As mentioned a couple of times now, Amazon is running a couple of brand-specific promos for the holiday season, which includes a $10 off $50 Stanley promo.
Stanley’s 25-compartment organizer is priced lower than before (when I bought more in June 2014 they were $12.94 each), AND they’re now eligible for Amazon’s $10 off $50 promo.
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I LOVE these things.
This post was originally published in December 2014, and republished on December 16th, 2015. Stanley’s organizer was NOT eligible for Amazon’s $10 off $50 holiday discount at the start of the 2015 holiday season, or the couple of other times I checked. But I checked it again just now on a gut feeling, and it IS eligible for the discount.
These are fantastic small parts organizers, plain and simple. You can take a couple of bins to your workbench for a project, or you can swap them around the same case or other cases for customized organization. The organizer housing is pretty durable, and it does a great job at keeping the contents from spilling around.
I should say that the case design keeps most contents from spilling around. #2 washers and other similar ultra-thin materials tend to wander into neighboring bins when the organizers are transported vertically.
Whenever I mention these organizers, someone chimes in that you can get similar organizers from Harbor Freight for less. Well, you can get look-alike organizers, but similar? No. There is a huge difference in the quality of the bins and the organizer itself. These are the real deal and, from what I can tell, worth the premium over the imitations.
I have owned 5 of these for a long time now, not including the one I gave to my father, and bought 4 more back in June 2014 when Amazon was running a similar $10 off $50 promo for Father’s Day.
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Each organizer is currently $11.25. If you buy 5 of them the price is $56.25, or $46.25 after the holiday discount is applied at checkout. That comes out to be just $9.25 per organizer, beating out the $10.26 per organizer price from last year, when the price was $12.76 each.
You don’t have to buy 5, you could just buy 1 or 2 – these work great whether you want a couple or a lot – but you only get that extra $10 savings on a $50+ Stanley tools order or eligible items.
I have filled up most of the space in my 9 organizers, but am awfully tempted to pick up a couple more. The deal will likely return next Father’s Day, but there’s no telling what they unit price would be. At $9.25 each (after discount when you buy 5), it probably won’t take much persuasion for me to add a couple more.
Mine are currently stacked on top of each other, and in previous years I had them supported vertically in a shelving unit. One of these days I’ll build an organizer for them, inspired by a reader’s DIY organizer cabinet.
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A couple of years ago, I visited the local Home Depot, Lowes, and Target stores numerous times over the course of many months, and maybe even 1-2 years, looking for more organizers. At the time, the online retailers I shopped at didn’t have any in stock, and the local home improvement stores stopped carrying them. Then, one day when I finally found them in stock again, by stack increased from 2 to 5.
Because of this history, and how darned good these organizers are, I cannot help but continue to see them as somewhat of a luxury. Hence the Treat Yourself: part of the title. I wanted to start it off with Deal: or Stock Up:, but those lead-ins seemed a little cold for a product I appreciate so much.
Unfortunately, these organizers don’t lock together. If that’s a feature you are set on, check out the Stanley Fatmax shallow organizers and Stanley FatMax and Dewalt deep organizers that do stack. Those stacking organizers, however, have fewer compartments that are also larger and less suited for small parts.
Matt
Too bad it’s so much more to get the ones that click together.
But it's me!
For small bits, these are ideal I will echo. For my dollar, I prefer the Stanley/Dewalt deep stacking units that you link to. They get plenty heavy when filled with screws. The bonus offer of the tape measure at Home Depot caused me to pick up yet another one this week.
Matt
I’ve started standardizing on the Plano 5231 since I got a bunch for $5 ea at Menards a few months ago. They have a top cover with smaller compartments for small parts, and a deeper back area for larger and higher quantities of fasteners. Any idea how this one compares? Seems like the advantage is being able to take out the bins, sort of like the lboxx-1As
But it's me!
Thanks, the 5231 is next on my list. Looks ideal for batteries, including all the odd small ones. The deep well is like the big truck version compared to the 5231, it seems. When fully loaded with screws or nails/staples/pins it can be a seriously heavy thing to pull out, but it holds them in.
mikedt
Looks like the 5231 is $9 on amazon at the moment.
NoDeuces
These are so tempting. But I’m already annoyed my Dewalt mini parts don’t have wheels and that I cannot open one without unstacking them.
Josh
I just grabbed three Sortimo T-Boxxes, so I think I’m stuck in that system. Works nicely with my L-Boxxes though! Some i-Boxxes and l-racks would be nice to add
Stuart
I’ve been pining for Sortimo T-Boxxes for a while, but they’re only offered in the USA by one dealer and aren’t always in stock. Plus they’re really, really pricey. i-Boxxes are nice, but quite pricey too. I wish there was an L-Rack-type drawer system for these Stanley organizers.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/bosch-l-boxx-rack/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Matt Ryan
I have been wanting some T-boxxes but they are hard to find. Also they are expensive.
Dan
The non Bosch Sortimo items are hard to find and expensive even here in the UK, the Bosch stuff is much more available.
Lu
I’m currently up to about 20 of these and 20 of their larger cousin. With that many I’ve been able to mix and match trays to optimally store all sorts of hardware. The advantage of the Stanley organizers is that the upper part of the case and lid protrude beyond the case body by a quarter inch or so which I use to advantage. I build storage cabinets with an interior width slightly greater than the narrow part of the case and dado the gables ever 2.25 inches to accommodate the lip. With very little work the cases then become instant drawers and the cabinet accommodates any combination of organizers. When I head out on a job I just grab the “drawers” I need and load them into another wheeled cabinet and go on my way.
The problem is you could always use a few more…
James C
That’s why I like these. I have two, which should be enough for me, and the nice thing is I can load up one of them with some if the larger bins for more frequently used items.
Craig
You say that they don’t stack. How badly do they not stack? 🙂 I mean I’m guessing I can put one on top of the other and expect it to sit there right? It doesn’t have something funky that’s going to make it slide right off?
Nathan
They stack, they just don’t interlock like some of the other organizers do.
I like the look of this Stanley product, but i ended up getting the HDX 2-pack for $10 at HD. Those do stack/interlock, and turned out to be the perfect size for my needs: I can slip one in either pannier on my bike.
jack brown
The Stanley boxes are pretty nice, but fair warning: they are not going to survive more than one serious drop. The hinges are ABS hard plastic, and they are exposed on the back of the case. There are a pair of little tabs that stick out about half a centimeter, right next to the hinges, to provide drop protection. But the tabs break off if you drop the case (which my four year old did immediately after I opened my amazon order. So the SECOND time you drop one, there won’t be a protective tab, and the hinges will shatter.
Other than this issue, these cases are well made and very nice portable storage containers.
Toolfreak
I like the plastic organizers from Stack-on more than the Stanley ones I’ve seen, the plastic seems tougher and doesn’t crack or break even if you drop it many, many times. Stanley has more types and various configurations, but I find the small and medium types that let you put in dividers where you want them works for most fasteners and other small stuff that usually needs organizing.
The Stack-on stuff is also made in the USA, another reason I like it more.
Jay
Very useful item. The ones from HF work great for a very nice price. Like the smaller 15 bin units because they fit perfect 4 to a tool bag when set on edge. Neat easy way to organize small parts on the work truck. The 20 bin and the deeper 8 bin units are good to have in the shop and around the house. Have quite a few of each size and use them for all sorts of stuff. Great for Legos.
I’m kinda disappointed with Stanley at the moment. Recently bought a couple of Stanley tapes and found them to be of much lower quality than before. The 25′ powerlock had a horribly limp blade and the fatmax had a much weaker spring, really cheap belt clip and hook. The fatmax also felt a couple ounces lighter than before probably due to less metal in the spring.
Link says 19 bin but it’s actually a 20 bin
http://www.harborfreight.com/19-bin-portable-parts-storage-case-93928.html – $8.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/15-bin-portable-parts-storage-case-93929.html – $3.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-bin-portable-parts-storage-case-93927.html – $9.99
Have several of each one and have found them to be a very good value. Beats storing stuff in coffee cans. The vid shows how one guy built what amounts to a stack of drawers to store his storage cases in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctgp7JBPLXs
Stuart
I’ve checked out the HF unit and another brand’s clone. Yes, they’re cheaper, but they’re also far lower quality.
While I probably could have gotten away with HF units, I have never regretted sinking a couple of dollars more into my Stanley organizers.
ktash
I have both, too. I wish I’d started with the Stanley because they are much better, and more important they work well in the type of cabinet mentioned above by Lu. The HF ones don’t.
Just put some dados in plywood, screw together, and you’d got a great, compact system. I’ve put casters on mine. These organizers pull out just like drawers. The top of the cabinet can be used to take things out of the “drawer”. I’ve made a couple of these and use them to store many things. It’s a nice modular system for much less than any other system out there. I usually take out the yellow containers.
I’ve ordered some more and plan to make some smaller modular cabinets to fit on shelving.
Here’s a sample of some things I’ve stored in them: Marking tools and pens, pencils. Various tapes (Masking, electrical, etc). All kinds of small tools hand tools but also electric, including a Fein multitool. Boxes of cabinet screws. Parts for making jigs (t-bolts, etc). Parts for “current projects” Sketchup drawings for current project. Not just for small parts. I always need more than I have. I just ordered a few more.
So thanks to Lu for the great idea! Thanks to Stuart for the update on the sale. If you get three shallow containers and one deep, it comes out to just over $50 before the discount.
David
I held out for Sortimo T-boxxes (thanks Adam Savage – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OPSbF6kM9k) to become available in the US for a couple of years because these Stanley units and the Harbor Freight storage containers just don’t do it for me. Sadly the best you can do is to find a Knapheide distributor who will sell to individuals, and there’s not one near me.
Since I still need to store lots of hardware and pieces, I’m really hoping that Milwaukee brings out a lower profile version of their storage case (which Toolguyd talked about here https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/milwaukee-organizer/%3C/a%3E%29 – for $20, I’m really happy with them. Sadly, they’re a lot bigger than I need for smaller parts that I don’t have massive quantities of.
The good news is that they far exceed these Stanley containers in build quality, so I’ve got my fingers crossed for them to expand their product line. Until then, I’ll keep buying the big ones as I sort out my stash of hardware!
fred
Our truck upfitter (Dejana) was a Knapheide distributor and they did nice things for us with our Freightliner and other vehicles. Nonetheless we still used the Stanley boxes – to carry onto most jobsites. They were rugged enough for us – and we would not go into a major depression if one walked off (I don’t recall that any did – I joked that they were made of better materials than some of the other tools that seemed to evaporate into thin air.)
Chip
I use these boxes daily .
From best to less #1 Milwaukee deep #2fatmax deep#3stanley deep and shallow#4 stack-on deep#5 Lowes deep#6 hf deep and shallow .
Deep are 3 1/2 in and shallow are 1 1/2.
These are kept in a work truck so I don’t use the stacking clips.
And yes, I have bumped them with the lids open many times and had to re sort …..lol.
Stack-on (green) has better lasting latches than the Lowes, and Stanley, with all 3 being similar in rigidity, hf has the Lowes/Stanley type latch,but are more flimsy.
Then fatmax and Milwaukee are very close with Milwaukee a slight tighter fit.
Jerry
I just bought a couple Stack-On USA made organizers for $2.74 apiece, with free shipping. They don’t have the removable bins, but they are a good size to fit my shelf space, are good for small parts, and the price was hard to beat. One vendor had them for this price, the next cheapest was over $7 each, and shipping was free only with a $35 order.
chris
Well it looks like I’ve standardized on the Milwaukee Jobsite Organizers after getting several of them in some recent Milwaukee combo deals. They may be slightly larger, but I plan on getting some small boxes or bins or something to keep the real small things like #6 washers, since I’m not going to need a whole bin full.
They are super heavy duty and definitely survive a 5 foot drop with ease, unlike my Flambeau/Plano/HDX organizers. Loaded one up and set it in the back of the truck, and completely forgot about it as I drove off. When I arrived at the job site I opened the back lift gate and BAM it smacked right onto the concrete. Everything survived, nothing migrated to a different divider, and it only took a minor scratch to the corner.
Jon
I wanted Sortie but I’ve ended up standardizing on the Allit modular storage cases offered by Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=70869&cat=1,43326
They’re fantastic. Double-walled construction. Handle with metal strap reinforcement. Strong springs in the clasps holding the hinged lid in place. Nothing seems to migrate from the bins when the lid is closed properly. Very pleased with them. Every time Lee Valley offers free shipping, I pick up a couple more — I think I’m up to 9 of the large cases now.
Jon
“I wanted Sortie…” should be “I wanted Sortimo…”. Blasted autocorrect.