I feel that I’ll be ridiculed for mentioning this, but I bought a milk crate from Home Depot.
Actually, I liked it so much, I bought two.
A couple of weeks ago, I had been putting together a 2-week dry goods food kit, in case anyone in our household tested positive for the new coronavirus and we were all quarantined. But… where would the food go? I needed a good container for a couple of cans, extra dry pasta, and two cartons of soup, and the pantry was full.
So, I put it all into two 2-gallon buckets I had picked up last holiday season. That seemed… clunky.
I was browsing at the local Home Depot for some new storage containers when I came across a standard-sized 13″ x 13″ x 11″ tall milk crate. This seemed perfect, both for short-term need and long-term tool and part storage, so I bought one.
I was at a different Home Depot store the next day and bought a second one.
These crates are strong and stackable. Handles on all four sides make for convenient lifting.
As to why I feel like some might ridicule me for this, I imagine the voices will scoff and say “why didn’t you just get some for free.” Free? From where?
While the price might seem a tad high, I feel it’s quite reasonable for the sturdiness of the milk crates, especially compared to various flimsy thin plastic storage boxes marketed to consumers.
Price: $9 each
Buy Now via Home Depot
See Also: Muscle Rack Crates via Amazon
Note: One of my stored had these milk crates for $9 each, the other had then for $7. The online price is $9, but in-store prices might vary, which can be true for other products as well.
This brand is GSC technologies, but there are others. I like these crates so much (so far at least) and will be looking into ordering more from this brand or another. You can also find longer milk crates, but I like the square shape of these.
They’re made in the USA.
Some of the holes will require a little attention to remove waste plastic, but it’s not a big deal.
I have a couple of lighter duty Sterilite crates that I bought at Target 10 years ago, and they’re holding up fine but they’re not well-suited for heavy loads at all. They have thin handles and light construction. They’re still holding up well, however, but these milk crates are better.
You can buy the Sterilite crates online, but with shipping fees “baked in.” You could look at Target’s mid-summer college essentials displays, which is when and where I’ve seen these crates in the years since I bought mine. Mine still have their ’09 marketing stickers on them, which is how I know they’ve been with me for 10 years.
