The 15 Very Best Storage Bins

Type: Bins in three sizes and colors with lids sold separately | Material: Recycled plastic | Portability: Portable

After almost a year of packing — and unpacking — a medium-size Nordic Basket with linens (like a set of full-size sheets), extra toiletries, bathing suits, and stacks of magazines, it’s my pick for the best storage bin overall. It’s a great all-purpose option with a perforated dot pattern that doubles as ventilation while still hiding what’s inside. Made of durable and rigid recycled plastic, the bins are structured enough to be dragged across carpeted floors or to hold heavier items. They’re available in small, medium, and large sizes that all have the same 14.5-inch by 11-inch footprint, but vary in height. The bins are nestable when not in use, stackable if you spring for the separate lids, and portable thanks to the convenient handles on the sides, making them suitable for all sorts of spaces. Plus, they are nice-looking enough to have out, even if the contents are a mess, and relatively affordable at about $9 for the largest size. I think it’s worthwhile to also buy the lids, which start at $5 and come in the same colors as the bins themselves, as well as bamboo. They slide on and off easily, cover what’s inside the bin, and are crucial if you plan to stack the bins. (Tags for the handles are also available as an add-on, to label the contents.)

Type: Crate in three sizes and multiple colors with add-on accessories sold separately | Material: Recycled plastic | Portability: Portable

Danish interior-design house Hay’s Colour Crates also come in three sizes and don’t need a lid to be stacked — crates of the same size fit together to make a building-block-like tower that you can color-coordinate or mix and match. (The smaller sizes can also nest inside the larger ones.) I owned the original version of the crate and have since tested the redesigned edition for comparison; the most notable updates are that the crates are now made from recycled instead of first-run plastic, and they can be set up with optional add-ons like powder-coated steel lids (in made-to-match colors) and wheels. The newer crates feel much sturdier than the originals, and though the Nordic Basket has a slight edge in overall sturdiness, the big bonus of the Hay crates is that they’re completely collapsible — when they’re empty, you can store them flat to save space. Or you can fold down just one side of the crate, as seen here, for a more open-concept option. (Collapsing more than one side will make the other sides cave in.) Mine is currently full of miscellaneous items like half-opened hairstyling creams, just-in-case power strips, and bottles of cold medicine. And if you buy the wheels, they slot right into the bottom corners of a single crate to make a stack of crates more mobile.

Another highlight of Hay’s “Colour” collection is the round storage box (which comes in rectangle form, too). I’ve been using one to store sewing supplies, an upgrade from the Dansk Danish cookie tin that held the honor before. Kelsey Keith, editorial director at Herman Miller, uses them as gift boxes and reuses them to hold photos, office supplies, and more. 

Type: Open-air basket in two sizes and multiple colors | Material: Plastic | Portability: Portable

Hay’s Basket, with a capital B, has become another favorite of mine. It’s billed as part of a laundry-basket set, with a small ($30) and large ($50) version (though the latter is sold out right now). It’s available in pleasing pastels like sherbet, baby blue, and duckling yellow and features a graphic open-air grid pattern, making it especially nice-looking. I first learned about the basket from declutterer Britnee Tanner, who uses them for laundry and likes the way the small size nestles inside the top of the large one, kind of like mixing bowls. The taller and narrower large Basket, which stands close to 25 inches tall, is an obvious hamper candidate. And while the shorter and wider small Basket has the familiar profile of a laundry basket, it’s also an excellent all-around storage bin. On laundry day, I haul dryer sheets and detergent inside of it. Even at less than half the height of the large (at around ten inches tall), it makes a good resting place for folded blankets in the corner of my bedroom or a catchall for rolled-up tote bags and big scarves.

Type: Box (see-through) with snap-on lid | Material: Plastic | Portability: Portable

Both Beth Penn, owner of Bneato Bar Professional Organizing, and Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio have bought these multipurpose boxes in multiples. Though you can buy them individually, the real value is in the sets of five and 20 (there’s also a larger version). They are sized to hold shoes, but the potential uses are endless. Penn counts on them to keep cabinets and closet shelves tidy by storing medications, first-aid supplies, and bathroom essentials like dental and feminine-hygiene products. Trolio has them all over her house, holding everything from sidewalk chalk to Barbies to extra school supplies. The lids snap on securely, and the bins’ stackability and transparency are especially useful for quickly finding what you (or your kids, as in Trolio’s case) need.

Type: Case (zippered opening) | Material: Polyester | Portability: Portable

Ikea’s Skubb storage case is similar to a piece of carry-on luggage in that there’s a zippered top that flips open (as seen here) to reveal what’s inside. The case slides right underneath a bed, with a handle to pull it out as needed. There’s some minor assembly involved to get the Skubb set up: You slide the included plastic boards into pockets on the sides of the case to help it keep its shape. You’ll want to be careful about overloading the Skubb, as that could make the sides bow out. I have bedding in mine, which holds about five complete sets of full-size sheets without bulging or stretching. The ventilated nets in the corners of the case maintain their just-laundered freshness. Strategist writer Jeremy Rellosa also likes the Skubb for this reason, using them to hold out-of-season clothes. His have held up through multiple apartment moves, and they’re a bargain at $10 each.

Type: Box (see-through) with drop-front | Material: Plastic | Portability: Not-so-portable (when stacked)

These boxes are among the best shoe organizers out there. Naeemah Ford Goldson of Restore Order Professional Organizing pointed out how versatile they are — store them under your bed, stacked on shelves, or by themselves. (A word of caution: Once the boxes are stacked high, they’ll be harder to move around.) The box’s closed drawers keep shoes protected from dust, while small ventilation holes allow shoes to breathe, says Jessica Decker of Become Organized. And Mary Cornetta of Organized Overall actually prefers the box’s drop-front style, as you don’t have to move them all to get to the bottom to reach your favorite pair.

Type: Basket (woven with side handles) | Material: Rope | Portability: Portable

When one reader wrote in to our advice column, “Ask the Strategist,” in search of nice-looking baskets for bedding, writer Lauren Ro (who happens to be our team’s home-décor expert) shared her own favorite. Ro has bought a couple of these OrganiHaus baskets over the years. That’s in part because of their affordability, especially compared to other rope baskets out there (“You really don’t need to spend a lot on them unless you want to,” she says). These are roomy enough to hold sofa cushions and a big yoga bolster, “so it’s safe to say one would accommodate a couple of pillows and a blanket or two,” Ro explains. These are tricolor and well-made with easy-toting handles, she says, which makes them look more expensive than they really are. Note that they’re slightly floppy when emptied, but that isn’t a problem if they’re packed with bedding.

Type: Bin (open-front top) | Material: Wood | Portability: Portable

These bins are great for smaller toys that might get lost in a bigger basket, or for an ever-expanding book collection. You can choose between small and large sizes, which can all be stacked — a fact that Tanner appreciates as it helps prevent crowding on the floor, which might otherwise be covered in train cars or dollhouse furniture. The bins can be placed out of reach of small fingers, or low toward the ground to hold favorite toys that are always in demand at playtime. Or you can line them up side by side, as Tanner recommends, to help children start organizing their toys out by themselves. Since they are made with a woodgrain finish, the bins are neutral in design and can grow with your child as their taste evolves from stuffies to Legos.

Type: Bag | Material: Nylon and polyester | Portability: Portable

Though a basket can lend itself well to a kid’s room for the latest talking doll and board game — a 3 Sprouts one is organizer-approved for the embroidered animals on the outside, as is the stuffable Flådis from Ikea — Swoop bags are probably the most portable toy-specific storage I heard about. The bags come in mini, medium, and large sizes that let you throw in a number of playthings, pull up on the drawstrings, and “swoop” them away. (Here’s an official video from the company so you can see it in action for yourself.) Trolio tested one after reading customer reviews on the website: “One of them mentions that the bags are good for ‘picking through without dumping everything on the floor,’ and I think that really gets to the heart of it,” she says, because they are easy to rifle through and then close them back up again. Trolio compares them to “Santa’s sack but for decluttering,” using them to corral stuffed animals, pretend fruits and veggies, and other miscellaneous items that have moved all over the house. She cautions against overfilling, noting that you want enough weight inside to be able to pull the drawstrings tight, but not so much to make the bag hard to carry, cautioning that Magna-Tiles get really heavy fast.

Type: Tote in multiple sizes with weather-resistant latched lid | Material: Plastic | Portability: Portable to not-so-portable (depending on the size)

I’ve come to learn on the home-storage beat that the Container Store’s Weathertight Totes are much-beloved in the world of professional organizers. Tanner describes the bins as “by far one of the most durable on the market,” while Susane Colasanti, owner of Organized Home NYC, has depended on them for clients who don’t want to get rid of their CD collections but have relegated them to “long-term” storage. These are stackable, see-through, and available in nine sizes, from 6.5 quarts to 156 quarts. They stack well, and some of the smaller sizes are proportioned to stack “evenly” on top of the larger sizes, in a Tetris-like fashion (as seen here). They are also suitable for garages, attics, and basements thanks to a weathertight foam seal around the inside of each lid and multiple latches to close the lids securely to keep out moisture, bugs, and anything else you don’t want in there. I tried the 19-quart size — the second-smallest, and the rough equivalent of two standard shoeboxes sitting beside one another. The T-shirts I had sitting in mine sat just as I left them when I opened the tote after a few weeks. I especially like that the edging on the top of the tote is easy to grip, making moving easier (though the bigger sizes will be more awkward to carry around). There’s also a version with a pull handle and wheels, if you’re storing especially heavy items, and many sizes are available in discounted cases of four or six if you’ve got a lot to store and want to save a few bucks.

Type: Tote in multiple sizes with snap-on lid | Material: Plastic | Portability: Not so portable

For rugged storage of everything from Halloween skeletons to baby hand-me-downs, two names are synonymous: Sterilite and Rubbermaid. And these are one of Rubbermaid’s toughest. Because the edges of their lids have a much more pronounced dip than the lids and latches of the Weathertight Tote, Rubbermaid’s Roughnecks may be a better bet if you want a bin that’s both heavy duty and securely stackable to very tall heights. Jane Stoller, author of Decluttering for Dummies, suggests stacking them based on use, and placing bins with the things you need most often on top. She credits the handles for making the Roughnecks easier to lift; they also securely snap to the lid. That snug closure is part of the reason they are ubiquitous in storage units: there’s very little that can get through the bin’s plastic walls (Stoller has even seen wedding dresses preserved in these).