "decant" unless necessary. I do buy some things from the Mennonite store that are repackaged from bulk into plastic bags that require better storage. I did spend some time looking for the larger Weck jars for cornmeal, grits, sea salt, etc. I gave up on the glass lids with clips and use the plastic lids. Pastas are in blue mason jars because I don't like to use them for canning. I also use chipped mason jars that way and don't have to get rid of the nostalgia/usefulness. In the lower cabinets, those jars are in bins that slide out so I don't have to take everything out to get to the back.
Same concept for spice jars. I did just buy a case of spice jars and lids from Fillmore because I have a lot of little "tubs" of herbs and spices from the Mennonite store. Need to repack to 1) conserve space, 2) stay fresh longer. Also need to store herbs that I have grown and dried that are currently in plastic ziplock bags
I get energy bars from Marshalls and sometimes Misfits. I dump the contents of the dented. misshaped boxes into a cookie jar that my Dad used to use for his homemade cookies.
I know I'm the outlier here, but I love those videos. I find them very relaxing for some reason. Maybe they're my guilty pleasure? Normally, any kind of unnecessary noise drives me nuts, but I love the noise of the packages being opened and things being poured into different containers. It's weirdly soothing to me. I love watching a few minutes of those videos shortly before bed to unwind.
That being said, I also know that my house will NEVER look like that. I'm not organized enough, the containers are too expensive, my cats would destroy some of the stuff, and it's usually way too much food for two people to buy/have at one time.
Your style of organizing is much more realistic. Has Chiquita discovered the joys of sleeping in the linen closet? Caroline loves to nap right on top of the towels.
I keep my coffee, flour , oats, and sugar in sealed containers. Chia seeds, nuts, etc - go into old peanut butter, jam, and pickle jars that I've washed and saved for this purpose. My cat's treats are in an old plastic Orzo container (screw top) - because A) she knows what cabinet they are in , (It's a "bottom cabinet")... and if it was in the original package she will pull it out and out chew holes in it if I open this cabinet for something else LOL , and B) its large enough to hold a few different flavors of her favorites, and then she gets a nice mix! Her food is in a very old Rubbermaid cereal container. (See "A" ..LOL)
Everything else in its own packaging it came home in. My closets/bathroom storage look like yours, old shoeboxes, dollar store plastic bins (that I probably got free somewhere) are used to keep things "organized" -- nothing is labelled LOL.
Unpopular opinion: but I sort of like these videos. I like the clicky and spritzy noises. I like bright colors and pleasing organization.
Do I aspire to do that in my own home?
Absolutely not. Do I think it's all a bit silly and potentially wasteful? Yep, I do.
And I watched one family YouTuber refill her cracker and cereal containers without rotating the product. She just poured the new cereal on top of the old and I ABOUT LOST MY MIND. Lol. Because there are rules . . .
I still enjoy the videos though.
Love your commitment to reality! Honestly, while I find the videos a bit mesmerizing, I generally would rather read a book than organize anything to that extent. And yes, we need mental space for what is *normal* and not just aspirational. I remember finding in college that I needed to not read certain magazines because I found it impact my body image, but it’s like the magazines that you used to be able to just not open are now full immersion in all of life. We need balance!
Looking at the videos I wonder how many of these are just money-making click bait. The channels seem to have a huge following. It seems many people would rather watch someone else organize & clean their homes than do their own.
Then I had to look up what ASMR even means? (all the videos were labeled this) Ok, so a little creepy to me? It's even considered a noun? I think the world has gone mad with thinking so much about ourselves, how we feel, what we love/hate, self- comfort...ect. Sometimes we just need to feel the pain, get through, do what needs to be done & one day we wake up feeling better....feeling good because we've done the right thing. And no one else really even needs to know about it. (I'm not belittling real traumatic pain & the help we need to get through some things. This kind of habit does not really help with serious issues)
So that's my little rant. Yes, there's some eye-rolling here but please don't take it personally. I'm the product of Depression era parents. So much of this just seems wasteful, prideful....there are so many better ways to spend our time.
I think people who go to this extreme are doing it to share publicly on social media. I do a little of this because I like how it looks. I sometimes show friends when I happy with how clean it makes things look. I can see how easily someone would be drawn into it. (I restock my coffee into labeled canning jars...some of my bulk cleaners are stocked into pretty containers as well) And I do have a snack area that I keep restocked. But I can't imagine keeping this much junk food on hand.
Isn’t it partly for the sound? ASMR or whatever it’s called? I’m old and cynical, but mostly I feel that “influencers” is just another name for people who are trying to sell you something. It’s why the Container Store is still in business, even though the cereal box is a perfectly good storage container, unless your kitchen is overrun by mice. If you think of an influencer as an aluminum siding salesman your life will improve, I promise. PS unless you’re shopping for aluminum siding.
Who can we judge tomorrow?
I can hardly wait!
Well, unfortunately it is Thankful Thursday tomorrow. But I guess we can be judgmental about other people's blessings if we REALLY want to. 😉
@Tiana,
Lol
A lot of the comments do carry the holier than though tone. I see it as clickbait, people film whatever makes them $.
I agree 100%, Kristen. So much stuff, so much waste!
Its so weird.
This is one of the reasons I love your blog. You are real!! Thanks for that!
Hooray for normal!
I have a question maybe one of you can answer for me: Do foods that are decanted into plastic or glass containers stay fresh longer than in the original container? I'm thinking specifically of cold cereal, coconut, marshmallows, etc.
@Teri, We live in central FL, and it is very humid. Like, we had Cheetos for lunch with hamburgers on Saturday and you could tell that the humidity had gotten to them before we were done with the meal. So, IMHO, here, where I live, things do stay fresher in airtight containers, rather than clipped or folded over or some other method that is not airtight. (not to mention bug proof)
But my airtight containers are still very hodge-podge, not matching, not all labeled, or rainbow organized or anything like that.
I was a complete skeptic on the fridge stuff until we moved into a house with a stupid fridge that has one drawer and two shelves and one day in a fit of fury when something tumbled out of the fridge and smashed on my foot, I angry-shopped on that big website with lousy ethics and bought a bunch of clear plastic fridge organisers…and my fridge is so much easier to use now.
I decant some of my stuff into jars (which happen to be identical because they are reused jars of canned peaches) to keep accessible quantities at the front of the pantry, which is super deep and really annoying, and the part packets then live at the back of the shelves or in super high cabinets because I’m only getting them out once in a blue moon.
But aesthetic it is not!
I think it’s interesting that many of the videos are ASMR so they’re meant to relax people. I don’t really find ASMR videos relaxing or sleep inducing, and while I decant some, it isn’t my primary purpose. I am blessed with 2 pantry’s in our new house; small pantry is everyday use & big pantry is extras/bulk purchase storing (the other 10lbs of sugar, etc), appliances I don’t use daily & supplies for when family visits.
I have glass storage jars I prefer the aesthetic of (compared to plastic or original container for bulk goods). They are thrifted or inherited. Some still need rings before use.
As for my fridge pretty much everything is original container, condiments go in the fruit/veg drawers, produce is on counter or in the fridge door. Berries have their own shelf.
Love this! My brain felt better after being de-influenced 🙂
Love your real life pictures!
I would like to deinfluence you all. I shop once/ month, taking my own ice cream containers and moccona coffee jars to a refillery. They then go straight into my pantry. My washing powder is in a glass jar - because I make it myself and have done for 20 years with no problems to my machine or washing. I realize that I am fortunate because I live in New Zealand, where I can shop like this. I generally don't buy things in packaging, but if I do, I can reuse the packaging to freeze meat, which I buy in my own containers. I wish it was that easy for everyone.
I kind of "restocked" for about a year but it was for a very practical reason. I HAD MICE. and not by choice!! LOL. Mice will chew through literal canvas to get at what they want. After they chewed through (and urinated on) probably $300.00 worth of coffee and tea which was stored in my pantry, I started buying the heavy duty plastic cereal containers to put everything in (I also reused large Almond Roca tins, and the big tins that you get at holiday time full of popcorn, large glass jars, pretty much anything that a mouse couldn't chew through).
Now the mice are gone and I have 15000 containers *slight exaggeration lol" that are slowly getting emptied. I'm not willing to throw the empty containers away since the mice could come back, but I'm also not willing to look at empty containers all over the kitchen, office, and pantry so I've taken to storing the empty containers on the top shelf of my kitchen/office shelves, behind a bunch of decorative stuff
I don’t know if anyone has already suggested them but the Shabaz says youtube/TikTok’s about these are hysterical. His basic point is that these videos are a way for people who have no financial constraints to make that very explicit. Plus he just makes me laugh with his ever changing fuzzy blanket poncho selections.
Hahah, I just watched some of those. I feel every word he says!
When I joined tiktok I was bombarded with restock videos. They were mesmerizing at first but then I started to think about practicality and expense. And who are these people? (Do you know?)
I too don't see any reason to pour stuff from a perfectly fine container into another container. Or labelling clear boxes.
I stumbled upon your post because I Googled "how people afford restock tiktok snacks." After reading it I feel much better about myself and my somewhat organized refrigerator! And cobbled together spice drawer!
Thank you for this! I need to see more normal houses to stop trying to achieve unrealistic perfection. Always love going to other family's houses with small kids and see their messes. Makes me feel normal!
Thank you, I did cancel my flour and sugar and the other containers but also my cereal because I just don’t go through with it quickly and it stays fresher. I also do cut down a box (so aesthetic!) with some prepackaged, grab and go snacks for my granddaughter. Likewise in the cabinet, she has a little Rubbermaid container with her snacks. The one thing that is really tempting to me is the acrylic turntable for the refrigerator, because it seems like it would make it so much easier to find that elusive bottle of fish sauce.!
@Carol g,
LIKE YOU
DECANT
I have always enjoyed your posts but I can't stress enough how much I love this post. May be that's why you are my favorite blogger. I love how you are so honest. Most of us don't live in homes like shown by many YouTubers and other influences. I always cringe when I saw people pour liquid soda in glass beverage dispenser. In my home with kids many of these things which are shown in the video will never be practical. I hate how these influences are pushing consumerism and wastage on us. Well I know one lady who has a fridge like this and she keeps an extra one with all extra stuff in garage and the one in kitchen is very neat and nicely organized.
@Liv, I meant liquid soap not soda ,haha auto correct
I love this post. I've never even heard of these crazy sounding videos but I would far far read and watch about real life. Which is infinitely more interesting for its realness.
This reminds me of a reel I saw on Instagram the other day -- and I am not a fan of reels. It showed a regular woman, cleaning a regular kitchen. And it had a caption that said something along the lines of: Stop thinking your house needs to look a certain way and focus on being a good steward of what you already have. This certainly applies to the restocking videos as well.
Also I also use shoeboxes as bins -- I especially like the children's shoe boxes!
I buy my dishwasher pods at the big box store, and the plastic bin they come in is my default storage bin. They're square and fit well on shelves as open storage, and have locking lids with an indent that lets them stack on top of each other and not move. I get fancy and scrawl the content name on the side with a sharpie in my horrible handwriting.
I also hoard good shoeboxes for storage as well!
But if its anything that can stay in its original packaging that's my default - I mostly use the bins to corral smaller items on shelves and in drawers.
The wildest version of this I have seen is this influence who apparently makes (and presumably uses?!) a dizzying array of different flavors and shapes of ICE and films "ASMR" videos of her restocking her ice drawer. Again, morally neutral choice, but not something that I hope most people confuse for "normal" or a necessity. (Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5YrZ0hS534)
Side note: I do, in fact, find this pretty pleasing to watch...
That under-the-bed snack drawer - WHAT?!?!?!? Ridiculous.
When I watched the video I just about had a heart attack about all the money that was being spent on individual packaged food! Not in my house, no way!
I do like to watch, listen to ASMR videos for massages and facials. That's relaxing.
oh i just read this from your linked comment on the other post. I TOTALLY AGREE BUT yall gotta watch out for those PESKY COCKROACHES and also larder beetles flour bugs etc.
I remember a fateful morning when i went to open a ceral box and a cockroach flew out =(
Hence if you live in cockroach prime real estate, EVEYTHING OPEN IN THE PANTRY CUPBOARDS gets put into another container except like salt baking soda, cocoa powder usually has a nice secure lid.
even if cockroaches dont eat it, do you want to eat food where they have been crawling across.
ps my parents had the house sprayed regularly, kept it extremely clean and tidy, but in GA one cant escape them.
This is hilarious! I ahve always thought the same thing ... we should do 'how real restocking goes' videos