Welcome to the third post in my series about how to decide whether or not you need organizing products. Click here if you missed the intro. Today, I feature open, stackable bins and baskets … the organizing product that works for every organizing style and every age group!
You want to wait until the 6th step of organizing before you purchase organizing supplies. I have free mini 7-step guide available for you here!
Let’s jump into where and how to use open, stackable bins and baskets in your spaces!
ORIGINAL FUNCTION
The purpose of an open, stackable basket is to keep individual categories of items contained, yet still visible, and easy to grab.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Open, stackable bins and baskets are not meant to be a catchall of random items. Since they are perfect for categorizing items, there would be no point to having these stacking baskets. That is precisely why they help the unnaturally organized get organized. They are so easy to place items into and remove items from AND keep everything contained yet still visible, that you naturally will want to place items in them by category.
BEST WAYS TO USE
Open, stackable bins and baskets have unlimited uses. The key to maximizing the best use of them is to simply use each for a specific category. They are ideal for creating shelves in awkward spaces like the areas around piping in cabinets under sinks (click here for my bathroom organization post).
They can each contain a category of toiletries like face, body, hair, feminine hygiene, oral care, and cotton products. They are also ideal for vertically subdividing taller shelves in pantries. They can contain individually pre-packaged snacks and any food items in smaller containers and packages in general. They are perfect for potatoes, onions, and garlic and for citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes. Since kids and lids don’t mesh, open, stackable bins are perfect for teaching kids how to organize and how to learn colors by separating building blocks by color (I don’t recommend these for small Lego blocks). And they can also learn to organize categories of toys like cars and trains. Small open stacking bins are perfect for nails, screws, nuts, and bolts in your garage or tool shed.
UNCONVENTIONAL USES
You can turn these into under-shelf baskets with nails or hooks if a conventional under-shelf basket does not hook onto your shelves. Cup hooks would be perfect to use for the storage of lightweight items. If you want to store heavier items, you will check the weight capacity of the hooks.
HOW TO DECIDE IF YOU NEED OPEN STACKABLE BASKETS
Because open, stackable bins are so versatile and come in so many different sizes and levels of durability, you can’t go wrong with these. Rather than deciding if you need these, the question becomes how many you need or if other types of storage containers will be a better fit for the specific space you are organizing. The answer is to, first, be sure you get through the initial sorting stages and pare down to just what you need. Then, you can use open stacking bins to store items you need easy access to. For items that you don’t need to access frequently, you can forgo the open stacking bin and go for a closed option like a bin or tote with a lid instead.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY
First, as always, don’t purchase more bins than you need. Again, you will pare down your items to what you need before you purchase any organizing products. For some affordable options, Big Lots has open, stackable baskets which are dupes of The Container Store open, stackable baskets and they are less than half the price! I use Dollar Tree chopping mats (they are so easy to cut) to line the bottom of each basket. For another wire stacking basket with a price point between Big Lots and The Container Store, I am loving the new Target exclusive organizing product line, Made by Design. Their open front stackable basket is not just functional, it’s also beautiful. You cannot beat the selection of open, stackable bins at The Container Store, however, so you will be more likely to find a solution there to fit your particular spaces like these options:
Scala Steel Wire Stackable Basket (great for produce and root vegetables)
White Stackable Bins with Label Holder (great to customize storage around plumbing under sinks)
Silver Mesh Stackable Storage Bins (great for storage in your garage and shed)
And The Container Store prices aren’t all bad. These are some of the most affordable options (and great, sturdy options for kids):
Our White Mini Stackable Basket
Our Basic White Stackable Basket
Walmart and Big Lots has 3-pack sets of white stacking bins for around $5 (like the glass jars I featured in my previous post, I cannot find the Walmart link, but I do see these carried in stores; this Amazon link is provided for visual purposes but they are overpriced). You can also find bright mini plastic stacking bins at the Dollar Tree. If you decide to use them for kids’ toys, you will want to actually glue them together to prevent them from falling (or just use the sturdier options from The Container Store which are linked above). For part storage for your tools, Harbor Freight has some of the best prices. Here are links for even more options:
Big Lots:
Small White Stack N’ Nest Bins, 3-Pack
Amazon:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Stackable Bin (found here):
Stackable Bin (found here):
Stackable Basket (found here):
Stackable Basket (found here):
Stackable Bin (found here):
Stackable Bin (found here):
I am using this set of two (found here) to organizing my cleaning rags under my kitchen sink:
Don’t forget to grab your FREE organizing resources here so that you can know where and how to use open, stackable bins and baskets in your spaces. I have a lot more organizing products coming up, so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell, so you can know the moment my next video is up and never miss another organizing video.
Happy Organizing!
Author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps“