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Writer's pictureSpring Courtright

Best Containers for Organizing

Updated: 1 day ago

What does a professional organizer recommend for containers?


There are so many container choices - how do we know which ones are best? I'll share here what I recommend.


First, however, I highly recommend only buying containers after clearing out what's not wanted-needed-loved-used so as to not waste time, energy, money and space.


BEFORE BUYING CONTAINERS: resist the urge to go buy a bunch of them until you know exactly what you're containing.


I've organized and coached hundreds of people in my career, and completely organized my own home, but I have very few "rules."


One of my rules is declutter first, THEN organize.


This means, before buying containers:

  1. Find treasures and clear out what we don't need-want-use-love

  2. Categorize what we choose to keep

  3. See how many categories we want containers for

  4. Make sure we don't have containers around the house we want to use

  5. Measure the spaces we want containers for


THEN get containers that fit our needs.


From there, it's important to let ourselves play - try different containers to see what works best for what we ACTUALLY do, not just what we WANT to do. (see my post, Organizing: Ideal vs. Real)


Once we only have what we want to keep and it's categorized...


My favorite containers are see-through with lids that snap on - no handles or pieces, just the lid and container.


My specific suggestions are below.


I've seen a LOT of broken and missing handle pieces, and MANY orphan lids and containers.


I also see a lot of container clutter in my work - mismatched containers of all kinds and sizes cluttering up spaces...


For myself and clients, for plastic tote-style containers I only buy ones that:


  •  Have snap-on lids (with no extra pieces, like the ones above)

  •  Match so lids are interchangeable and containers are stackable

  •  Are see-through

  •  Are only colored for holidays (like red for Christmas, orange for Halloween)

  •  When they're on super sale! I'm not a fan of spending a gajillion dollars on this style of container.


Some categories and items do best with perfectly curated containers - baskets, boxes, bamboo...but many things do great in these clear, inexpensive ones.


And whenever possible, if I don't use the lid (some prefer open tops), I keep the lid underneath as it's so much easier to put things away with the top off.


In the beginning, I perused the container shelves at Goodwill periodically looking for stacks of the small containers with snap-on lids. (Yes, it was a challenge to stay focused and not bring home more clutter!)


I've learned the hard way not to compromise and buy "almost right" containers - they usually turn into more clutter.



My favorite containers

Sterilite is my favorite brand, but any with only a snap-on solid lid and tote without breakable parts makes me happy!


Here are my favorites on Amazon:


When to buy?

Container sales often happen in January, which is a great time to clear out what's no longer serving us, then get the containers to organize what we keep.


But we don't have to wait!


Decluttering can happen in bite-sized bits of time, and it doesn't have to be hard - see my post Top 10 Tips for Decluttering Success to learn the steps I take with clients and myself to clear clutter and get organized (so we can live the life we want to live!)


Please reach out if you have questions or want to bounce ideas around - I love this stuff!


And reach out if you have questions or feel stuck.


There's no need to struggle with clutter anymore - you're not alone and I can help you feel better right away!


Text me at 360-265-2477


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