I Use This 6-Pack of Organizers All Over My Home (It's So Versatile!)
I have neither the space nor the money to execute the complete organizational overhaul that my cramped rental apartment truly needs. In a perfect world, my cluttered closets are three feet deeper and home to a gorgeous custom-built installation that takes up the height of the wall. Nothing is out of place. Maybe I even have a garage or an attic — my storage solution white whales.
But while all that remains a pipe dream for now, it doesn’t mean I have to live in squalor in the meantime. Like many renters, I’m always on the hunt for solutions that live in the perfect happy medium between a mindless junk drawer and a flashy, intricate fix-all that’s not always doable if you want your security deposit back — under-sink bins, my perfect-sized bathroom shelf, a guest bed with compartments for linen storage, and things like that.
WYT Clear Storage Latch Bins
In these clear bins from Amazon — complete with latching lids and stackable capabilities — I’ve found yet another product to add to the list. The bins are small — not the huge plastic totes I was first faced with in my early searches of “bins” online. They’re so compact that they fit on shelves, nestle into nightstand drawers, and seamlessly integrate into odd closet gaps that might not fit much else. This particular product comes in a set of six for under $25, and I find that to be more than enough.
I have one that houses spare charging cords and electronic accessories, and it perches neatly on the bookshelf next to my home office’s desk. Stacked below it is one with everything our dog, Carl, needs: his collar, flea medicine, bandanas, and first aid items. Another in our bedroom closet contains travel extras like space luggage tags and TSA-approved bottles for liquids. Yet another lives inside our IKEA guest bed’s lower drawers for travel-sized toiletries and extra tissues for our loved ones who might be staying over. Another in-the-hall closet is dedicated to typical “junk drawer” stuff — batteries, matches, extra screws, and Command Strips.
One more remains empty, surely soon to be filled the next time I gather the strength to clean out a cabinet. At the moment, I’m thinking about using it in the bar area for the wine stoppers, bottle openers, and corkscrews my husband and I can never seem to keep handy. The fact that they’re clear is also a lifesaver — there’s no need to label anything or go digging inside to figure out what you’re getting into, which we too often have to do with other bags and boxes we use for storage.
And I know, I know. Miranda Priestly’s voice: “Bins for storage? Groundbreaking.” But there’s something about how small and interchangeable yet structured and spacious these are for odds and ends that soothed something in my brain. Absent the ability to install more permanent storage structures, these are the first “junk drawer” solution I’ve loved that gives me more order than tossing things into a tote bag, but less clunkiness than buying a giant container that would surely turn into a black hole where I would never find a thing. Any way you slice it, these have seriously slashed the level of disarray in my home.
Buy: WYT Clear Storage Latch Bins (6-Pack), $23.99 (normally $30.99)
