. We came to find that this simplified life for several reasons.Assembly
Construction was a bit of a pain with all the loose bars - I always worry when bars or boards hang without support, so I set one end on the ground, put one bar in each of the four corners, and then put the end I was going to attach on top of that. I held it very carefully as I screwed those in so they were snug, and then was able to pick that up and fit the rest of the bars in to tighten again to be snug.
Then I flipped it over and took the end that was previously on the ground and fit it on top, making sure each of the bars was in places in the notches. Once that was in, they were easy to tighten, and then I re-tightened the other side.
Use
Once it was finally set up, the bins were fantastic. The preview shows the bins tilted, but that's not a very convenient setup - with the lip of the bin resting on the front bar and the base of the bin resting on the back bar so that the bins are tilted forwards. We currently use it so that the base is resting on both bars. While his Thomas the Tank Engine set
quickly outgrew the two large bins it was in, the bins currently house the rest of his toy collection.This then allows for easy sorting and access, as well as cleanup. The individual bins can be removed and transported throughout the house so that each individual piece doesn't need to be carried into the room. This means that 'cleanup time' can be reduced without the constant trekking with only two items. Toys go in the bin, and then the bin is carried into the room.
Dislikes
It's very easy to drop bins. There are two small tracks that the bins fit into over the bars, and if you're not used to it, or in a hurry, bins fall (and thus whatever is in them falls and makes a mess.
It's also easy to overload bins - if you pile up toys in a bin, and then try to put a bin on the next row up, it's easy to knock toys out of bins, or dislodge the bin itself from the bars below (depending on the toy).
The space between the bars and the top of the bin below could be increased, but putting the 'larger' toys or overflowing bins on top alleviates some of the space issues.
Likes
The ability to organize and see all the toys. The space between bars and the tops of the bins could be a little higher, but it does allow hands to fit in and adjust or remove an individual item (as long as it's not too big).
Also, the bars on bottom are raised an inch or two, and allow easy cleaning/reach for fallen toys underneath. A dustbuster
won't fit under it (unless it's this one
), but a small vacuum
or attachment will.Diversity of bin types allows for better sorting. Our Thomas trains went in one of the large buckets, and the tracks in another. Fire trucks
and emergency
vehicles
go in another large bucket, and assorted firemen
go in a smaller, as well as dinosaurs
in another, and other small miscellaneous toys in yet another.Durability seems high as well, we purchased this on one side of the country when the Gremlin was 2, and moved to the other side of the country when he was 3, and it's still stable when he's a month from being 4.
Buy This If...
You are good at organizing and need something to facilitate both small and medium sized toys. There are eight bins that are 8"x11" and about 4 1/2" deep and then four bins that are 11"x15 1/2" and again 4 1/2" deep.
Don't Buy This If...
You're looking for large storage containers. We now have milk crate type organizers
for the Thomas tracks
and Rescue Heroes
and vehicles collection. These also have good visibility with the holes in the side, but stack in his closet versus out in his room. If you're not a fan of the milk crates (like the Mother of the Gremlin - they are a temporary solution for us), consider: Circo 9 Cube Organizer (blue) (pink
) (black
)
