When organizing our storage spaces, we spend a lot of time deciding what to keep, but not nearly enough time on how we will store it. You may have purchased bins, but it's a mismatch of cloth and plastic bins that seemed like a good purchase at the time. In this episode, we're diving into the canvas bins we fill without a second thought, to the plastic totes we stack to the ceiling, the containers we choose shape how our storage spaces feel, how accessible our things are, and how likely we are to actually use or lose what we've stored. As part of our Year of the Storage Rooms series, this conversation will help you make intentional choices so that your containers are working with you, not against you.
In This Episode We Talk About
- The key differences between soft and hard containers: what each does well, what each does poorly, and why mixing them thoughtfully is usually the answer
- How to match your container type to what you're actually storing, so things are protected, accessible, and honestly easier to find
- The emotional side of container choices: why we over-buy bins, why we hold onto containers that aren't working, and how your storage containers can tell you a lot about your relationship with your stuff
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Review Transcript:
 Hey, welcome back to Organize and Cherish. I'm so glad you're here. Before we get into taste episode, I want to take a second to acknowledge something. If you've been following along with our year of the Storage Room series, you might be at a point now where your storage room is somewhere in the middle.
So maybe you've started pulling things out or maybe you've had a good time, uh, a good amount of time to think about that space and what it should be actually for. Maybe you're staring down a pile of stuff and wondering what the next step is, if that's you. Today's episode is very much for you because we're talking about containers, so specifically we're talking about the choice between soft containers and hard containers, which it usually comes around this time when we're doing like a storage makeover or if you've been kind of decluttering for the last couple of weeks.
So that's why we're recording it at this point. And so we're going to talk about why that choice matters more than we realize. If you're not quite there yet, or you just started the episode, the, the podcast and the series right now, that's okay. It also is a standalone episode today, so you don't have to start from the beginning.
But if I start to address things that we've talked about, that's why. Um, but again, I do make each episode so that you can listen to it on its own. Um, and if your storage room is still in the, I'll deal with it someday. Category completely. Okay. You can file this episode one day and then come back to it when you're ready.
So listen in for maybe ideas and then come back when you're ready to tackle it. Um, the way that we are explaining today, okay. So there's no timeline here. It's just motivation. It's a way for me to get you to take some action. On this stuff that you've been putting off, especially in your. Storage room.
Okay, so let's dig in.
Welcome to the Organized and Cherish podcast with the Organized Flamingo. I am your host Stephanie, your compassionate and deficient professional organizer. Whether you are part of the sandwich generation helping a loved one declutter, or just trying to simplify life, this is the place for you. Together, we will tackle those overwhelming piles of stuff, uncover purpose in what we keep, and let go with dignity and care.
Because it's not just about throwing everything away, it's about respecting memories and simplifying life. Sound like a plan? Let's jump in and get organized. So here's something I've noticed over the years as I help people organize their spaces and declutter, we. Talk a lot about decluttering, you know, about letting things go, about figuring out what belongs where, and when we talk about containers, any type of container at this point, it's usually they don't have a preference or they bought containers.
They, that the person, like the client, right, already bought some containers because they were on sale because it was seasonal. They were cute. Um, they thought it was a good, like a good sale, or they went to a home goods type of store. And you know, they were just kind of in a shopping mood and it was almost like therapeutic.
And so they bought a couple of really cute containers. So it's usually a mismatch of all kinds of containers that came to them while they were in whatever mood they were in to purchase those containers. But there's no rhyme or reason, like it wasn't an intentional purchase, it was just that's what was available.
At the time when they needed something or they were inspired to organize, declutter, put stuff away, and that was just what was available at the store. Again, no rhyme or reason, and I get it. I mean, containers feel like the fun part. You walk into that home good store, you see those gorgeous woven baskets and those stackable clear bins, and something in your brain says, yes, this is the solution.
I just need the right containers and everything will be organized, so I get it. I like that that's gone through my own head many times. I've bought bins before, before I even figured out what was going in them. Okay, so I've been guilty of this now, obviously, because I do this for a living. I stop myself before it gets too far, or I actually will carry it into my shopping cart.
And then at the end I'm like, what am I doing? Okay, this is, I don't even have an intention. So I do stop myself probably a little sooner, um, than most, but again, that's just because I do this for a living. But I just want you to know that any, like, we all go through this, so, and I think a lot of us have, but here's what I've learned.
The container comes after the decision and not before it. We actually have an entire, like our seven steps of organizing almost anything, which is episode one of this entire. Podcast. That's how I started this podcast because I really, it wa I, I was really encouraged by people that didn't know why containers could not come first.
And so when we developed our seven steps of organized almost anything, it started to make sense. And so I was like, let me make a, a whole podcast episode about this. And anyway, things, you know, three years later here we are still recording, but that's how passionate I am about this topic and about how containers do need to be intentional and how they don't come first.
They are fun and they can come, um, as early as maybe like your step two or three. It's just not the number one. That is something that I, I talk a lot about anyway. One of the most important decisions to make, whether you need one or not, is if you're going to get a soft container or a hard container. In that part, we don't really talk about it out loud because we just put containers in this.
Big category like this overall category, right? Like if you go into the container, not the container store, like the the actual store, but like the container aisles where all the containers are at the store, they just all kind of are in the same row. And there is a difference. It's not just aesthetic.
That's the difference. There are also other differences I wanna talk about. So these two categories might sound simple, but once you start thinking about them intentionally. You'll see that the choice has a real impact on how your storage space functions and how it feels and how efficient you are with your organizing and or decluttering projects.
Let me make sure we're on the same page with what I mean by each of these. So soft containers are things like fabric bins, canvas baskets, the woman baskets, the tote bags. Cloth pouches, zipper pouches in those collapsible fabric cubes that you find, um, in so many of the organizing aisles. You know, IKEA has these, they're flexible.
They can scrunch, they can expand a little bit. They usually breathe. They're often, often much lighter. Um, so fabric, right soft, or it doesn't have to be a fabric, but they're just soft. They don't have those hard ridges because hard containers are things like plastic totes, litted bins. Wooden crates, metal tins, cardboard boxes, um, glass jars, rigid organizers of all kinds.
So like, that's what more what we're talking about, like they're more rigid, really can't collapse. They hold their shape, they stack, they protect what's inside from pressure or moisture, and they don't really budge in their shape because that's just, they're hard on their edges. So, and before I go any further, I wanna say that neither one is better than the other.
This is not a competition. The best container is the one that actually serves what you're storing and the way you use your space. So that's the whole conversation. So there's really no right or wrong. Um, I'll give you some of my own personal opinions as we go through this episode, but they, there, there really is no better or worse, it just will depend on what your storage room area looks like.
And then yes, you can go wrong with certain types of. Containers because they're just, they don't work well in that space. But the container itself, we really don't have like a big feelings over one or the other. Okay. Alright, so let's start with soft containers, because I think they get a bit of an unfair reputation.
People sometimes see them. As less serious somehow, or like just, just not as nice. Right? They, I get a lot of the responses of, oh yes, that's more like for my college student or when I was young or my budget was, um, not as vast. Right? Like, you just kind of think like college student. Um, younger years, kid closet.
They're pretty, pretty stand in until you get the real organizer bins. Now, I, I did do an episode many moons ago. Where you can find it if you just type in organizers or bins in our search engine over in our blog page. But anyway, they um, and I did talk about how they, the soft organizers can be a really good stand-in when you're not sure.
What's your style or what kind of long-term organizers you will be using, or let's say furniture pieces, you're just not sure what to get yet? So the soft fabric containers are really good stand-ins, but that doesn't mean that they're less quality or you shouldn't get it. It's just because there's cost-wise or probably more cost efficient, and they're just so light and quick to move around.
So they're just such a good, good object. Good stand in. Before you get, quote, your real organizers or your real furniture piece or whatever it may, it may be, but it's only because they're just so much lighter and probably more cost efficient. So soft containers, um, are genuinely wonderful for the right thing.
So I really do, um, think that they are under played or under used. So they're usually ideal for items that don't have rigid shapes. So think extra blankets like throw pillows, scarves, stuffed animals, seasonal clothing, kids dress up costumes, things that need to breathe a little bit, things that benefit from having some give, and so it doesn't pick up on the smell, like the plastic smell or the more rigid container smell.
So you're not going to crack a basket trying to squeeze in one more throw pillow, but you might crack a lid. You know what I mean? So they just have a little bit more wiggle room to expand. And then soft containers are also really forgiving. So I had a client once who had been trying to use a stack of matching plastic bins for the kids' art supplies, but the problem was that the crayons and the markers and the random pieces of construction paper never fit neatly.
And there was always something sticking out, so always a lid that wouldn't quite close, and they felt like they were just not organized enough, like it just felt messy. But the truth was that the container was wrong for the content. So we switched to a few open canvas bins and a couple of pouches for the smaller items, and suddenly the system just worked because there was more wiggle room, like there wasn't this rigid feel to the container.
The containers could accommodate the chaos a little bit more rather than fighting it. Now with the rigid containers, they may look more organized because they are so rigid and square, no pun intended. But the stuff that you're putting in them might not be. Appropriate for that rigid bin and it actually backfires on you.
And then it just looks like you stuffed things in there. You are not utilizing it the right way. You're always kind of fighting it because the lid is too hard to put on. You just, it just doesn't fit right, so then it actually ends up backfiring you. And then soft containers, like I mentioned before, they tend to be lighter and easier to move around, which matters a lot in storage rooms where things need to shift around.
Often, you know, and they, they often cost less and all that stuff, which means you can try them on without a huge commitment. So where soft containers do struggle though, is that they don't protect against moisture, don't love them for long-term. Um, storage units, storage areas, anything that has moisture probably associated with it, like a, an underground, um, storage area.
They don't stack very well on their own. Even the ones that are supposed to be made to stack, they probably have a cardboard base so that you can stack them. They're just, I never have found that they work as well as the pictures. Look, they're not great for heavy items and if you need to see what's inside, you know, it's usually you can't really see without opening the whole thing.
You might be able to get some of those canvas fabric type that have like a see-through window in the front. So those could work, but they just, they just are not as, uh, clear all around and easy to stack and stuff. So pros and cons there. Hi, cherish friends. Life can get overwhelming, especially when you're juggling caregiving, clutter and everything in between.
That's why I created the Organizing Cherish Weekly email that goes out every Wednesday straight to your inbox. To help you keep the momentum inspiration going with tips and reminders of our upcoming events, all you have to do is head on over to organize and cherish.com and sign up for the email newsletter.
It's free and you can up subscribe whenever you'd like. It's my way of helping you simplify your life and respecting memories along the way. Now, back to our show. Hard containers on the other hand. Are the workhorses of a storage room, and there are a lot of situations where they're simply the better tool.
So first is protection. If you are storing things that could be damaged by pressure, dust, insects, critters, moisture, holiday ornaments, and like important documents, photos, seasonal decor, keepsakes. A hard container with a good seal is going to give you a layer of protection that a canvas fabric bin simply can't.
One of the biggest challenges in any storage room is vertical space, right? Hard containers. They stack, they're stable. They can build a wall of organized bins from floor to ceiling in a way that just soft containers, they just can't support. So, third clarity, especially with clear containers. I know some people find a room full of clear bins to be a little clinical looking like sterile in that it's a totally valid aesthetic preference.
Um, I see that all the time. Not everybody wants a clear bin, but for storage, being able to see what's inside without opening anything is genuinely valuable. You'll actually use what you've stored if you can find it without digging. Now, this can also be replaced with. A very amazing label system. So, um, if you're using the black bins or they're not see-through, then just make sure you have really good label system and that also takes that the place of having the clear bins.
Okay? Fourth, the weight capacity. If you're storing tools, books, files, canned goods, or anything dense and heavy, soft containers are going to sack and strain. Hard containers can handle the load of these items. So that's just kind of a, an obvious one. Right. Where hard containers fall short though, and people sometimes miss this, is that they don't flex.
I talked a little bit about it when we talked about the fabrics, just it just a couple minutes ago. It's something is just slightly too big. It doesn't fit. They can crack or become brittle over time because you're just stretching that material that is not meant to be stretched. Especially cheap plastic in temperature variable spaces like garages or attics.
Um, and if you choose hard containers that are too large, they become what I call the black hole. Everything just gets thrown in there. You can't find anything. You keep adding things, you lose track of what's at the bottom, and eventually you have a mystery bin that nobody wants to open. So those are also really hard.
So how do you actually decide? So let's talk about that because that's probably why you're here. I like to think about it as matching the container to the content and the context. So the content, what is this item? Is it fragile? Does it need to breathe? Is it heavy? Is it something you use frequently and need to get in and out easily?
Or something that sits in storage for a season and comes back out just ever so often. Okay. Questions like that. So the content, like what is this item? How often do I use it? Then context is where does this container live? Is it in a climate controlled indoor space or in a garage that gets hot and cold?
Very extreme weather patterns. Is it at eye level where you can easily see a label or up on a high shelf where you need to see through the container to know what's in there? Is it being handled daily or once a year? Like things like that. Right? So lemme give you a few quick examples of how this plays out.
Extra bedding. I actually just finished putting away a bunch of bedding for a client. Um, so it's on top of my mind. I usually suggest soft containers here. Um, blankets and comforters need to breathe. You put 'em in a plastic bin or something like that. It doesn't breathe, and it starts to, uh, acquire the smell of the container.
Yuck, not amazing. Um, they don't need moisture protection unless you have concerns about humidity, which is another topic. A big canvas bin or a zippered storage bag works really well. So hard bins tend to feel awkward too for those irregular shapes, although they do stack nicely because of the breathing part of it.
Um, like it doesn't get that ventilation. I lean towards soft containers for bedding, holiday decorations, hard containers, probably nine out of 10 times. Not always, but nine outta 10 times. Why so ornaments? Delicate figurines, things that can break. They just sit a lot better in a sturdier bin. Clear bins with labels means that you can pull exactly what you need as well, so that's kind of a bonus, or just a really good label, right?
Like I mentioned, nothing or very little will get crushed as long as you stack it nicely within or inside you protected in the bin. But if you're stacking different bins on top of each other as opposed to the canvas one, which will get crushed, these don't. You can stack all the mul, all, all these multiple bins safely.
Kids toys in storage. Okay, so this one depends on the toy and it depends on why you're storing it. Small pieces like games with lots of parts, things that need to stay together. Hard container, soft stuffed animals. Dress ups, carves pillows, soft container. The reason I say is like, it depends on why you're storing it.
If you're storing it because you'd like to pass it down, like it's an heirloom piece that will also play a part of it because you don't want to contain it in something that does not get, doesn't have any breathing room, and starts to either melt or get the smell of the plastic bin. So the card container might be a little bit too rigid, especially for long term, um, long term storage.
And if it means, you know, anything like a. Princess dress up or hats or whatever, anything that you like to, like an heirloom, that's clothing and fabric. But if you do put it in a hard storage container because those stack so much nicer and for long term, um, storage. It does, it is nice. Put a little bag of either, there's kind of different, depending on what it's like if it's moisture control bag in the container.
There are some for, uh, little critters, like wood balls in there. Cedar type wood balls in there. Anyway, we can talk, there's so many, um, different options here, but just know that anything that's long-term heirloom, you just have to take care of it a little bit differently. You might have to do even a, almost like a vacuum sealed type of container so that it doesn't get discolored over time as well.
So you think those are things I want you to think about for kids a step. Seasonal clothing. This is a both end situation of vacuum storage, like I just mentioned, which I think of as a soft container. Is great for compressing those big items like heavy coats, but a hard litted bin can work well too, especially in spaces where moths or other pests might be a concern.
So this is kind of similar to that heirloom discussion I just had in with kids stuff. And one thing I wanna mention is that it's completely okay. Actually, it's ideal. To have a mix of both in your storage room, like don't think that it has to be one or the other. Now, I know aesthetically it looks so much nicer and neater, but you want your stuff to last.
That is the mission, right? That is the goal, that the step in there is well taken care of. You can easily find it when you need it. So you don't need to pick a side. And if you're trying to make it aesthetic, let's talk about it, you know, with a professional or if you have a friend that has an eye for aesthetics, right?
And see what would look pretty. Don't be afraid to pick, uh, a side. The goal is the intention. Okay, so now before we get to your action step, I wanna leave you with a few quick thoughts that I think make a real difference. Okay? First is to label everything. So it doesn't matter how organized your system is, if nobody knows what's where.
Kind of a problem, right? Soft containers especially need clear labels. I don't mean clear as in the material or color, I just mean clearly labeled because you can't see through them. It does just kind of have to have a little bit more, either a description or the, it needs to make sense to everyone who is using it, and that's a really important part.
You're probably not the only one that's in and out of those containers. If you are, then it just has to make sense to you. But if you're not, and other people are also needing to get into those containers, make sure it makes sense for everyone. I like labels that are easy to change. So nothing about, because like nothing about the storage room is permanent right in your labels.
I just like them to either be something that I can, you know, write over. It's a dry erase. Something that you can change as you go along because sometimes you take something out, it breaks, you sell it, you no longer have that item, right? So you then you need to change the label. So I like the flexibility with my, my labels, uh, resist the matching set temptation.
We talked about aesthetically pleasing storage rooms. I know, I get it. I want you to get there as well, and we will. There's something deeply satisfying about being able to find things first. So make sure that the system, your storage room areas work for you, and then do the aesthetic piece. Okay? Now, if you're in our seven steps of organizing almost anything that I always talk about.
If your priority is for it to be aesthetically policing, then obviously start there and make everything else work to how you want it to be aesthetically looking. But that's not everybody's important. Like that's not everybody's number one. So I just wanna remind you that don't sacrifice function for uniformity.
That's what I'm trying to get to at here. A mix of container sizes and types that actually serves your stuff. Will always outperform a matching set that doesn't quite fit anything. Again, if you're going for aesthetics and that's you, you've tried everything and that's your number one, then have at it, no problem there.
Think about lids. Open top containers that don't have lids, whether they're soft or hard, they're much easier to access, but they do collect more dust and don't protect as well. So just think about things that have lids versus don't. They don't have lids. Sometimes it's a hassle to have to have a lid, but it's the only way that they will probably stack and we'll protect the items inside.
Don't buy the containers first unless you're, this is a aesthetically pleasing project. Different story, different podcast episode. Okay, but for the most part, for the rest of us, don't buy the containers first. Figure out what you're storing. What it needs, what space you're working with before you go shopping, measure.
Go from there. Okay. Your storage room will Thank you. Alright, so here is your invitation for the week, like your action invitation, if you're up for it, go into your storage room or whatever your storage, wherever your storage area is, like a closet or whatever, and find. A shelf or an area like, or even a corner.
So if you're able to divide it maybe into fours, we call 'em the quadrants. One section, like one area, one corner. Look at the containers you're using there. And for each one, ask yourself a couple of questions. One of 'em is going to be, is this the right type of container or whether it's off or hard for what?
What's actually in it? And do I know without opening it, what's inside? You're gonna do that for. A few of the, of the stuff that's there, whether you have cardboard boxes, anything, right? So is this the right container for this stuff? And do I know what's in there without going in and opening it? Okay. If the answer to either of the questions is no, you've just found your next project.
You don't have to tackle the whole room. Right? But you're starting to get an idea that, oh, yep, nope. This, these containers are not right for the stuff that I'm storing. Like you, you might be storing tools that are very heavy and you have them in cardboard boxes, and the next time you go get one of those cardboard boxes out, it probably will break.
Or if you're in a mo, like it starts to get, um, snowy or water or a lot of moisture gets in and those cardboard boxes might be getting wet underneath not the right container for it. Right? And then so you kind of go from there. And if you find a container that's empty. Then, you know, keep 'em to the side and don't go out and, and start to buy bins without knowing exactly what you want to get.
So let's, let's do that. Let's do that exercise and go from there. And then from, uh, once you find out or you start figuring out what kind of containers you need, start making a shopping list and measure, we'll declutter, and then we can. Go out and, you know, look for a good deal or look for the ones that you, that would fit perfectly there, color, size, all of that.
And then we can make our decisions based off of, off of that. Okay. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. Um, this is one of those episodes that feels simple on the surface, just bins and baskets. Right. And it's actually really fun and I think this is most of the time where people want to start, but the more.
I realize it, the more, I think the choices we make about containers really do affect something bigger. So I wanted to make this entire episode and, and kind of make it fun, but also informative. So hopefully I achieve that for you today. Until next week, happy organizing. Thank you for listening to the Organized and Cherish podcast with the Organized Flamingo.
If you enjoy today's episode, I'd be so grateful if you left a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps others discover our show. For full show notes, resources, and more organizing inspiration, visit www.theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast. Until next time, happy organizing.