How do I describe what the Container Store is? It's anything you would ever want to organize your house.
When I walk into the store, I think to myself, "Man, I'm going to spend a bundle, but I'm going to get exactly what I want to solve the problem at hand." We were looking for ways to expand the storage of our kitchen. After we remodeled it, we found ourselves lacking in cabinet space and of the cabinet space we had, we were severely lacking in utilization.
We found a website that suggested we get a 4-sort divider. It's a wire stand that has 4 spaces to put stuff. In our case, we needed a place to put our glass casserole dishes and our cookie sheets, since stacking them on top of each other was getting to be a chore. We get it home and it's PERFECT. Plus there's room for cutting boards too! $4.99 + tax. They have multiple sizes.
Secondly, our pantry is about 30 inches deep. Basically all the space in the back is unusable since you have to unload everything in front to get to it. Couldn't get the contractor to install pull out shelves, so we got deep shelves. We originally went into the store looking for spice racks we could install on the cabinets around the range. We bought some wire ones that would have worked, but we found ourselves questioning whether they'd really fix our problem. We finally fell upon the Elfa door system. It's basically the Elfa rail that attaches to the door (there are hooks to attach it to the door, top and bottom, so you don't have to drill holes. Plus the door is hollow anyway so there wouldn't be anything solid to drill into anyway)
We originally bought 3 spice racks, 2 shallow baskets and 2 deep baskets, only to find out that they're too big to fit our 18" door. Since they have to pivot with the door, they wouldn't fit. So we went back yet again and bought 5 narrow shallow and 2 narrow deep and it is awesome. The one thing that bothers me is that since the Elfa is only held at the top and bottom, it rattles when you close the door. A minor inconvenience. All in all, this system cost us about $82 + tax.
I needed a way to keep my wallet, sunglasses and keys organized so we bought a mail and key basket. Nothing fancy, just a wire basket with 6 hooks underneath. It holds my wallet, cell phone, keys and sunglasses with ease. I'm a little worried that the constant use will leave marks on the wall. The Wife said we'll try it like this first and if it does, we can do something about it in the future. $9.99 + tax. They have other kinds and styles, even one that holds your keys using hidden magnets. Fancy!
The other thing I really like is that their hangers are the exact same hangers they've had for years. If you like matching hangers, then you can buy hangers here and later when/if you need more, you can get the same hangers to match.
Most of their stuff is really cool. They all serve a purpose and solve a problem. I will say that when I first set foot in a Container Store, I thought it was expensive and some of it is, but some items are very affordable and if you can recover lost space, or make it more usable, that can be priceless. Until the Wife and I did some research at other stores, we found that the solutions here were priced competitively, even priced way below, with the other "solutions" we came across.
The staff is ALWAYS ready to help you and some of them are overly talkative, but I can manage that, especially considering the alternative.
Bottom line: Check this place out. You don't know what you have been missing. read more