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I store my inventory in numbered plastic bins. I currently am using Sterilite 18 gallon bins that I buy from Walmart for about $5 each. I’m not 100% happy with these bins, they are a little too small and a bit flimsy when I stack them. For those folks that store your inventory in bins, which ones do you use? Price is important, I’m going to be building more shelving and will need to buy a couple dozen of whatever bin I decide to standardize on.
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I also use the cheap $5 bins from walmart. No they aren’t ideal, but they are cheap, clear, and fit 4 to a shelf in my metal storage racks. I’ve had one of these bins shatter at the handle when picking it up. The biggest drawback is that the tub has a significant taper from top to bottom. There is a significant loss of storage space due to this design feature.
Bottom line is that even a moderate improvement in a similar sized clear tub is double the price! I currently have shelving space for about 80 tubs with plans to add more shelving to go over 100 tubs. I can’t justify $10-15 a tub for that many tubs, so I will make due with the $5 junkers.
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I like the hinged bins from Walmart. They stack nicely, but we have shelves now. https://www.walmart.com/ip/13220041?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227009075107&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40343931992&wl4=pla-56980016945&wl5=9018770&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=13220041&wl13=&veh=sem
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I’ve been considering the ones Sue linked to. We will be moving into our new home in a few months and I’m building my storage shelves so I can make whatever fit, but I’m looking at 8′ high shelves and getting big tubs down for me is difficult. I currently have a mix of tubs that I pick up at auctions for a few dollars each, but they are not all similar in size which can cause issues in shelf heights.
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I use the Sterilite 115? qt latched clear bins. I can fit between 15-25 items in them. My storage consist of these bins, shelving and hanging rods for clothes. Rough estimate is that your storage needs should accommodate no more than 150% of your average # of items listed. For shelving I calculate 6″ cube per item. For clothing… 1.5″ per piece.
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I’ve got a few different types of plastic tubs. I bought a big pile from Home Depot a while back. (I need to get home to check the brand). If you’re going to have them on the floor, bigger is better. Clear tubs definitely provide some advantages over opaque.
If you’re going to have shelving, make sure they fit your shelves (or make your shelves fit your tubs. The higher you go, the smaller you’ll probably want them for safety reasons. Shelving makes a big difference over stacking them on the floor. Stack and unstacking tubs gets old.
If you stack on the floor, tubs seem to warp or crack beyond a certain weight limit. I try and keep mine to a stack of 2 large with a smaller one on top of that.
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My system–If you can call it that is whenever possible get clear totes with lid attached. When a lid from a sturdy rubbermaid tote falls on the ground in my garage and gets run over by one of my kids bikes—I get upset. Spending a couple of more bucks for the ones that have the split lid (attached style) top is a winner for me.
I stack on the floor of my garage about 6 high and they have all seemed to hold up well–again with the exception of some lids from the totes that aren’t attached to the tote itself. Hence, whenever possible (actually whenever I see them at a thrift store or garage sale) I only pick these up for storage. I won’t be buying removable lid storage totes anymore.
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These totes are my favorite. I’ve gone through a lot of totes and these hold up the best. I don’t just use mine for storage though. I use them for transporting lots of stuff I buy locally at auctions or from private sellers, so they get a lot of use. I also have some large ones with wheels built in the bottom that have held up ok, I’ll have to check what brand they are.
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Walmart has the same 18 gallon sterilite tubs in clear. I have about 50 of them. Maybe they don’t sell them anymore? When I bought them in the past couple of years they were about $1 more than solid grey.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-18-Gallon-Tote-Box-Clear-8pk/44785785
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@trunkfullofjunk I love those too but I get mine at costco for $8.
My favorite are the ziplock weather tights but they are PRICY. The ziplocks I use for wool items.I store a lot in my barn which is basically a sieve. I’ve found that any of the other totes besides the two above, the clothes start to smell after a few months and I have to rewash them. I’m slowly transferring everything to the big black and yellow bins. They seal fine and aren’t as expensive as the ziplocks.
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I’ve been buying the Sterilite 18 gallon tubs from Walmart that many have referred to. The black ones are 50 cents cheaper than any of the other colors at my store. They are $4.45 each, which keeps them under $5 when adding tax each.
I also like the Sterilte plastic drawer systems. Some are single ones that stack and others are integrated carts (I remove the wheels.) They come in a variety of sizes and are great for smaller or more delicate items. I’ve got a bunch of these for $! to $3 each scavenging.
I’ve actually had to stop buying storage. I literally don’t have room and many of my bins are empty, so I need to list list list.
Each tub is numbered, so I know where everything is.
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I also use a number system for my listed inventory that is small enough to package up and throw into a storage bin. My preferred storage bins for this are the Hefty 34 quart bins with the locking lids. I love them and allows me to store normally 20 items per bin. I use the 18 gallon tubs also, but for bigger items (hats, purses, board games, etc) that I don’t assign a number, just a bin too. I found the 18 gallon tubs for my “normal” sized items was too big, whereas the 34 quart allowed me to do one-two layers of items for easy access/quick finds.
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