The Container Store
Categories: Office Equipment, Home Decor, Sporting Goods, Kitchen & Bath [Edit]
3080 Stevens Creek BlvdSan Jose, CA 95128 (408) 248-3100
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Garage
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
11 reviews
Palo Alto, CA
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33 Reviews for The Container Store
A pretty darn good place to go to if you're looking to get organized. It's also a nice place if you're looking to find a good size range of gift boxes. This two-story store is pretty organized and there are employees always on the floor (yet they always seem to be tending to the older crowd).
In addition to house organization furniture and storage, they also have some laptop baggage, backpacks, travel gear, and a slew of useful gadgetry. Baskets, shopping carts, and an elevator are supplied.
The selection is great yet it can really add up. If you're looking for cheaper stuff head over to a Daiso dollar store or even an Ikea.
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I can barely CONTAIN myself from making this really really stupid, overdone joke! Sorrryyyyyy.
As a woman who has self-diagnosed herself (redundant, shut up) as bipolar-OCD, which is OCD only sometimes and sporadically, this is the best place in the WORLD.
I came here alone for two things, which took me an hour. ...I am obviously not OCD about how I spend/waste my time. I'm pretty sure I looked at every single aisle. Wooow. Must return to buy seemingly useless things which will hold my other seemingly useless things in a usefully contained way...
p.s. those trash cans and crap are priced equally to Bed Bath & Beyond. And I stepped on every display trash can step they had out just to see.
Being afflicted with a deviously short attention span that is easily distracted by women and... well, women... I wandered into the Container Store while I took a walkabout to clear my head of studies and essay-writing...
The Container Store is cunning... the baseless notion that EVEN I could get organized with their products totally lulled me into purchases that will inadvertently NOT help sort my existence, just ADD to the clutter, thus perpetuating my mania.
But you know me... I walked around, browsing the wares thinking....
(...wait for it...)
(... wait for it...)
... thinking... "OOOoooh. Nice rack!"
Ta-DAAA!
_________________________________
... but if we're on the subject... I like trunks.
... 'specially with a little bit'o junk.
*blinks innocently*
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The mere existence of The Container Store is proof that Americans have too much money.
Not only do you have too much crap, but you need a three-story, 200,000 square-foot store to purchase vessels in which to hoard your crap. Consumerism run-amock.
Despite that fact, I tend to lead a life more hedonistic than spartan, so The Container Store offers receptacles for all my excesses. For my tiny apartment, with it's tiny kitchen, I was able to find a bunch of nice little holders for all my spices and dry goods. This helps mitigate vermin infestation.
They also have tons of other task-specific apparati for organizing most anything you could think of.
They have their niche, and they do a good job. Their staff is friendly and helpful.
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A veritable playground for fun storage shopping...you walk in here with the idea to get one specific thing, and then walk out with like 20 other things.
Sounds like most of my shopping experiences, but the Container Store is FUN impulse shopping. Went in for a Cup-a-Cake and came out with gift wrapping boxes, a deep clear storage container for all my cupcake crap that's overflowing out of our pantry...silver polish, and whatever else I grabbed on my stumbling way to the cash register.
Coming home...cleaning out the pantry and organizing all my baking, cupcaking, and fun stuff into the clear containers...priceless. I love this place.
Only downer is that parking at Santana sucks as pretty much everyone knows, esp on the Farmers Market day, aka today....and then trying to get OUT of the lot with about 50 other people...fun times for sure.
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I was a big fan or Organized Living (where Old Navy is now) at VF, but I have to give it to the Container Store. I've been here several times for my travel needs (the tiny bottles are great!), and I came in today because Cal needed some containers. All the staff members that we encountered were super friendly. The bathroom is super clean, so come in here if you're at SR and are unsure of where you should go for a restroom. We ended up getting a couple of items that we didn't plan on buying, but needed. Great prices and great service.
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If my closet is ever featured inside InStyle magazine, well you'll all know that I shop at The Container Store.
Hangers that keep tops from sliding off? Check
Hangers for heavy sweaters to protect from "shoulder poke?" Check
Bins for shoes? Check
Elfa? Check (by the way I use Elfa and love it)
Cool travel accessories? Check
Garage storage gear? Check
Jewelry organizers that don't have that WalMart look? Check
Desk organizers that don't look like they were ordered while sitting in coach on the airplane? Check
Sales associates? Friendly and smart.
Checkout? Generally fast and painless.
Parking? A bitch. Now if you don't mind walking you can park close to the movie theater and walk a few blocks but if you're getting a cart full of stuff it's not a great option.
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Why is this place so cool? I love just looking around at all the different things they have, I could do it for hours. They have everything you would ever need to get organized.
Oh how I love this store, but then again I'm an organizational freak. Every time I go in here I find something that I never knew I needed but I have to buy right then or I'll die.
But seriously this is a great place to buy stuff to organize a house or apartment or to even get an idea of all the great ways you can organize your space.
I would definitely recommend spending some time browsing through the store - you'll find a lot of great stuff at very reasonable prices!
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Love the concept of this place, but they definitely get you after you fall in love and then see the price of what everything you need will add up to!
Shopping Cart half-full of Handy Organizational Tools and Decor = $100.
Using Handy Organizational Tools at Home = Priceless.
Ok.... for the record I'm not super anal about organizing everything into their separate bins, labeled etc... for those of us that are inherently organized, and can remember where we put stuff, the container store isn't nearly as important..... hahahahah
But anyway... there are some really nice things in here that are space saving things. My wife and I had the pleasure of moving into a condo with a fully organized closet, and then moved out only to realize that because the closet was organized, it was actually more efficient on space as well.
but anyway... you can have lots of space saving things, and still run a sloppy store... not here.... in, out, efficient, fast, got what I need and back out of there in less than 5 minutes.... and with good service... so that's 4 stars.... :)
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For me the container store is an all day trip. I am overly organized. I sort, contain and label everything I own. Needless to say the container store is my promised land. It's so neat and organized that it's almost surreal. stack and stacks of sensible solutions. Every price clearly labeled and most of the price tags also have measurements... for those of you like me this comes in very handy when you need a container that fits just so in a closet or under a bed.
I will admit that I have container store dreams where my house is lined with beautiful, stackable, rolling containers with all my treasures in them. So my opinion is biased.
So whats the bad news. Organization has a price and that price is high. I don't blame the container store, for its not cheap anywhere. Why is it cheaper to buy crap then it is to store it. So unfair.
It's best to go in knowing what you need and what will fit and knowing it's going to cost you. I like to prepare myself in advance by perusing online and taking measurements at home. Since I live 20 miles away I'd hate to have to turn around and return something.
Another plus... it's on Santa Row! Which means after a hard days shopping for containers you can relax and have a wonderful lunch and people watch!
thank goodness for the container store! you complete me and my disorganized ass.
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Ok, first off, you cannot go wrong with The Container Store! I'm a neat freak so all the drawers, underwear organizer, metro racks, SPACE BAGS, and whatever else is there, is a neat freak's heaven!
Everything is so organized and pristine. That smell of plastic and organization (yes organization has a distinct smell to me, it smells like cleanliness) it's sooths my rattling mind.
Total bummer that I have to travel to this store (in SJ) or travel up to the City for them, but so worth it! So my friend, if you have a cleaning need to fulfill, hit up The Container Store! It will soothe your worries or at least put it in a nice lil' compact container for now.
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Yes, they have great storage solutions and organizational tools, but I love this store for all that other stuff.
Their travel section is full of bits and pieces that help me keep my packing streamlined and also stuff that makes for good bon voyage gifts for traveling friends.
The wrapping paper section is gorgeous! It's all coordinated and modern and you will have the best wrapped present at the party if you buy your wrap here. At Christmas, they have the best wrap selection in the whole south bay.
One of my favorite sections though is the kitchen section. I have a super tiny, outdated kitchen and need all the help I can get when it comes to storage. I love the Decor food storage containers and the extensive selection of OXO products most.
I also can't resist the clever doodads near the registers. Most recent clever find was a fashionable little market bag that folds up into a tiny sack that I can carry in my bag and pull out when I need it - reminds me of those anoraks we all wore in the 80's.
Must also mention the amazing customer service here. I can't think of another big-box-like store anywhere, where the employees are so helpful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about helping their customers.
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I could lose hours in here considering all the possibilities for an organized life. In the end, I usually purchase some small step in the right direction, a birthday card organizer or a dozen plastic hangers, walk out the door and fall right back into all my old, very unorganized patterns. Someday.....
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Containers rule! Especially cute, itsy bitsy ones for doodads that you have laying around the house. But today's visit was dedicated to finding 3 ounces or smaller containers and the Container Store pulled through. They have such a great selection of bottles ranging from 1 ounce to 122856 ounces. Seriously!
While waiting in line to pay, I was tempted to buy this tiny pack of paper soap but had to refrain in order to buy my 17 bottles. Can you imagine that? Soap but in paper form! Ahhh, I think I'll go back tomorrow. Anyway, I'm going to spend my Saturday night, not washing my hair but squeezing all my lotions and moisturizers into tiny bottles. YAY!
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I adore this specialty store because it lives up to it's name. I am a girl who enjoys shoes and boots of varying sizes. And paying full price is against my religion. I like to store my foot-ware in boxes. Sometimes when you get pair of knee high black leather f**k me boots on sale for $25 the box isn't in good shape. So what do you do???????
Come to the container store on an expedition with Pumpkin K. She can attest to the way I squealed like a kid on Christmas morning when I found the PERFECT plastic boot boxes to protect my babies. They have an amazing selection of housewares.
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I really dug this place when it first opened, and I've bought quite a lot of things here, but I've visited many times recently only to leave empty-handed.
The staff has generally been friendly, but recently a staffer yelled at me 'cause I didn't realize the folks she was yakking with were counting as the "line". (I'm a very courteous shopper; I looked at the gaggle of people and tried to get some recognition from them as to what the heck they were doing standing around near the checkout lines, but no response, so I walked towards the cashiers, past their idling asses. They've since better-labeled their checkout line, probably because of that sort of incident.)
Elfa seems to be taking more and more floor space, which I suppose is good if that's what you're looking for, but bad for everything else.
Oh, and I've bought many many (~40) sweater boxes for storing stuff at home (great for small items, plus CD's fit perfectly) but they off-gas something fierce--making the closet they're in stink and leaving a stinky smell on my hands when I use the boxes (trust me, it's the boxes, not my closet! ;) I don't know what they use in their plastic, but now I know why that section of the store is almost unbearably odoriferous. Wish I had known about the smell before I invested in this storage solution, but I hope it'll all go away eventually and I hope it's not something harmful to me or my wife or cats...
Oh, and a tip to parking--either arrive a little before opening, or go up to the higher floors. Cars congregate (often blocking sections of the lot) on the ground floor while the higher floors have many spaces left.
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I LOVE this store. If I had my own house or living space, I would buy just about everything in this store. Unfortunately I dont, so I am only able to wander around and see what kinds of cute and unique items they have for your house and storage needs. Customer Service here is very friendly. Also, aside from containers and storage items, they also carry a wide selection of travel accessories, and I LOVE their wall of clothes hanger in every different color! It's so cool, and I'll definitely come and buy a bunch of hangers when it comes time to needing them. Cause you know I want hot pink, turquoise, black, purple, and blue hangers. Woohoo! Oh, and their elevator is hugeeeeee.
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I wanted to write some things about the Container Store that other reviews might not know about:
One of the Container Store's main missions is customer service. And I'm not talking regular, company line customer service; I'm talking about above and beyond.
1) You can take anything back to the store if it breaks--receipt or not. They don't want you to have to live with an inferior product even if you used it for something that it wasn't intended.
2) Call the store! They have excellent phone etiquette--not just "good morning", but they will not put you on hold, but rather call you back when they have an answer.
3) The workers take care of the store to keep it looking sharp. The isles are clean and even more impressive, the items on the shelves are in nice rows and stacks.
4)The signage is correct almost all of the time. The price on the shelf is the price of the item. Things are rarely in the wrong place and almost everything has the correct price sticker.
Their products may be somewhat overpriced--one time I saw the exact same scrap booking cart at Costco for less, but hey, that's retail. Certain products really aren't worth the extra money Container Store charges, but other things like their hangers are worth the money for quality.
Don't redo your whole house here, but for key items that need high quality, I suggest the Container Store.
Call me a nerd.... I love this place!
How cool is it to find places to store your staples, stamps, cats & family? All in one place!
Seriously, a great place to get organized.... when you have time!
HIGHLIGHTS:
They are the only store that carries METRO RACKS! If you're familiar with these racks - YOU FRACKIN ROCK!!!
Customer service is strong. The associates know there stuff!
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Had to dock a star because of the horrible parking and the high prices for the simple necessities (hangers).
But this place is like heaven for me, I'm and organizing freak a.k.a. I suffer form OCD. I brought the Elfa closet system for my parents and they love it! I would wait till the annual Elfa sale if you plan to purchase the system tho. The staff was really friendly because I was actually only looking at the time, but the staff still took time to plan the space for me. I also love the gift wrapping and kitchen section. I can never walk out of that store without buying something.
Well, prices might be slightly high and parking is difficult but there's more shops around; Crate and Barrel and Sur La Table.
I love the container store! When I went on a cleaning and organization frenzy, this place was part of my weekly rituals. I also bought something like..75 lilac hangers for 12 dollars or something along those lines? Go color cordination!
overpriced storage stuff. go to target instead.
I work here, but that doesn't make my opinion biased! I started working here a year ago when I was recruited because I basically spent all of my money in the store. It has been my favorite job I've ever had because I get to help everyone else be super organised and happy! Trust me, organising a room makes your life SO much easier. Aesthetics does a lot for most! Anyways, this is why you must shop here:
1. You're guaranteed great service. Everyone who works here actually LIKES coming to work. Which means we actually LIKE to help you. You will most likely have about 8 people come up asking to help you out. It can get annoying, but we are the experts!
2. You will find things here that you can only buy here. A lot of what we carry only we carry.
3. We design spaces for FREE. Yeah! bring in your measurements and leave with a fully designed closet/laundry room/ craft room/ desk/ media center ... the list goes on.
4. We have the best selection of hangers in the world. Just go see.
5. Gift Wrap Wonderland!!!! In December, our first floor turns into giftwrap paradise. HUNDREDS of different wraps, bows, the latest in ribbon, CLASSES on how to wrap (led by me occasionally!) and soooo much more.
6. No matter where you live, you need something from this store. I live in a dorm and I couldn't function without the products I've gotten from here.
7. Customer service is superb. We will take it out to your car. You want to take it out? okay! leave your cart in the parking lot. we will come get it! really! we will!
8. Have a return? we have no time limit and we take everything back no matter what! no reciept? its ok! get store credit
9. You can even plan a space over the phone, which we ALWAYS answer.
10. we are in santana row so if you have a list of things we can get them while you go eat. oh yes we spoil you!
so these are a FEW reasons I can think of why you should shop here. Remember to visit both of our floors (kitchen, laundry, office, moving boxes, trash, collections, food storage, shelving, cable ties, etc are all on the top floor!)
happy shopping!!!
I never cook, rarely clean, and let my dog sleep in my bed. I am however absolutely addicted to anything that helps me dream about being organised. I read Martha Stewart and Simple Living and I spend hours at The Container Store. If I can just find the perfect cleaning implement or the perfect little box, I will suddenly be Anal retentive. Now I just have more magazines and little boxes cluttering up my house. Maybe I should stop buying little boxes and invest in, oh I don't know, a vacuum cleaner?
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To help with my OCD tendencies, I love coming to this store. My life is prone to clutter, but this store helps me with that! They carry anything you would want or need to organize yourself, and everything's so darn cute.
The employees are incredibly helpful.
Only negative is that it is located on Santana Row, making parking not fun, especially when you walk out of here with multiple heavy bags.
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Wow... This place is your one stop shop to a beautifully organized, perfectly contained, and very chic home. (And your presents will be fabulous, too!!) Between this and Crate & Barrel next door, you've got it made in the shade!
If you are a crafter or collector of any kind, you will find ways to neatly store almost any type of project! I love their closet organizing supplies.. They can save you a ton of space. OH and all of their impulse buy items by the registers are so cute and fun! The only downside is that it CAN be pricey, but if you buy their basic products (clear plastic instead of cherry wood, etc) then it can be affordable. The second downfall is that the line can get crazy on a weekend. If you're looking for a quick trip (for,say, a few hangers I tried to pick up the other day) forget about it on the weekend!!
The store itself is very ascetically pleasing: raising up 2 stories with huge glass windows and a cool elevator. I say "Check it out!!"
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This huge, two-story store blows away Hold Everything and the now-defunct Organized Living. If you're looking for a particular hook, hat box, paper towel holder, jar, tin, or any other container, it's here. There are overpriced hangers and way more ways to store shoes than you could want, but it's a great place to browse. They also have lots of packing materials, kitchen gadgets, and even wall shelves. Just know that it is difficult to walk out of here empty-handed.
If you're looking into organizing your whole life and then reorganizing the unorganized, then this is the place to go.
I love how they have everything from the closet to the travel. The other plus is that they have a closet design center so that you can custom design your dream closet!!
Container store comes complete with all the different sizes of boxes or containers you need from plastic to paper to wicker to wood. The gift wrapping area is great for the people who are into making the presentation of the presents they give to others miraculous!!!
They have every conceivable container and accessory for every room in your house, plus fantastic gift-wrapping supplies. If you're moving ot just need to organize your current abode, scurry over to The Container Store.
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