Stop Trying To Stack Potato Chip Bags: A Better Way To Clear Up Space And Keep Snacks Fresh

We all have our favorite bagged snacks, whether that's potato chips, tortilla chips, or Cheetos — but storing the bags they come in can be a pain. Tearing can cause the contents to spill out, and you may be left with less snack and more bag over time. Additionally, your chips may go stale if not stored properly, and those bags take up valuable real estate in cabinets and pantries. Fortunately, there's a simple pantry storage upgrade that will improve both the shelf life of your snacks and the organization in your cabinets: cereal containers.

Using cereal containers is a great solution and pantry storage idea that will keep your kitchen looking cute while organized — and this organization hack is surprisingly simple. You can start by using containers you already have available or pick up some at outlets like Dollar Tree. Some cereal containers come with lids that have an opening that can be unsealed and used to easily pour snacks into a bowl. In fact, these openings are sometimes large enough to grab handfuls of your favorite snack, making this a method convenient as well.

Using cereal containers — which can come in various sizes — offers the added benefit of preserving freshness and flavor, since many lids create an air-tight seal. This storage method also keeps the texture of your snacks intact, as they're less likely to be tossed around in the pantry. Lining them up keeps your snacks visible and prevents spillage, too.

Of course, if you aren't sure about cereal containers, organization experts offer several different options when it comes to snack storage. Perhaps the most common way to seal an open chip bag is by using a chip clip to keep it shut. To keep them organized, simply place your open bags together in a bin so they're all in a single, designated space. Some may also prefer to transfer their chips or other snacks into a large airtight-style bag so they keep fresher longer.

A similar alternative to large cereal containers would be smaller, stackable ones. Provided they're clear, these smaller containers are still convenient for visibility purposes, and neatly stack vertically in kitchen cabinets or pantries, saving precious kitchen space. If you have children who can help themselves to snacks or pack their own school lunches, smaller containers may be easier for them to handle than the larger ones. And with the added space this hack provides, you may find that your snack variety grows.