Wednesday, March 28, 2018

The Most Functional (and Pretty) Way to Organize Batteries

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We have four people in our house and two of those people are little ones who have loads and loads of toys, so we go through some batteries!  We are talking lots and lots and lots of batteries.  I try to keep plenty of each size on hand at all times so we tend to have several packs of each size in our utility closet at all times. 


For the longest time I stored them all in one box, but I found that was hard to find what I was looking for right away, and it was also hard to see exactly how many we had of each size at any given time.  This, of course, was causing me to run out of some sizes and not have batteries when we needed them. 

As you all know, I am on a simplifying and organizing journey, so I am trying to make every aspect of our home tidy, simple, and functional.  And digging through a large box of batteries for five minutes just to find what I was looking for was not simple.  When I set out to figure out the best way to organize them, naturally, the first thing I did was head to Amazon to look at battery organizers to see what kind of things are out there. 

The first thing that came up was this organizer.  I immediately started swooning because I love a good organizer, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that organizer wouldn’t work for us.  For starters, I didn’t want to be confined to a set amount of “slots” to store the batteries because if I ended up having more than the organizer would hold, that meant I would still have to have a place to store the extra packs of batteries and I would also have to remember to move them over to the organizer as slots became available.  Also, we keep way more than just six D batteries on hand at all times, so I knew this one wouldn’t work.  It sure is perfect for those of you who don’t keep a lot of batteries on hand, though!


I kept searching and came across these organizers next.  They don’t have a set amount of slots for each size, and instead the batteries can be “loose” in there so you choose how many of each size you want to store.  It looked like a good idea, but then I realized that some brands of batteries do not put their expiration dates directly on the batteries themselves, and instead only put them on the packaging, so it probably wouldn’t be wise to discard the original packaging.    


I started searching for small plastic storage containers next and I came across these, and I knew that this was the way to go!  (And I wish the handles had been turquoise when I bought mine!  That definitely beats lime green!)  I also found this cheaper version that would work just as well!  We keep seven different types of batteries on hand – AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, Lithium coin cells, and rechargeables.  (I told you we have a lot of batteries!)  I didn’t want seven containers because they wouldn’t be symmetrical on my shelves, so I bought six of them, grabbed my trusty rusty vinyl chalkboard labels, and went to town labeling.

We have a lot of rechargeable batteries, AAs, and AAAs so I knew those would need their own containers, and then the C and D batteries are so large I knew they would need their own as well.  I decided to put 9V and Lithium together in the same container because a) we don’t keep many 9V on hand, b) Lithium coin cells are tiny and don’t take up much space, and c) we don’t use either of these sizes too often so I knew it made sense to put them together and keep them at the bottom of the stack.


All of the batteries are stored in their original blister packaging so I can easily see how many we have on hand, and we can also easily see the expiration dates.  It’s easy to just to toss them in the containers – no pulling individual batteries out and moving them to a fancy organizer – and we can see immediately when we’re getting low on one size. 


We have a TON of rechargeable AA and AAAs, so those are kept loose in Ziploc bags that are labeled “AA charged,” “AA not charged,” “AAA charged,” and “AAA not charged.”  This helps us keep up with the charged/not charged status easily.  And side note, we absolutely ADORE the Panasonic eneloop rechargeable batteries.  They are by far the best rechargeable batteries I’ve ever owned.  They have over 6k reviews on Amazon and they are highly rated.  I’ve come to love these so much that we don’t keep nearly as many standard AA and AAA batteries on hand anymore.  Buying the rechargeable batteries saves a lot of money in the long run and they’re better for the environment, so they are a win-win!


Anyhoo, now all six bins sit on the shelf in our utility closet under the stairs and it’s so easy to grab what I need in just seconds.  The bins are spacious enough to hold a lot of batteries in their original packaging, but altogether the six bins don’t take up very much space on our shelves.  These particular containers nest as well so you don’t have to worry about them sliding around!




Organizing just makes me so happy!  And who knew I could talk so much about organizing batteries?  You can file this one under "Things I Never Thought I Would Write About."  ;o)  And I originally thought this post would be short and sweet, but as always, I’ve gotten long-winded.  Lol.  I know some of you have probably left the post by now from sheer boredom but I promise to be back with something a little more stimulating on Friday.  ;o)


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18 comments:

  1. Girl, you have a TON of batteries! I don't keep that many on hand, so they are just stored in baggies with random stuff, but if I did, I would totally organize them like this!

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  2. We have lots of batteries and I never really know how to store, but that's changing now!! Thank you!!

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  3. Been loving all your organizing tips. We never seem to have the right battery when we need it but my mom gifted us a battery box one year for Christmas complete with a little screwdriver, I thought she was genius. We needed it too!!! xoxo ERIN

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  4. This is pretty genius!! I love what you did! I think I'm going to do the same thing now.

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  5. I keep ours in storage containers, too! I got sick of the older kids constantly complaining about not being able to find the right batteries in the one big container we had, so I separated and labeled them...not a problem anymore!

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  6. That is a lot of batteries! I need to work on something like this for our linen closet where I keep our batteries, band-aids, just random stuff. that is currently all in a 3 drawer container! HA

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  7. Looks great! I just keep mine in their slotted containers from Costco, plus a small bin for the ones we don't get at Costco!

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  8. Such a great idea!!! We love those batteries too! :)

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  9. Such a great idea. We store them in their original packages, but we buy them in such bulk quantity, it's like storage bin. Works for us right now, we don't have much need for D and C batteries, but this is a great idea!

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  10. That is a great idea! We have a wall mounted assorted case like the first one you show here and honestly, it has never really worked well for us. We have another drawer in the kitchen that holds the overflow of batteries that don't fit in the case.

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    1. Yeah, I think that particular set up is just too specific! I like being able to just toss them in a box and not have to worry about overflow!

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  11. I love this! Mine are all in my junk drawer and I never know how many or what size I have.

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  12. Just pinned this! I've never seen a post on this topic before! Good one!

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  13. I love this idea and the containers are super cute. You make organizing fun!!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Shannon! Organizing IS fun to me! Haha.

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  14. Well, I'll be darn, that is a handy dandy way to store batteries!

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