My K Cups Runneth Over

In my last post I told you that I just exchanged my Cuisinart Grind and Brew (we had two different machines with faulty grinders in a span of less than 3 months) for a Cuisinart/Keurig Single Cup Brewer.

My big dilemma was what the heck I should brew in the new machine. I tried the reusable filter with my staple of Peet’s Costa Rican but I found that the ease of using the machine was washed away (literally) by the fact that I had to keep filling and washing out the filter in order to brew multiple cups. So, I decided to stock on the K Cups.

And stock up I did. I went to Costco on the advice of K Cup guru Vinny, and got a good deal – buying 80 cups for only $39.99.  Based on the coffee intake at our house that probably comes out to around the same amount spent as buying a pound at Peet’s every 7 to 9 days.

The only issue with Costco was that the selection was very limited. I think there were only two choices. One was a something that I would never drink. The other was Tully’s Extra Bold House Blend. That’s the one I bought. I think Tully’s is owned by Green Mountain Coffee, the largest provider of K Cups.

Then I turned online to see what was available.  There were a multitude of choices and I ended up ordering about another 80 cups of different brands and blends.  The prices were pretty good compared to the brick and mortar stores. Target wanted $14.99 for 16 cups.  I got a much better deal elsewhere online.

Now my problem is storage. I live in what is considered a big two bedroom apartment by most urban standards but still my kitchen is now overrun with K Cups. I don’t want one of those fancy K Cup carousels or anything that takes up valuable and limited counter space, but I’m still not sure what to do with all the cups.

Despite the fact that our kitchen is very spacious, storage space is at a premium.  I barely have room for all the cooking gadgets I’ve accumulated, never mind boxes and boxes of little plastic K Cups. (And don’t get me started on the fact that they are not recyclable)

I Googled “k cup storage” and found some good and some not so-great solutions.  None of these really appeared like they would work for my particular space requirements. Maybe simple is best. Perhaps I should just go with a decent sized wicker basket. Although, when I mentioned that the hubby he reminded me how we just unloaded a boat load of baskets at our most recent yard sale.