As of Summer 2021, Target has redesigned their 28-quart and 56-quart clear bins to have new, sturdier lids. NEW UPDATE: Some of the IKEA SAMLA bins now have newly designed lids with a tiny nubbin to latch the lid onto the box more securely. At my local Round Rock Ikea store, I was able to find some new latching lids for the 3 gallon and 6 gallon size. As they sell through their inventory of the older version, they will obtain more of the newer lids. Yay!!
Shopping for plastic storage bins can be bewildering. Big, small, clear, solid colors, aren’t they all the same? Actually, no. Weight capacity, sturdiness, and visibility are important considerations. Read on for the purrrrfect sizes of plastic storage bins to buy from Target, The Container Store, and IKEA.
Professional organizers know the best storage bins. We spend a lot of time lifting, sorting, and re-containerizing items for our clients. Spoiler alert: large, solid color bins like the ones show below are not optimal. Smaller, clear plastic storage bins are much better.
What about cardboard boxes? Why not use those for storage? Cardboard boxes are great for moving. But for long-term storage, they win the prize for The Wooooorst. I’ll explain why later.
Books are physically heavy, and are often emotionally significant. You might ask, why keep books in long-term storage if you don’t have enough bookcase space? Well, many people regard specific books as cherished old friends. (I can definitely relate.) As Marie Kondo would say, those books “spark joy.”
So I say, keep those books if you love them! Let’s figure out how to honor your cherished friends and store them carefully.
Which of these are best for storing books?
If you answered, “none of the above,” you are correct! These are all MUCH TOO BIG for storing heavy items. Some of these bins shown here have other Usability Problems, but they are all too large for books and paper.
Big, oversized bins are not good options for storing papers and books. Paper is surprisingly heavy when there’s a lot of it. My free pro tip for you: heavy things like books and files should always be stored in smaller bins. Your back muscles will thank you. Your family members who will deal with your belongings later will thank you. And your professional organizer will thank you, too.
Now that I’ve lectured told you about using smaller plastic storage bins for heavy items, let’s discuss bins that will talk to you.
(She thinks bins can talk? Should we stage an intervention?) Well, they do talk to you! Clear plastic storage bins are great communicators. After I finish an organizing project for my client, transparent bins will continue to broadcast their contents to them, for years after I am gone. With solid color bins, it is impossible to know what is inside and their labels aren’t always trustworthy.
See below, how these clear bins tell my client “Hey, here we are! Your books and papers are right here!” (Don’t you love how perfectly 3 of these IKEA SAMLA bins fit across the shelves? Sometimes it’s like a fun game of Tetris.)
Here are my favorite clear plastic storage bins from these stores. They come in a range of prices and levels of sturdiness.
If you are lucky enough to have an IKEA nearby, they are a great source for inexpensive clear SAMLA bins of various sizes.
PROS: They are quite affordable, good quality, sturdy, and you can stack them up high. The lids are clear so you can see the contents from above. The labels are marvelously easy to peel off.
CONS: They have some interior molding that reduces the interior volume capacity. The lids, sold separately, rest lightly on top of the box with no audible “click.” So be warned: a breeze or a jostle can knock the lids off. NEW UPDATE: they have now redesigned the lids to have a tiny nubbin that latches the lid onto the box. As they sell through their inventory of the older lids, more new lids should become available.
The 6 gallon SAMLA bin at IKEA is about the same size as the Container Store’s Deep Sweater Box, but costs less. This size is perfect for storing books and other heavy items. Files will also fit in this size, as long as you fill it up full. Further down, I’ll discuss plastic file boxes with rrrrrrridges. But for an inexpensive way to store a bunch of heavy paper, the SAMLA 6-gallon box is a super bargain.
For the widest variety of sizes and types, you can’t beat the clear plastic bins at The Container Store. They range in size from small 7 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ accessory boxes that can serve as drawer dividers, all the way to 35 1/2″ long shallow underbed boxes, perfect for longer toys or pieces of holiday decor.
PROS: Good quality. They are sturdy and can be stacked up high. You get maximum volume capacity because they don’t have interior molding like some other plastic bins do. The lids are clear so you can see the contents from above. The lids fit well and “click” when you push them on. Most sizes are designed to fit and stack together well.
CONS: Some are more expensive than comparable sized bins available elsewhere, so decide which advantages are important to you. The adhesive price tags are sometimes difficult to remove.
For storing heavy items such as books or files, I like to use the Container Store’s Sweater Box, the Deep Sweater Box or the Boot Box.
Do you have bigger, lightweight items to store, such as large toys, holiday decorations, stuffed animals, or bedding? These 56 quart clear Sterilite bins are my favorite for larger, lightweight things. (Yes, I said lightweight only! Pillows! Stuffed animals! Christmas garlands! Don’t fill these with books, paper, or heavy things!)
PROS: The 56-quart size is just right for larger (lightweight!) things like holiday decor, etc. They have no interior molding so you get maximum volume for the size. The lids make a satisfying “click” when you close them. The Sterilite labels are marvelously easy to peel off. For bigger items, these are a great bargain.
CONS: They are not as sturdily constructed as plastic file boxes are (more about those further down). Therefore, you cannot fill these bins with very heavy things and stack them up high and expect them to hold up. You can stack them up about 3 high, but more than that might make the lids bend and break. The lids are solid colors (usually white or blue) so you cannot see the contents from above.
Target carries a 28-quart shallow bin with a solid color lid, and a 32-quart shallow bin with a clear lid. The lids have been recently redesigned and seem pretty sturdy. If you are simply stacking them, then the clear lid isn’t as important. But if you store these under your bed and pull them out, you will be able to see the contents much more easily with the 32-quart clear lid. These bins are similar in size and shape as the Container Store Boot Box.
PROS: The shallow 28-quart and 32-quart sizes are just right for flatter, heavier things, and larger books. The store adhesive labels are marvelously easy to remove. They are inexpensive, and a great value.
CONS: The lids on the Target bins might bend or break if you stack them too high with heavy contents.
Here is a Sterilite 28-quart bin with solid color lid, and a Container Store Boot Box with a clear lid. As you can see, they are about the same size, purrrrfect for large books or heavy items. If the ability to see the contents quickly from above is important (and it often is!), then the clear lid version will be worth every penny.
These file boxes with interior ridges are the absolute best way to store paper files. Staples, Office Depot, and Container Store carry these. The built-in ridges support the hooks on hanging files. This means that you can slide the files back and forth and access them, much more easily than in an IKEA SAMLA box or Container Store Deep Sweater Box.
Got legal-size files instead of letter-size? No problem! File boxes are cleverly designed to hold either letter or legal size. Legal size files will fit lengthwise, while letter size files will fit in sideways. I love thoughtful, double-duty design like this!
PROS: These file storage boxes are heavy duty and very sturdy. You can stack them up high with confidence, without the lid cracking or failing. The lids “thunk” when you set them on and will not fall off when jostled. You can also find weather-tight file boxes. CONS: They are sometimes more expensive than comparable-sized boxes.
Want to easily see the file labels from above? Get file boxes with clear lids. Want to keep those file labels private from nosy co-workers or others? Get file boxes with solid color lids instead. See below for a side by side comparison. Best Tips For Managing Your Papers: Labeling Files
I know that you already have bins like these. Everyone has bins like these. Why? Because they are very inexpensive, and therefore they seem like the best solution for storing lots of things. They are not The Absolute Wooooorst for long-term storage, because that is cardboard. But these bins have several Usability Problems:
(1) They are too big. You know it’s true. Oversized plastic storage bins just tempt you to put too much heavy stuff in them. Especially paper and books. Will you promise me that you will only keep lightweight things in them? Like holiday garlands? Or extra bed pillows? Promise?
(2) They are not clear, so you can’t see what’s inside. You have to hope that they are labeled well, which, hey, brings me to the bonus reason:
(3) Labels often don’t stick to them. It’s a delicious bit of irony, isn’t it? On clear plastic storage bins, where you can SEE the contents, adhesive labels will happily stay put. But solid color bins are often rubberized and sometimes even textured. Those kinds of surfaces will shed an adhesive label like springtime trees shed pollen in Austin.
Yes, you can use duct tape and whatnot to make the labels stick. But a better solution would be to keep your belongings in smaller, clear plastic storage bins.
Ah, camping! The daily newspaper at the door. The freshly made bed. The mint on the pillow at night. What? Ok, so my idea of camping is when the hotel doesn’t have room service. I know that there are lots of people who love camping, because I have organized their camping gear for them.
But, bear with me here because I’m JUST ASKING: Have you sometimes thrown some small, heavy camping items into those large plastic storage bins? Heavy things that could fit in smaller, less back-breaking bins? Like, for instance, cast iron skillets? Hmmmm?
Remember at the beginning when you were asking, “Why do I need to buy plastic storage bins at all? Aren’t those inexpensive cardboard boxes all I need?” To answer this, I give you Exhibit A. So many things are wrong with this picture. Shall I list them?
(1) These boxes are WAY too large for books. You know that now.
(2) You can’t see what’s inside. Not only that, but you can’t trust the label. See (3).
(3) Cardboard boxes crumple very easily. Sure, these boxes are labeled “Books,” and books aren’t breakable. But surprise!* At the top of the box, someone had stuffed in a cute decorative ceramic object. And yes, when those boxes were unpacked, that ceramic object was indeed broken and ruined.
(*I was not surprised.)
(4) Cardboard gets wet and moldy. Wet cardboard (and dry cardboard for that matter) will attract critters. We have a lot of bugs, roaches, silverfish, and mice in Austin and Central Texas. All of these little beasts LOVE cardboard. Do you want to give these critters exactly what they love? I didn’t think so.
If you are organizing your things yourself, I hope this helps you make better choices when buying plastic storage bins. If the idea of doing it yourself is overwhelming, hire a professional organizer! See my FAQ page for answers to your questions.
I would love to know about YOUR thoughts on plastic storage bins!
When I’m organizing items for clients in a cabinet or closet where the doors will usually remain closed, I recommend going for something transparent so the contents of the container can be quickly identified. Unfortunately this usually means plastic, but the payoff is that if you can see what you own, you will in theory create less waste by purchasing less redundant items. My favorite all-purpose clear plastic bins are IKEA’s SAMLA series or Container Store’s Our Clear storage series. They can be used for so many different purposes and have clear lids so they are less obtrusive-looking. The SAMLA series has the option to go without a lid, which works well if you don’t need to stack and want quick access to the contents. Just because it’s easier to see things with a transparent bin does not mean you have to go with plastic. Stackable mesh bins can be a good semi-transparent option, especially if you don’t need a lid like in a pantry. Decide what works best for you. The more you minimize, the less you own, so it becomes easier to get away with opaque non-plastic bins—or no bin at all!