Sterilite ShowOff’s - A Great Storage System
Written: Jan 11 '03 (Updated Jan 15 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Inexpensive, sturdy, great size.
Cons: A little hard to stack, lid doesn’t always lock into place.
The Bottom Line: The large Sterilite ShowOff containers are a great way to get organized, eliminate clutter and simplify your life – and you won't go broke in the process!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Sterilite Nature Inspired Silk Lichen Large Showof... |
I came across the Sterilite ShowOff storage containers at Wal-Mart and was immediately impressed with the sizes they came in, fastening system and price. For those of you that use the storage containers or boxes that have a press on lid locking system but need something a bit more sturdy, you might want to check out the Sterilite Showoff line. These containers come in a variety of sizes and can be used in a home office, kids room, bathroom or in the kitchen.
Sterilite ShowOff
The largest in the series, model 1896 is great for a portable hanging file system or in my case, not needing something as large as a filing cabinet to take up space in a small home office. If you are planning on using this to store hanging files you won’t have to worry about the metal hangers sliding out of place since there are nice deep wells into which the hangers rest. Even if you flip through the hanging folders at a fast pace or move the container around, the folders stay securely in place. If you are a homeschooler, these are great for keeping assignments organized, past and future class plans in order and completed projects.
I use one of these just to store crayons and markers. I used to have them in a large plastic tote but found it was too hard to find what I was looking for. Since this container is tall, thin and see through I don’t have to waste time unpacking items from a tote. This is a great way to keep all your crafts organized as well and they are the perfect size for storing Christmas ornaments, Halloween decorations and those plastic Easter eggs that seem to multiply each season.
Stacking these is another story. There is a small recess on the bottom of the container that can fit onto another container but I don’t suggest this if you are storing heavy items such as candles, paperback books or videocassettes. The containers can be stacked but it isn’t an interlocking system so if it gets bumped, there is a very good chance that you’ll end up knocking a stack over. If you do want to stack them, make sure it is against a wall – preferable a corner – so they have some type of additional support.
The lids have two locking arms that attach to the sides of the container. While they are well made you will need to make sure that they are locked in place before you pick up the container. A few times I had one side locked in place and the other side wasn’t pressed hard enough and I when I went to pick up the container the side that was lock came undone and the contents dumped out onto the floor. Using the locks isn’t hard at all, but you do need to double check them before you attempted to pick them up and carry them. The handle is nice and thick and doesn’t cut into your hand, even if you are carrying something that is heavy. The handle runs right through the top of the container and won’t rip, tear or come away from the lid. If you – for some reason – want to remove the lid [possibly for stacking purposes] you can take a butter knife and press on the middle slot of the under section of handle grip and slide the handle out.
The size is what really got me interested in this. I have tons of totes but sometimes I need something that is bigger than the plastic shoebox styles but smaller than the large storage totes. This is a great ‘in between’ size. Measuring fourteen inches wide by nine and a half inches in depth and twelve inches deep you have more than enough room to store odds and ends, toys, magazines, hard cover books, photos and my personal favorite – dry dog and animal food. You do lose a little bit of storage space due to the rounded edges [rather than straight edges] but this hasn’t really been an issue with me so far. If you have cats or dogs and feed them dry foods that come in large bags – you might want to check out these containers to keep the food fresh. Since the containers are transparent you’ll always know exactly how much food you have left.
Outside of the obvious uses for these containers, they do make great gifts! I picked up a bunch of hair ties, barrettes, glitter nail polish and other girlie related products and tossed them in one of these containers one of my friends daughters birthday parties. I took some t-shirt paint and drew little hearts and flowers on the outside, along with her name and a cute border and toped it all off with a bow. You could do the same thing for little boys except skip the hearts and flowers – fill it up with their favorite candies and toys and you are ready to go. If you really want to get creative you can buy peel off plastic clings of their favorite characters [Bob The Builder, Pokemon, Scooby-Doo etc] and apply the clings to the container.
Recently I picked up several of these for my collection of cookie cutters. Until now they were all stored in boxes, bags and in the kitchen silverware drawer and when it came time to make cookies I usually spent as much time tracking them down as I did actually making the cookies. Now they are all bagged according to the season or holiday they belong to and stored in one of these containers. One other use I’ve found for them is for storing items in the bathroom. This is great for the half used bag of cotton balls, packages of band aids, Q-Tips, sample sized products and items that would otherwise get lost in the shuffle.
The Bottom Line
I really fell in love with all the Sterilite ShowOff containers but the large one offers you the most amount of freedom when storing items. Outside of the above mentioned issue with stacking these, I have nothing but great things to say about these containers. If you are looking for something in between the large totes and the small storage containers, check out the large ShowOff storage container to help make your life a little easier and less cluttered. To identify the different sizes check the small label on the front of the container [to the left of the UPC code] for the item number – this one is 1896.
There is a product almost identical to this one – the Sterilite Portable Organize that comes with a drop in carrier that rests in the side slots [where the hanging file tabs are seated]. This costs a few more dollars than the large container mentioned in this review and is product number 1897. You might want to make sure that you are picking up the correct model number since these containers are identical in size. Since these are not sealed someone might remove the drop in carrier [the only thing that separates these two models] from the portable organizer and you’ll get charged a few dollars more without getting the benefit of the internal organizer.
To view all the containers in the Sterilite Showoff line please visit this link -http://www.sterilite.com/Category.html?Section=Storage&ProductCategory=42#
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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