Sterilite

Sterilite latching totes are the plastic bins you pack bedding, tools, sporting gear and off-season clothes into for the garage, basement, attic or closet. The latches clamp the lid to the base, so a loaded bin stays shut when you carry it or something bumps it. Sterilite makes them in the United States.

Sterilite Corporation is based in Townsend, Massachusetts. It began in 1939 as a small, family-owned partnership started by Saul Stone, Edward Stone and Earl Tupper, who set out to make things from plastic by injection molding. By the 1960s it was selling a broad line of plastic housewares, including one of its first storage bins, and today it runs seven manufacturing plants.

White latching totes, 6 to 106 quarts

The white latching totes are for household storage: linens, holiday decorations, kids’ clothes and paperwork. Use the 6 and 15 quart for hardware, craft supplies and small parts, and the 32 and 64 quart for sweaters and linens on a closet shelf. The 106 quart holds a full set of bedding or a tree’s worth of ornaments, and it takes up a lot of floor. The mistake that happens most is buying by capacity and finding the bin hangs off the shelf, so measure the shelf depth and the clearance between shelves before you pick a size.

Don’t overstuff them. When you have to lean on the lid to get it latched, the latches are holding back everything pushing up from inside, and they pull out of their mounting holes. If the lid won’t close easily, take something out or go up a size. Keep each lid with its own bin, too: Sterilite doesn’t make extra lids and doesn’t sell them separately, and a lid you stand on to reach a high shelf is the one that cracks.

Black industrial totes, 15 and 27 gallon

Sterilite builds its industrial-strength storage for tools, sporting equipment and off-season gear. Use these for anything that lives on a garage floor and gets kicked, dragged or loaded heavy. For a closet shelf, get a white tote instead. Keep the 15 gallon for hand tools and heavy gear, because a 27 gallon full of tools gets too heavy to lift safely. The Sterilite 5.5 gallon rectangular wastebasket rounds out the housewares side.

Stacking: three high, heaviest on the bottom

Sterilite says not to overload its bins or stack them more than three high, and to put the heaviest bin on the bottom. The recessed lids hold the bin above in place, but the walls can carry only so much. If you need a taller stack, put up shelving and run a stack of three or fewer on each shelf. In an attic that bakes all summer, keep the bins to light loads like bedding and decorations, and keep the books downstairs.

What they’re made of, and whether food can go in them

The usual doubt is that this is cheap imported plastic. It isn’t: Sterilite manufactures its products in the United States. The bins are polypropylene or polyethylene, which Sterilite says are safe for food storage, and all its food storage and kitchen items are BPA-free and phthalate-free.

The two plastics act differently in the cold. Turn the bin over and read the recycling number. A 4 is polyethylene, which stays flexible in a freezing garage. A 5 is polypropylene. It’s stiffer and goes brittle below freezing, so don’t drop a loaded one on a cold concrete floor. See-through bins are almost always a 5. Many of the clear ones are acid-free, so they’re safe for photos, fabric and keepsakes kept indoors. For an unheated garage, pick a bin stamped 4.

Cleaning and labels

Wash them with mild soap and warm water. Abrasive cleaners and harsh chemicals scratch the surface. For stains or odors, scrub with a baking soda paste, then wash with dish detergent and rinse well. For labels, painter’s tape and a marker on the end facing out is easy to peel off and redo each season. To get a stubborn sticker off, use non-acetone nail polish remover, olive oil, Goo Gone or a small amount of WD-40. Before you throw out the packaging, write down the 4-digit product number from the bottom of the bin.

The rest of the Sterilite range

For heavier storage, Sterilite also makes 12, 20 and 34 gallon latch totes, a 45 gallon wheeled latch tote and a plain 18 gallon tote. The Ultra baskets are open bins for pantry snacks, toiletries and cleaning supplies under the sink. The Ultra•Seal food containers have a gasket and four latches for an airtight, watertight seal.

Sterilite at a glance

Item	What Sterilite states
Plastics	Polypropylene (recycling number 5) or polyethylene (recycling number 4)
Left out of manufacturing	PVC, latex, Teflon, phthalates, BPA, fungicides, antibacterial chemicals
Food and kitchen items	BPA-free and phthalate-free
Clear bins	Many are acid-free, for photos, fabrics and keepsakes
Product number	4 digits, on the bottom nearest the recycling symbol
Recycling	Recycling symbol on the bottom of every item

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is the Sterilite 34 gallon latch tote?

It’s 31 5/8 inches long, 20 inches wide and 17 1/4 inches tall on the outside, but the inside floor is only 26 by 16 1/2 inches, with 16 1/8 inches of depth. Measure what you’re packing against the inside numbers, because the tapered walls take nearly 6 inches off the length at the bottom. If you were looking for a 30 gallon tote, this is the closest size, and on a 24-inch-deep garage shelf it sits with the long side running along the shelf.

What are the dimensions of the 20 gallon Sterilite latch tote?

Outside, it’s 23 5/8 by 18 1/4 inches and 15 1/2 inches tall. Inside at the bottom you get 18 1/8 by 14 7/8 inches and 14 3/8 inches of depth, and Sterilite suggests it for gardening tools, seasonal gear and sports equipment. It fits short side in on any shelf at least 18 1/4 inches deep, and packed with heavy gear it’s still a load one person can lift, where a full 34 gallon isn’t.

How big is the Sterilite 12 gallon latch tote?

It’s 19 1/2 by 15 3/8 inches outside and 13 7/8 inches tall, with an inside floor of 14 7/8 by 12 1/4 inches and 13 1/2 inches of depth. At 15 3/8 inches across, it fits a 16-inch-deep closet shelf, so it’s the size to use for off-season gear, linens and games kept indoors.