A soft-sided canvas box is safe for a playroom and provides a homey feel, Solomon says.

But it’s more delicate than other materials and can break under too much pressure. Wicker is forever associated with linens and laundry, which is why home-organizer Caroline Solomon likes it for “outgoing items in your entryway,” like the dry cleaning you’ve been meaning to drop off. A plastic milk crate is utilitarian and heavy-duty, but the holes can hold onto dust and dirt and can’t be wiped down easily, according to professional organizer Laura Cattano. The material a storage bin is made from also factors into both its function and aesthetic. And if you’re looking for more specific advice, like the best ways to store Legos or Christmas decorations or where to find actually good-looking toy storage, we have many more buying guides that will help you find exactly what you need. The storage bins on this list include my favorites in both function and form. I’ve tried close to a dozen storage bins so far, and I’m always adding more to my own home, using them day in and day out to store and organize off-season clothes, extra blankets, toiletries, and miscellaneous odds and ends. (Predictably, the Container Store is a go-to, but there’s lots to be found at other retailers as well.) Then I began vetting the recommendations myself. I also asked my fellow neat-freak Strategist staffers for their favorites.

To make the list of the best storage bins below, I started by consulting a range of home-organization pros who are well versed in the storagescape, including some who make a living off organizing small homes. So there’s much more on the market now than your standard Sterilite tub or Rubbermaid tote, including high-design crates from Hay and sleek caddies from Yamazaki.

Storage and home organization has become a nearly $12 billion industry, fueled in part by gurus like the Home Edit and Marie Kondo and FYPs full of aesthetic restocks. Over the past two years of leading our home-organization coverage and writing about everything from shoe racks to drawer dividers, I’ve learned there is truly a storage bin - or box, or crate, or basket, or container - for everything.

Unique drawer pulls for outside