Organizing Containers for B&B Products

[Cellador]

For those who have a business, how do you store your packaging, bottles & jars? I've started ordering in bulk & I'm at a loss as to storing them. My instinct is to take them out of their bag and line them up, but I'd rather keep them protected & covered. Ideas?

 

[shunt2011]

I leave them in the bags they come in an keep them sealed shut until I use then. I store them in storage containers on my shelving units. Putting them out will leave them exposed to dust and anything else that floats in the air. I clean mine with alcohol before filling with product.

 

[Cellador]

I leave them in the bags they come in an keep them sealed shut until I use then. I store them in storage containers on my shelving units. Putting them out will leave them exposed to dust and anything else that floats in the air. I clean mine with alcohol before filling with product.

I have to admit, I am terrible at organizing! I did not even think about keeping the closed bag in a big rubbermaid container.

 

[cthylla]

I have a shelving unit packed to the ceiling with boxes of glass jars. Anything else is squeezed in where I can find room.... but I do try to keep things in a tidy stack. I also know I have a tiny, tiny office and try not to order more than I know that I can store for more than a month or so. (Please tell that to the box of 1000 lip balm tubes I am still slowly working through.... BLEH)

 

[amd]

I'm like Shunt, I keep mine in the bag they came in, in a large box on the shelf (I don't do a lot of B&B, but I'm getting there). When it's time to use them I take out only what I need and give them a soak in starsan and air dry before using.

 

[cmzaha]

I put my containers in plastic totes. If they are going to be stored under my house in my storage rooms they stay in their bags which are placed in totes.

 

[Lin19687]

I also keep in a bag they came in or I find bin to keep them in that will keep them sealed.
I bought a LOT of small 2oz jars that were on sale, couldn't resist it was such a good deal. I just kept them in the big box they came in on my shelving units in the soap room.

I once out some stuff in a plastic tote in my storage shed in my yard and some in the basement. I didn't think that the mustiness would get in the totes. Won't ever do that again, the moisture that seeped in and maybe the cold heat swings ruined what I had in shed and musty in the basement. I vowed to keep up in the living area where moisture and temps were better regulated. So now my soap room is a bit more crowded.

 

[dndlyon]

I'm with everyone above. I try not to order more than I think I can go through in a month or two. When they come in, the box gets unpacked, but I don't open the bag that the packages come in until I'm ready to use it. They then usually get a number (if I remember) and they go into a larger plastic bin or cardboard box on my packaging shelves. I watch the Dollar Store and Dollar General as they often have plastic totes pretty cheap. I've become a hoarder of plastic totes.

The number is just so I can keep track when there are multiple packages of packaging in the same bigger container. Most of the packaging I use doesn't really have an expiration date, but I like to make sure I use up whatever came in first. And if a supplier contacts me about an issue (or I have an issue), I can trace it back to the order in my system.

I don't sanitize my packaging like those mentioned above, but I also don't make lotions or other water-based products. I open the package that the container came in, take out the number of containers I need, and then close the package and place it in the tote with the remaining containers. Then I check each piece that I removed for foreign material, dust, etc. before filling.

 

[mishmish]

When mine arrive, I screw all the lids on and then put them back in the original big plastic bags and twist tie them shut. Back in their boxes, write the size and what products they're used for on the outside of the box, and put them on my highest shelves, since I don't need to access them every day. But I'm only buying a couple hundred or a few dozen of each kind at a time.