Storage Boxes

With all the stuff most of us are trying to hide in our closets nowadays, the old closet organization methods are simply insufficient.  California Closets seems to be all the rage lately, but the system is fairly expensive.  If you’re looking for an efficient and easy closet organization approach, consider some of the helpful tips below and feel free to leave your own in the comments section.

Closet Organization

One of the key components to effective organization is recognizing the items you don’t need that often.  These types of things can easily be stored in less accessible areas as you won’t be inconvenienced by having to get at them several times a year.  For these types of items, the top shelf of your closet is a perfect place.  Of course, no shelf is complete without multiple layers of plastic bins on top.  Storing rarely used items at the very top of your closet is a great way to utilize dead space for closet organization.

Decorative Containers

We’ve touched on this in other posts, but many of us do not have the luxury of having all of our containers and bins hidden from public view.  If this is the case in your home, you’ll want to consider the wide variety of decorative bins and containers currently available.  Nothing classes up a closet like a nice wood, metal or cloth container for holding more commonly used items.  These bins not only look good, but they’re plenty durable, too.

Whether it needs to look good or just hold stuff, the wide array of containers and bins out there today will be able to help you to easily manage your closet organization.

Home organization is all about getting the most out of the space you have.  For most of us, the amount of stuff seems to keep growing while space to store it all seems to disappear rapidly.  At times like these, various organizational bins and containers can play a huge role in helping you maximize your home organization approach.

Plastic Containers and Bins

As addressed in previous posts, plastic bins have made a stunning comeback in the organizational world.  These containers are durable and come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes to help you out with your home organization.  Obviously, they’re most useful in places where they aren’t seen by your guests.  The pantry, garage, or basement are prime candidates for organization via plastic bins.  Many are stackable as well, allowing you truly maximize available space on various shelving units.

Decorative Containers

Closets already filled up?  No room left in the garage or basement for plastic bins?  Well, if your storage has to be out in the open, you’re lucky to live in the era of decorative containers.  Whether wood, metal, leather, or cloth containers best fit your decorative style, these decorative bins can become a strong component of your home organization strategy.  Just because your stuff won’t fit in the closet anymore doesn’t mean it has to be an eye sore.

Bottom line, with the wide variety of containers and pins out there today, any home organization approach is possible, regardless of how little space or how much stuff you think you have.

If this is your first visit to StorageBoxes.com, you might wonder if it’s really worth your time to be here.  True, you can find all the information we give you by searching elsewhere on the internet.  But why would you when it’s all right here for you?

Storage Containers

The fact is, things are changing almost daily in the world of storage options.  New storage containers are invented regularly and are discussed here as they are.  With every consumer innovation of an existing storage container, manufacturers seem to respond with a storage container designed specifically for that storage option.

Storage Options

Even without the invention of new storage containers, consumer innovation is unstoppable.  We often discuss various unique uses for existing storage boxes.  These range from heavy duty storage uses to decorative storage options.  Whether you’re looking to simplify your garage storage or add a little class to the storage in your living space, you’ll find great tips to do it here.

Your Storage Ideas

The best part of our site?  Every single article has a comment section at the end, allowing you to chime in with your ideas or experience with the tips discussed in the article.  User communities like this help not only to provide all of us with new ideas, but can also reaffirm our confidence in our own ideas or projects.

For those of us old enough to remember when plastic storage boxes first came on the scene, it can be difficult to trust these containers with the storage of anything important.  After all, when these things first came out, it seemed like you could break them just by looking at them wrong.  And anything heavier than a t-shirt collection seemed guaranteed to snap the handles right off.  So, with all that history, is it really wise to trust plastic storage boxes?

Quality of Plastic Storage Boxes

If you haven’t purchased and/or used any plastic bins lately, then you’ve missed out on a remarkable evolution.  These boxes not only come in a dizzying array of shapes, sizes, and styles, but also have seen a marked increase in quality in recent years.  Manufacturers have clearly seen the need for higher quality plastic storage options and have provided just that.  Of course, cheap duds are still out there, so be sure to carefully evaluate any bins you plan on buying.

Your Storage Needs

Only those of us with the most extreme storage needs (see also PODS and Hoarders) wouldn’t have a use for plastic storage boxes.  Everyone else should easily be able to find the right plastic bins among all the size, shapes, and styles available.  Looking for a tall, skinny plastic bin with latching handles?  It’s out there.  How about a wide, flat plastic box with interlocking flaps for the lid?  I’ve seen those.  The fact is, plastic storage is so customizable, you don’t have to try very hard at all to find the perfect match for your storage needs.

Long-Term Storage

Many of us have storage needs that last beyond simply getting the clutter cleaned up and out of sight.  Those of us needing long-term storage of various items, plastic storage boxes are also available to fit the bill.  As previously mentioned, the overall quality on these types of bins has gone way way up.  That means you’ll be able to find bins that should have no problem holding up to long-term storage.  This can be a godsend for folks looking to “flood proof” their basement storage situation.  You can also easily locate heavier duty plastic storage bins for long-term storage of outdoor items.  Plastic storage options have come so far, it’s almost a joy to be able to utilize them is such unique and helpful ways.

When most people hear the words “storage boxes” they typically think about cardboard boxes and plastic totes.  While these types of storage boxes certainly have their place, more and more people are considering double-duty for their storage containers, in the form of decorative boxes.  These not only store your things as well as any other container, but they look good doing it.  So, do you need to think about going this route for your next storage project?

Decorative Storage Boxes

Like a lot of the good looking things we have, we like them even better when others can see and admire them.  This is especially applicable to decorative storage boxes.  These boxes take the place of their less attractive brethren in situations where they need to be in plain sight.  This is most often for folks with limited storage.  If your house has less closets than you’d like, decorative storage boxes may be a perfect solution for you.  But, if you’re simply going to hide these boxes away like most storage containers, you’ll likely want to consider more traditional boxes.

Storage for Your Needs

If you figure you’d like/need decorative storage boxes, then the next step is to make sure these containers will match the items you’re looking to store inside them.  After all, no storage boxes look good when the lids won’t close.  Take a moment to browse through some decorative storage options and see if their various shapes and sizes are compatible with your needs.  If your storage is truly limited and you have to have decorative options, then you will likely need to sit down and figure out a reorganization plan for what you have in your hidden storage.  Home and office storage is a fluid process, with every-changing needs and storage options.

Buying Decorative Storage Boxes

The last thing that may turn you off to the decorative route is the price of these boxes.  These types of boxes can cost you a pretty penny at the typical department store or furniture store.  Luckily, there are also reputable online retailers that specialize in providing decorative storage options to their customers at a very affordable price.  After all, you want your place to look good, but no one wants to break the bank to do it.  With the fashionable and affordable decorative storage options out there, your boxes can look good without leaving you sleepless at night.

Like any good organizational plan, you’ll need to go into yours with a heavy amount of pre-planning and in-depth thought regarding your storage needs.  If you’ve recently been to a well organized office or home, you might be feeling the pangs of jealousy that yours isn’t quite up to snuff.  Whether that’s true or not, it’s no excuse to run headlong into the purchase of storage containers without customizing your solution to your needs and wants…

Assessing Your Space

To truly get a handle on what you do and don’t need to help with your storage concerns, you’ll need to essentially take an inventory of your space.  How many rooms are you looking to organize and where with the storage containers go?  If you have small closets, you’ll need very different containers than you would if you have a large storage room available.  If you’re to the point where your house or office simply needs to be cleaned out, you’ll probably end up with large, mobile storage containers.  these types of considerations are the building blocks for determining what types and quantities of storage containers your individual situation calls for.

Assessing Your Stuff

Next most important?  What types of items will you be storing?  Storage containers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to hold whatever you are looking to store.  With the great selection of storage options, organizing a home or office with containers specific to the items inside has never been easier.  You can find containers that hold hanging file folders, others that perfectly contain hanging clothes, and still other that are a great match for books, binders, and other heavy items.

Variety of Storage Containers

The wide variety found in storage containers also applies to their strength.  Depending on the length of storage and the types of items stored, you may want to consider various strengths for your storage containers.  For example, you wouldn’t need heavy-duty, metal storage containers if you’re only storing blankets and pillows during the warm summer months.  You also wouldn’t want to store office binders and files long-term in thin-walled plastic totes.  Every storage container has a perfect function, it’s just up to you to sit down and determine your specific storage needs.  After that, finding just the right storage containers will feel like a walk in the park.

If you’re thinking about getting a handle on the clutter in your house, you may be considering a variety of storage box options.  It can certainly be overwhelming when you first start looking.  There are so many different choices nowadays it’s often tough to find a starting point.  Luckily, considering just a few standard characteristics of the various storage boxes will help guide you…

Durability

Regardless of how long you’re storing things or which room they’ll be in, you will want them to hold up for a good amount of time.  For especially long term storage, you may want to consider a heavier duty plastic or metal storage box.  When in doubt, you’ll definitely want to step up to the next most durable option.

Capacity

Another key consideration in finding just the right boxes for storage is to determine you capacity needs.  Durable storage boxes are great, but they won’t help much if you can’t put away all the stuff you need to.  You will want to find the delicate balance between boxes that can hold all your items, without being so heavy they are impractical.  You may even already have storage racks in your basement or garage that will determine the size of storage boxes you can use.

Style

More and more, people are doubling up on uses of storage boxes, most notably using them as decoration.  Of course, a plastic or metal bin wouldn’t look very nice in the living room or den, would it?  Luckily, boxes for storage come in a very wide range of materials and designs nowadays, allowing you to utilize them for decoration if you like.  Of course, now it all comes down to color, fabric, and texture matches, doesn’t it?

It’s not easy finding just the right boxes for storage to fit your needs.  But, if you consider the three attributes above, your search will be much more meaningful and fruitful.