The Practical & Affordable Way To Upgrade Storage Containers

Want the aesthetic organization look but your wallet isn’t on the same page? Here’s how to upgrade your storage containers in a practical way so you don’t break the bank.

One of the biggest reasons people procrastinate on organizing their home is the cost of good quality containers. Sure, you can head to the dollar store and load up on cheap plastic bins, but you’ve done that before and you know it didn’t work. Cheap bins break, flex, and just don’t really look nice.

If you want that aesthetic Pinterest look but your budget doesn’t agree with those lusty heart eyes you have every time you open the app, you don’t have to write off the idea completely. You just need a plan and some budgeting guidelines to follow. Here’s the exact advice I give my clients when they want fancy new pretty bins.

Create A Monthly Container Budget

Just like you’d budget for your electric bill and kids’ holiday gifts, you can budget for storage bins too. This helps you stay on track with your goals without going into debt on a credit card. Seriously, credit card debt for some plastic boxes sounds silly when you think about it, right?

Decide what you can afford to buy per month and don’t go over that amount. If you can spare $100 a month and the containers you’ve been eyeing at The Container Store are $40 each, buy two to replace the junky ones in your closet and put aside the other $20 for the next month.

Alternatively, if you’re saving up for a big bundled set, put that monthly budgeted amount aside so you can buy the kit at once. Some stores like The Container Store and Walmart have large variety sets that are actually cheaper than buying each piece on its own. Do your research to decide if it’s more cost-effective to buy pieces one by one or as a set, and make a promise to yourself that you’ll save accordingly.

If you need to take out cash from an ATM and keep it in an envelope in your underwear drawer that’s labeled “Get Organized,” then do it! I do this all the time for things I’m saving up for, and that feeling when I finally reach that goal amount and take it to the bank to deposit is a high I can’t even describe.

One Drawer At A Time

I sound like a broken record on Instagram and YouTube because I say “one drawer at a time” at least once a week. But in the same sense that this concept applies for decluttering and organizing, it also works for upgrading your bins. If you were to swap out all the containers in your entire kitchen at once, you’d have to sell your middle child.

But you don’t have to buy it all in one go, and actually, you shouldn’t. You need time to organize each space. You need an adjustment period to decide if that storage system is going to work for your lifestyle. And a full-on bin swap for a whole room takes about a week of rearranging a tornado-swept room.

Choose one drawer, cabinet, or shelf to organize at a time. Buy the containers you need for only that space. Don’t worry about anywhere else in the house. Give that single space every bit of your love and attention to make it something that would go viral on Pinterest. Then stop.

This keeps you from getting overwhelmed and allows your funds to replenish before you start working on another area.

Work In Priority Order

There’s no rule that says you have to completely organize your entire bathroom or kitchen before moving on to another space. In fact, this is a surefire way to lose steam and give up. Instead, I always recommend working on the last area that frustrated you.

Did you almost cuss in front of your kid because the junk drawer jammed again for the third time this week? Were you late for work because you couldn’t find your badge in the mess on the counter? Trip over a pair of shoes at the door and get a nasty bruise on your knee the week before vacation? That’s where to start.

The reasoning behind this is the pure motivation of solving your problem. And nothing kicks you in the pants to make a change like getting mad. Think back to the last spot that caused an issue for you, figure out what type of containers could make it better, and buy those. Don’t worry about anywhere else.

Don’t Buy Limited Edition Organizers

Since you are buying containers in small chunks at a time, you need to be sure that the matching pieces will actually be available six months from now. Most stores have an evergreen collection of organizers as well as limited edition collections. A limited collection is usually a collaboration with a celebrity or influencer, but sometimes it’s just a special color alternative.

I want to encourage you to skip the limited editions and stick with the OGs. Even if you are able to buy everything you need now, you might need to rearrange next year. You won’t be able to get matching containers by then, so you’ll be stuck on either choosing something else that is going to look out of place or buying all new matching bins all over again. (Don’t do that, mmkay?)

If you already bought some limited edition containers and now they’re gone, you’re not out of luck entirely. Woven baskets pair well with almost every bin on the market, so pick up a few of those and they’ll look intentional next to your oldies.

Need Help Deciding Which Containers To Buy?

Before you shell out all this cash on containers, it’s important to take time to find out what type of bins will best suit your lifestyle. Here’s a post to help you pinpoint your organizing style so you don’t lose focus of what’s actually important, which is making your home more functional.

Try not to get too swept up in the aesthetics, because if a pretty storage space doesn’t work for your family, it won’t stay pretty for long. Really work on building good organizing and decluttering habits before you buy new containers to ensure you can maintain them.

And remember, the less stuff you own, the less containers you need to buy. How’s that for motivation to declutter some more?