Tupperwhore

sb lovecraft asked in the comments for more information about the Tupperware Collection Development Policy. Everyone else can look away now.

Mon was the first to use the term Tupperwhore to me, and it is so apt.

I was in my early 30s before I attended my first Tupperware Party. I was a Tupper-naysayer and only attended as a favour to the hostess on the understanding that I didn't have to buy anything if I kept my opinions to myself. It was expensive and plastic and my mother and grandmother used it - enough for a proto-greenie, feminist, frugal woman to justify avoidance. I admit to being scornful. Jan, I know exactly how you feel.

That first party, though, had me hooked. Not the embarrasing games (at which I excelled BTW - this girl knows her chocolate!), the dinky giveaways or the how-to-microwave-a-blackforest-cake-while-shaving-your-legs-and-whipping-up-a-couple-of-pinnies-in-your-pearls activities. It was one product that did it.

Rock n' Serve
I could cook in bulk, freeze in the Rock 'n' Serve, microwave the Rock 'n' Serve, and bung the Rock 'n' Serve in the dishwasher. And if anything went wrong with them, ever, Tuppeware would replace it - free. Sold! - I bought a set.

But it remained a secret and shameful, passion - not least because I was buying plastic! One evening I admitted this shame to a new friend who taught eco-living at TAFE. She led me gently by the hand to her kitchen and opened the cupboard - TUPPERWARE! She explained that it was a single purchase of highly durable and reusable storage containers and she recommended them to her students.

10 years on, I still use those original sets which is more than I can say for any of the cheaper containers I've acquired.

So, the collection development policy.

What I collect:

• Rock 'n' Serve (natch), or any container I can freeze.
• Storage containers, pantry and fridge - I don't really care about uniformity in the cupboard, any colour or size is fine, but when the seals need replacing, I prefer black seals. I prefer the square or oval containers as they often stack and always take up less space than the round versions.
• FridgeSmart items - these things really do keep fruit and veg much fresher. I took the vegie crisper out of the fridge when I got my first couple of these.
• preferably used items. I'll pay up to $6 for a piece of prize Tupperware (like a Rock 'n' Serve).

What I don't collect:

• Round containers
• Novelty/single use items
• Items with too many pieces - bits get lost and/or take up valuable storage space
• Items with sticky out handles - again a storage issue.
• Items with limited guarantees - defeats the whole point

There are exceptions:
This is a "vintage" chicken keeper. It's big and bulky and novelty, but it was a gift at Christmas from the Old Flame, and I love it. There's room in every collection for the sentimental and kooky, and I'll manufacture a use of it quite soon.

And, sb lovecraft, if you get that spare parts manual - I'd love a gander.