I recently wrote about two organizing products I consider to be ineffective– ventilated shelves and Sterilite plastic drawers. Today, I offer some improvements on the aforeblogged losers.

The ventilated shelf tip comes not from me, but from one of my readers. Elaine generously left a comment on that scornful post which read, “Hi!! You’re a trip! Love your blog! Anywho….I have one of the industrial garment racks, which has the slatted shelving. Container Store actually sells a flat sheet to make the shelf sans-holes!! Good idea!”

Good idea indeed, Elaine. I actually hadn’t even considered that such a thing, specifically made for remedying the ventilated shelf predicament, existed. Here, The Container Store’s ventilated shelf liner she mentioned, and also another offering: clear plastic shelf liners for wire shelving.

Now onto the Sterilite plastic drawers.

Jessica commented on that post, “Agree! Are there any other inexpensive options? Or even expensive ones that hold several drawers and fit under sinks and in closets and what-not? Everytime I go to the container store website, a) I need resuscitated from sticker shock and b) I’m totally overwhelmed by the options – and c) not sure if what I have in my cart even works together. I generally just click off and go eat a cookie. Makes me feel better for being unable to complete the transaction.”

Oh Jessica, I feel you girl. And not only did I thoroughly enjoy your comment, but I so badly wanted to provide you with the solution. Turns out, those stupid plastic drawers really seem to have a monopoly on the whole affordable-mobile-storage thing. Darn. I did, however, uncover one possible solution. It is from The Container Store, so not quite what you requested, but from everything I’ve read, the Like-it~ Stacking Drawers are a much better take on the Sterilite plastic drawers. Might at least be worth checking them out.

One other solution, briefly mentioned in the original post, is to opt for Sterilite storage boxes
rather than drawers. Logic would tell you that managing one unit with multiple plastic drawers would be easier and more effective than many individual plastic bins. Logic would be wrong, in my humble opinion.

Any contributions you can add to this most pertinent conversation?