This is a little bit like my mason jar post from last year, only I won’t actually demonstrate the myriad ways you can use the items featured in this post…I’ll just tell you. These are plastic food containers. They’re sold in bulk (boxes of 250 for each size!) and can be used for food storage, knick knack storage, crafting supplies, office or school supplies…or pretty much anything else you can fit in a cylindrical container.
Here’s what’s fun about them: you can label them with a Sharpie.
Well, you can label everything with a Sharpie, I guess. But still!
Here are just a few fun things you can do with these containers, which are sold in a few different sizes:
* Prepare mise en place for recipes you need to make ahead of time (particularly useful if you’re cooking for a crowd): measure out butter, flour, diced onion, etc. For caterers or foodbloggers (heh), this can be particularly handy.
* Take a friend or family member a “meal kit”; separate the ingredients as above and deliver them all in a basket or box with printed instructions.
* Organize leftovers or ingredients in your fridge. Fill ’em with eggs, pickles, partial sticks of butter, sauces. You’ll become addicted to how neat and organized your fridge can be.
* Use them to take lunch to work or school (they’re microwavable, by the way). Scribble a note to your kid on top. Something like, “I miss you, Pookie!” (That oughta go over well with his friends.)
* Organize office supplies: paper clips, pencils, pens, crayons, binder clips…these suckers are versatile.
* Organize your pantry: dump in partial bags of beans, macaroni, rice, flour, powdered sugar, regular sugar. Just scribble the ingredient on the lid and you’ll know for sure what it is!
Note that these containers are “disposable” in that they’re relatively cheap and you wouldn’t be sad if you had to throw one away. However, they’re certainly sturdy and reusable–much nicer in quality than the truly disposable (more flimsy) containers that some delis use for potato salads, etc.
And now…for the wrinkle:
These containers come in 8 oz, 16 oz, and 32 oz sizes (and possibly some more in between), which is great. However, they’re sold in boxes of 250. I got mine at Sam’s Club, so it’s possible you can get smaller quantities at other warehouse stores or restaurant supplies.
If you can’t find smaller quantities, however, you could go in with a couple of your friends and buy/split a box together.
Either way, you’ll quickly become addicted to these little wonders…particularly if organization is high on your list of priorities!
Here’s a link to the 8 ounce size at Sam’s Club:
8 oz deli container with lid (250 8-ounce containers are about $35.)
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
