How do you store your left overs?

Once upon a time, I used ziploc bags, plastic boxes, cling film and tin foil. Then I discovered that microwaving food in plastic boxes was a really bad idea, so replaced them with glass containers and now I don’t even have a microwave.

I stopped using disposable / single use products and made a whole stack of beeswax wrappers from some old bed linen. They’re ok for things like cheese but not soup!

The glass containers are ok, but they don’t stack very well and they still have plastic lids. I’ve not found anything that’s as easy and convenient as stackable plastic pots that isn’t stupidly over priced.

What do you use?

Textile BB has several options.

https://permies.com/wiki/151807/pep-textiles/wax-wraps-PEP-BB-textile

We use a blend but glass is dominate. Mostly mason jars and pyrex bowls with a random half onion in a ziploc. My pyrex stacks very nicely. We use them for work lunches as well, I even had one survive a truck fire. My first set was bought more than a decade ago and have been used and abused with both of us working outdoor, active jobs. While the lids are cracking a bit they are still going! We also use beeswax here and there, I have made some into bags for things like carrot sticks, apple slices, pretzels or other kid foods. They are good for transport too as long as the heat doesn't get them.  I don't like the plastic use for mason lids but feel at ease that it will get reused thousands of times, we use ours daily in multiple ways. I also have plastic reusable canning lids, they won't get used quite as much but hopefully last a long while. Wish there was a sustainable alternative.

I am still struggling to break hubby's single-use plastic & foil habit, but I mostly use mason jars, purchased glass pickle, jam, & mayo jars, a handful of silicone bags & lids, and the beeswax wraps. Sometimes, especially when we have houseguest, or if I run out of the aforementioned reusables, I'll still cave, and use his stuff, but it's generally a last resort thing.

Some of my fridge storage is stainless steel with spring latches. I got mine at a thrift store long ago, I just looked Up "stainless steel lunch" and hit a bunch of stackables. Some neat ones! Now  I want more stainless...  
:D

Sometimes I use canning jars & glass jars saved from groceries. Usually don't have many leftovers so I mostly just put a lid on whatever I cooked it in. Then eat it the next day before it can get too ripe. One less thing to wash later:)

Mike Barkley wrote:Textile BB has several options.

https://permies.com/wiki/151807/pep-textiles/wax-wraps-PEP-BB-textile

Ah, another one of those things I did before Permies, and didn’t document …

But, you can’t have too many right? And I’ve recently started deconstructing clothes and now have lots of cotton cloth I could use!

Thanks Mike, great suggestion.

Excellent suggestions. I did a little more reading last night and discovered you can put glass jars in the freezer so long as you leave room for expansion. I was a little wary, so tried one jar last night, wrapped in newspaper incase it exploded. Worked a treat. I didn’t think about using canning / masonry jars for left overs. They sound like a great solution. I have some nice widemouth ones that I use for fermenting. I know what you mean Melonie about plastic lids and I have many because the two part metal ones are great for preserving but not so good for daily use.

I see a lot of over thinking here, leftovers go in the fridge in the saucepan they were cooked in with the lid on, if that is to big to fit then they go in in a bowl with a plate over the top.
I have a couple of wax wraps but I really don't find much use for them, they can't be used with anything that actually is "dirty" since they cannot be cleaned properly, (cold water is not considered proper cleaning by the dishwasher in this house) and cannot go in the freezer. they get wrapped round bread and sometimes over one of the larger mixing bowls.

Bread bags, veg bags etc can all be used again to cover food rather than use a new piece of plastic. Our biggest use for plastic in the kitchen is freezer bags. we buy a lot of bulk meat and portion it up, using solid containers would mean running an extra freezer for the space they take up. and butchers paper is just plastic covered paper so even worse than bags as it cannot be recycled at all.

My leftovers are usually in the stainless steel pan that the food was cooked in with the lid that matches the pan.

I also use Corningware dishes with silicon tops or Corningware casseroles with the pyrex matching lid.

My upright freezer has a door with shelves so I use glass jars there.

Skandi Rogers wrote:I see a lot of over thinking here, leftovers go in the fridge in the saucepan they were cooked in with the lid on, if that is to big to fit then they go in in a bowl with a plate over the top.
I have a couple of wax wraps but I really don't find much use for them, they can't be used with anything that actually is "dirty" since they cannot be cleaned properly, (cold water is not considered proper cleaning by the dishwasher in this house) and cannot go in the freezer. they get wrapped round bread and sometimes over one of the larger mixing bowls.

Bread bags, veg bags etc can all be used again to cover food rather than use a new piece of plastic. Our biggest use for plastic in the kitchen is freezer bags. we buy a lot of bulk meat and portion it up, using solid containers would mean running an extra freezer for the space they take up. and butchers paper is just plastic covered paper so even worse than bags as it cannot be recycled at all.

I can see how that would work for a lot of people and great suggestions.

I batch cook so there is food for lunches and possibly another evening meal. I cook big trays of food when I’m baking and they wouldn’t fit in the fridge. I’ll cook a big pot of rice and then store in the fridge as I often have rice and eggs for breakfast. My fridge is already pretty full because I make stock, yoghurt, kombucha and lots of fermented food as well as day to day stuff like milk, cheese and raw dog food. I also have a small fridge and I’ve been lead to believe it’s economically better to keep it full . I make my own bread, tortilla and use cloth bags when I buy veg, so no reusable plastic bags. I occasionally buy frozen fish which comes in a large ziploc style bag, which I then wash out and store in the freezer for things like chicken bones.

Anne Miller wrote:My leftovers are usually in the stainless steel pan that the food was cooked in with the lid that matches the pan.

I also use Corningware dishes with silicon tops or Corningware casseroles with the pyrex matching lid.

My upright freezer has a door with shelves so I use glass jars there.

Looks like I’m late to the party with putting jars in the freezer.

Edward Norton wrote: and use cloth bags when I buy veg, so no reusable plastic bags.  

Nice for you to be able to avoid it, here almost all veg are prepackaged in plastic bags, which after checking for holes can be reused. frozen veg of course also come in perfect little freezer bags.

I do store a lot in mason jars especially in the freezer. Wide mouth pints work best. Wide mouth quarts work as well if you leave the contents below the shoulders. I bought a bunch of the glass food containers but they chip and break so easily that I won't be buying more. We have way too many leftovers and way too little pots and pans to store everything in what it was cooked. Nor do we have enough fridge space for that. I don't like the taste of food stored in metal and we do tend to microwave most of our leftovers.

Stacy Witscher wrote:I  bought a bunch of the glass food containers but they chip and break so easily that I won't be buying more.

Yeah, the edges of mine are all chipped, too. I'm even really careful with them. I wasn't a fan of the plastic lids to begin with, and now that the gasket on one and the snap down tabs on two others have broken, I won't be buying them again either.

I'm a fan of storing in the cooking pot, as well. We don't usually have more than one or two things on the go, so it works for us.

I found a slightly domed pot lid at a thrift store that fits perfectly on a dinner plate. I'll often serve myself extra food, then just put the lid over what's left once I'm full and eat it later.

If it can't stay in the pot, it mostly goes in a glass jar. I do have some square plastic containers I use, though. I get them when I buy a kilo of dates, and they're really sturdy and lock together when stacked. I use them for dry stuff that won't pick up much from the plastic (hopefully).

I've got some wax wraps I use for a few specific things, but I find they leave wax traces on the edges of bowls, etc. when used to seal the top. I really don't like the residue cause I mostly wash dishes in room temp water. This normally works fine since I don't really use refined fats for anything, so don't generally have greasy dishes, but doesn't work for wax. I also find fruit and veg picks up the flavour of the wrap, which isn't great.

Tiffin containers?

For me it depends how long I'm going to keep them for.

For soups and stews that get reheated within a couple of days, I leave them in my pots. Instead of keeping food safe by keeping it cold, I keep it safe by reheating and boiling/simmering for a while again in this case. I only do this in pots that have lids without air holes, to stop anything nasty getting in, and my sense of smell is always the best judge of whether something is safe to reheat or not.

For anything that goes in the freezer, I have some glass containers with plastic lids. I've frozen stuff in glass jars before as well, it's important with those to use ones without sloping sides, and to only fill them around 3/4 full, as the liquid expands and can crack the jars.

When I used to store a lot of stuff in the fridge, I would put it in bowls, and then cover with a plate on top.

Look in thrift stores for old pyrex dishes with glass lids. They stack in the fridge! They stack in the cupboard! Even the lids stack! The lid can be microwaved! The lid can go in the oven!  The lids make a good plate or dog dish. And they are even easy to clean.

I use plastic lids for food that will travel, but really like my ancient pyrex. I have them in everything from about 250 mL to large casserole. I have Corning Ware as well, but that doesn't stack.

Similar to:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/183745422062




The really old ones have a finer lightweight glass. Half of mine are from my grandma, half are picked up for cheap at garage sales/thrift stores.

I am with Anne .  Normally today’s supper is lunch for tomorrow.  Food stays overnight in the pan it was cooked in.

Jan White wrote:

Stacy Witscher wrote:I  bought a bunch of the glass food containers but they chip and break so easily that I won't be buying more.

Yeah, the edges of mine are all chipped, too. I'm even really careful with them. I wasn't a fan of the plastic lids to begin with, and now that the gasket on one and the snap down tabs on two others have broken, I won't be buying them again either.

Depending on the brand, some of the "higher end" glass food storage containers have lifetime free replacement on lids.  https://glasslockusa.com/product-category/replacement-parts/

I haven't personally needed to use it before (despite these being my primary food storage device) but it's nice to know that they've done what they can to support their product given the limitations of the materials.  

Laurel - thank you for the link, but in my case it's the actual containers that chip and break not the lids. I've cut myself a number of times or I'm afraid that little chips of glass have made it into the food, not good.

I think that many of you cook and serve much differently from me. Our dinners usually have three components, a protein, a starch and a vegetable. I rarely do single pot cooking. Everything is served in serving dishes at the table, so storing things in the pots that I cooked them in would mean transferring them back. The only exception is soup. But I typically make a large pot of soup that needs to be broken up to store.

I always loved my grandma's square glass containers, with their matching glass lids. They stacked beautifully, and the lids could also be used as a small plate. They (obviously) didn't travel well, with anything liquid, but they saved on washing dishes, the way she used them. There were no microwaves, but she'd use them in the fridge, or tie a string around them, to temporarily freeze, in them, them thaw on the counter, and bake (to reheat) in them, then move them to the table, and serve from them. Being clear, you knew what & how muchyou had in the fridge, and whether it had turned into a science experiment. The glass was heavier duty than what we can find now, but I'm always on the lookout for them, at tag & estate sales, resale shops, flea markets, etc.

Stacy Witscher wrote:Laurel - thank you for the link, but in my case it's the actual containers that chip and break not the lids. I've cut myself a number of times or I'm afraid that little chips of glass have made it into the food, not good.

I think that many of you cook and serve much differently from me. Our dinners usually have three components, a protein, a starch and a vegetable. I rarely do single pot cooking. Everything is served in serving dishes at the table, so storing things in the pots that I cooked them in would mean transferring them back. The only exception is soup. But I typically make a large pot of soup that needs to be broken up to store.

I often prep things as components and then assemble the meal.  Separate components tend to get tucked away in their own containers so when it's time to use the leftovers we're not stuck with totally assembled meals, for example, if we were to have burritos or something, we'd have a contain of rice, one of beans, one of whatever meat, probably another one of extra cheese that I shredded, etc.  I tend to prep ahead and hate having cookware tied up in the refrigerator so basically everything goes into one of a few different types of container.  My preferred ones are glass, but I also use 2 and 4 quart cambro containers for higher bulk items, like a whole cubed watermelon, or gallon of chicken stock or whatever.  I also use those in the freezer to store stuff like deer meat that's been prepped for the dog or whatever.  

***warning, not necessarily "true" permie friendly!
Laurel,
I too am a batch cooker, with my life it is the only option.  Like you, I freeze things individually, by portion and ingredient so things are easily mixed and matched to create a multitude of finished products.  I too tried the multiple versions of glass storage containers and silicone reuseable bags but as you found, they seem to all have plastic lids and/or did NOT like the freezer or traveling.  They chipped, cracked, leaked or otherwise failed in the freezer to table journey and I would find us slipping back into the blasted disposable zip locks, plastic film, single use plastics, and the worst - prepackaged frozen meals.  So I compromised.

Yes, they are plastic, but, I have been using them for a year now without a single failure. I bought three bulk kits and a bunch of smaller kits (about $200 in all) - something that would not have been affordable in any glass option for the quantities I require.  ALL the other containers went to thrift, every blasted one, so NO MORE SEARCHING FOR LIDS!!!

After much research and thought about what I disliked MOST about the 'mish mash' of plastic containers/lids filling over three cabinets I chose the Rubbermaid line of Easy Find Lids  ( https://www.rubbermaid.com/easy-find-lids.html ).  Not only are they quite economical when bought in kits, SOMEONE finally cracked the storage issue of 'food storage' containers; they come in three basic sizes for EACH size of lid, GENIUS!!!  Now one lid fits three containers with the same dimensions, just different volumes (they get taller), all three of each size stack together perfectly, and the lids (if you choose) snap to the bottom of the container.  Last, but not least, the mid size one comes with a VENTED lid for use in the microwave, pop the center vent and go from freezer to table without ever messing with a frozen container.  I get it, neither microwave use or plastic use of any sort is ideal, or permie.  At times one must compromise for the sake of family harmony and the reality of the world many of us live in.

For liquids, rice, cooked ground meat etc. I put directly into the containers; other items like cooked chicken parts are frozen on a metal sheet, then transferred to containers.  I am never happier then when my 21 cu ft "meal ready"/upright freezer is packed full!

Most offices/workplaces do not offer any option for reheating food that is NOT a microwave, sad but true.  In this instance, my choice was for healthy, home cooked food over packaged crap and horrific waste; a compromise that may not suit everyone, but I prefer to focus on the benefits rather than beat myself up for not being perfect - part way is better than no way.

https://www.rubbermaid.com/easy-find-lids.html

For myself I use the pan/pot in the fridge method for many things, plastic containers for many, glass for some. A hodge podge. I do try to avoid wrap and foil and other single use items.

Brainstorming other ideas:

There are glass containers that come with wood or bamboo lids.

There are also wood and bamboo food containers. Some oil finishes and traditional lacquers are quite food safe and will hold water.

One could also use ceramic containers easily too. I prefer ceramics to glass a lot of the time, because when it does shatter it isn't as incredible sharp as glass can be. Stepping on tiny glass shards is incredibly unpleasant... ask me how I know*.

Obviously the lack of transparency is a downside, but everything comes with trade offs.


*Pyrex is great - yes you can heat it to great temperatures. But I forgot a simple physics point one time... boiling water (100 deg celsius) is MUCH COLDER than a pyrex dish heated to over 200 deg celsius. The differential was enough to shatter it.

I use plastic pots with lids for freezer storage (yes, I know it’s not permie, but these have been in use now for nearly 20 years and still going strong, so no apologies!). They are like the Rubbermaid previously mentioned, but by Lakeland, a UK company. They come in handy portion sizes and I can write the contents on the lid with a Sharpie pen, and they stack easily so keep the freezer tidy.

When they do finally give up, not sure what I will do - not keen on using glass, too bulky, and danger of breaking. I never/rarely use plastic food wrap or plastic bags. The trouble is freezing is so convenient and easy, I couldn’t cope with canning or bottling any more than I already do and anyway not keen on the texture of some canned veg and fruit. May be I will have to experiment with metal or glass…

We're fond of putting the pan and lid that the thing was cooked in right in the fridge overnight. When reheated the next day and if serving for one, we eat right from the pan and call it Pioneer Style! One less dish to wash. If the pan is too big to fit then scrape the contents into a smaller mixing bowl and put small plate on top.

Mason jars of all sizes.

I always save my glass jars. If I buy something that comes in a glass jar I wash it up when it's empty and use it for leftovers. It keeps better than plastic, sets it the fridge better, and if it gets to bad [lost in the back) then I just pitch it

My friends family won't eat leftovers so she keeps her pressure canner on the stove and at the end of the meal she pressure cans it and on the shelf it goes. Then it's not leftovers any more, it's fresh from the jar

Same as a lot of people have mentioned:

* Overnights stay in the container they were cooked in.
* Soup left overs from the crockpot go into canning jars.
* hard cheeses we portion and dip in wax.

The one I have not heard mentioned is the use of silicone bags. Yes they are a bit pricey. But we have yet to lose one and some of them are approaching 10 years of use. We buy meats in bulk and portion them out into the bags. Can go from freezer to boiling water if that is a need. We don't have a need for 1 use plastic anymore with these around.

Lorinne Anderson wrote:***warning, not necessarily "true" permie friendly!
Laurel,
I too am a batch cooker, with my life it is the only option.  Like you, I freeze things individually, by portion and ingredient so things are easily mixed and matched to create a multitude of finished products.  I too tried the multiple versions of glass storage containers and silicone reuseable bags but as you found, they seem to all have plastic lids and/or did NOT like the freezer or traveling.  They chipped, cracked, leaked or otherwise failed in the freezer to table journey and I would find us slipping back into the blasted disposable zip locks, plastic film, single use plastics, and the worst - prepackaged frozen meals.  So I compromised.

Yes, they are plastic, but, I have been using them for a year now without a single failure. I bought three bulk kits and a bunch of smaller kits (about $200 in all) - something that would not have been affordable in any glass option for the quantities I require.  ALL the other containers went to thrift, every blasted one, so NO MORE SEARCHING FOR LIDS!!!

After much research and thought about what I disliked MOST about the 'mish mash' of plastic containers/lids filling over three cabinets I chose the Rubbermaid line of Easy Find Lids  ( https://www.rubbermaid.com/easy-find-lids.html ).  Not only are they quite economical when bought in kits, SOMEONE finally cracked the storage issue of 'food storage' containers; they come in three basic sizes for EACH size of lid, GENIUS!!!  Now one lid fits three containers with the same dimensions, just different volumes (they get taller), all three of each size stack together perfectly, and the lids (if you choose) snap to the bottom of the container.  Last, but not least, the mid size one comes with a VENTED lid for use in the microwave, pop the center vent and go from freezer to table without ever messing with a frozen container.  I get it, neither microwave use or plastic use of any sort is ideal, or permie.  At times one must compromise for the sake of family harmony and the reality of the world many of us live in.

For liquids, rice, cooked ground meat etc. I put directly into the containers; other items like cooked chicken parts are frozen on a metal sheet, then transferred to containers.  I am never happier then when my 21 cu ft "meal ready"/upright freezer is packed full!

Most offices/workplaces do not offer any option for reheating food that is NOT a microwave, sad but true.  In this instance, my choice was for healthy, home cooked food over packaged crap and horrific waste; a compromise that may not suit everyone, but I prefer to focus on the benefits rather than beat myself up for not being perfect - part way is better than no way.

https://www.rubbermaid.com/easy-find-lids.html

oh man, I definitely feel this.  This is the role that cambros fill for me.  2 qt and 4 qt cambros stack beautifully, they use the same lids (which btw are color coded), are easy to label with masking tape, lids and containers can be purchased separately, they freeze well, and built for hard treatment in the restaurant industry.  I use 8qt cambros to store bigger bulk ingredients (granulated sugar AP flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour, jasmine and calrose rice) and gallon or 2 qt sizes for lower volume ingredients (almond flour, oat fiber, brown sugar, dry milk, white lily flour, lentils, chickpeas, beans), and have probably 10-20 2 qt cambros that get rotated through the fridge and freezer with prepped ingredients or dog food.

...discovered you can put glass jars in the freezer so long as you leave room for expansion.

Yep, I put soup and broth in the freezer all the time.   Doesn't make sense to try to can one jar of broth, lol.

Skandi Rogers wrote:... then they go in in a bowl with a plate over the top.

haha - yeah, I used to do that a lot... but living in a place with earthquakes sure stopped that in a hurry.  Now, no earthquakes, but found that just reaching into the frig I would accidently tip the plate over, and it would then land on something else that also wasn't secured well.

Howdy all

Thanks, everyone, for all the ideas - it's been a continuing and evolving quest for me, too

I'm a canning jar fan, too - one of the great benefits is they can be rewarmed in a water bath (saving extra utensil dish washing) - the pint sized jars are a pretty good serving size

I am, however, rather disgusted with the canning jar rings and lids available over the past decade or so - they rust almost immediately and then become difficult to use - been meaning to write the companies about that e.g., Ball - danged obsolesce engineering

As an aside, does anyone remember back when (1970's?)  there was a 'scare' that some canning jars were found to contain radioactive material, along with IUD's!! - I've done a couple of web searches with no results

Cheers

jeff Swart wrote:

I am, however, rather disgusted with the canning jar rings and lids available over the past decade or so - they rust almost immediately and then become difficult to use - been meaning to write the companies about that e.g., Ball - danged obsolesce engineering

Cheers

If rusty rings are a turn off, go stainless steel. Gosh even Walmart (cough, cough) have them. They are pricey, but considering they are reusable if care is taken, the cost would not be that bad over a lifetime.

Really good to read all the interesting solutions. I went to my local refill shop today and they sell bamboo lids for mason jars. I’m experimenting using the jars and it’s working for me so far. I like their small fridge foot print.

I'm anti disposable plastic, too, but I also don't like glass: it's heavy, easily broken (I'm on the clumsy side), and I move frequently so prefer something lighter to pack.  I'd never heard of Cambros until reading this thread, so I looked them up online to see what they are made from:  acrylic plastic for the most part, but look pretty durable, unlike Rubbermaid or other cheaper plastic containers.  I think I will buy a few to test out.

My choice has always been Tupperware.  I even became a Tupperware "Lady" back in 1978 so I could buy all I wanted at wholesale.  Filled cupboards, fridge, and workshop with about every size container they made at the time.  When I divorced in 1981, other than our one child, the Tupperware was the hardest joint property to divide up.  We both wanted all of it.  Some items we had duplicates, like 2 sets of cannisters, 2 ice cream boxes, etc., but some things were singles and we did a lot of haggling over them, even trading Hummels and crystal for indispensable pieces of TW.

That stuff is now 43 years old and still performing its job, air and water tight, and I expect it will last longer than I will.  I'm missing a few lids that I accidentally melted on a hot stovetop and some of the harder plastic pieces are beginning to disintegrate, such as my sugar bowl and vinegar dispenser, but only the edges above the push-button caps so they are still usable as they seal properly.   I lost a few pieced to theft.   Since I have been down-sizing and simplifying for many years, I haven't bothered to replace them.  I've filled the gap in my workshop with wide-mouth peanut butter and mayo jars.

When I was considering moving to Chile a few years ago, I asked the shipping company if I could ship some of my favorite American foods with my household goods.  I was told that the Chilean customs inspectors would reject any foods unless they were packed in Tupperware.  No other options were given, just TW.  That's the best testimonial for TW I've ever heard.

I use Pyrex with plastic lids that are do old that they are cracking and splitting as well as hard plastic bowels with lids for most items. I found some silicone lids on line that make great replacements. I have used zip lock plastic containers and tops for years. They seem to last forever. Once forever comes, I buy new ones. I like mason jars for marinating meats like souvlaki,  and storing extra broth. I do occasionally use zip lock bags for sous vide  cooking and saving onions once peeled.

Cimarron Layne wrote:I'm anti disposable plastic, too, but I also don't like glass: it's heavy, easily broken (I'm on the clumsy side), and I move frequently so prefer something lighter to pack.  I'd never heard of Cambros until reading this thread, so I looked them up online to see what they are made from:  acrylic plastic for the most part, but look pretty durable, unlike Rubbermaid or other cheaper plastic containers.  I think I will buy a few to test out.

My choice has always been Tupperware.  I even became a Tupperware "Lady" back in 1978 so I could buy all I wanted at wholesale.  Filled cupboards, fridge, and workshop with about every size container they made at the time.  When I divorced in 1981, other than our one child, the Tupperware was the hardest joint property to divide up.  We both wanted all of it.  Some items we had duplicates, like 2 sets of cannisters, 2 ice cream boxes, etc., but some things were singles and we did a lot of haggling over them, even trading Hummels and crystal for indispensable pieces of TW.

That stuff is now 43 years old and still performing its job, air and water tight, and I expect it will last longer than I will.  I'm missing a few lids that I accidentally melted on a hot stovetop and some of the harder plastic pieces are beginning to disintegrate, such as my sugar bowl and vinegar dispenser, but only the edges above the push-button caps so they are still usable as they seal properly.   I lost a few pieced to theft.   Since I have been down-sizing and simplifying for many years, I haven't bothered to replace them.  I've filled the gap in my workshop with wide-mouth peanut butter and mayo jars.

When I was considering moving to Chile a few years ago, I asked the shipping company if I could ship some of my favorite American foods with my household goods.  I was told that the Chilean customs inspectors would reject any foods unless they were packed in Tupperware.  No other options were given, just TW.  That's the best testimonial for TW I've ever heard.

I highly recommend cambros, but be aware that there 2 different materials that they're made of.  The totally clear ones are acrylic, and they tend to be far more expensive than the cloudy polyethylene ones.  I use the larger acrylic ones for bulk pantry storage (and i have a 5 gallon one that I use for SV cooking and bulk sourdough fermentation if I'm making multiple loaves) but the polyethylene ones are my workhorses, getting used for stock, stews, bulk prepped ingredients, dough rising containers, freezing "portions" of deer meat (enough for a few days when I pull one out to leave in the fridge).  They're translucent enough to see through and determine what's in them if you have an idea what it is.  

I cook a lot, and I try to buy restaurant style equipment in instances that it makes sense to do so as it's easy to clean and built to withstand abuse, and I'm rarely disappointed in the quality:price ratio.  Heck, I even use a 1/3 size hotel pan for my countertop compost.