Some holiday present: On Monday, December 23, the Container Store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This doesn’t mean the organizing destination is going to close anytime soon, but it certainly doesn’t look good for the retailer. In fact, court documents revealed at the store has $230 million in debt, but only $11.8 million in liquid cash so…yikes.
While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a store on the brink of closure—who doesn’t remember when Bed Bath & Beyond almost shut its doors for good?—the Container Store hits different. It feels personal, mostly because it is. The Container Store first opened up shop in 1978, but the retailer became a godsend in 2020.
“The pandemic forced us all to stay at home and gave us endless time to focus on our homes, which we didn’t necessarily do with being at the office for most of the day and spending time commuting to and from the office,” says Alia Adel, owner and founder of an organizing business called The Styled Stories in Los Angeles. “It gave people the opportunity to work on all the home projects’ they’ve been putting off, but it also pushed us to declutter and organize because we had nothing else to do.”
With so much time and so little to do, we collectively decided to get our acts together. We finally decluttered the most cluttered corners of our home. We scrolled through endless TikTok videos of organizing hacks and product recommendations. We binge-watched television shows like Get Organized with the Home Edit. And since many of the organization products we’d see on our screens were available at The Container Store—yes, even an exclusive collection from the Home Edit’s Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer—the retailer became our everything.
Not only did The Container Store show us that there’s more to a tidy home than plastic bins and labels—there are so many organization solutions for every room of the house—but it also became our happy place. It gave us a sense of calm and control. It taught us that, even when the world is in total disarray, we have the power to keep our homes in tip-top shape. So what will we ever do if The Container Store shuts its doors for good? According to Adel, we continue with our collective organization journey.
“I would definitely recommend [looking at] Pinterest, following organizers on Instagram and TikTok,” she says. There’s also an array of other organizing brands to shop. “The Neat Method and MDesign all have similar taste to The Container Store, and all the organizers account you follow will also alway share their favorites products,” Adel shares. “I know I do!”
Filing for bankruptcy isn’t exactly the most positive news, but remember the Container Store isn’t going anywhere just yet. “I don’t think we’re going to completely lose The Container Store,” Adel adds. “I think we might just see less of their stores. So do not panic: We will all still be able to get our favorite products.” However, if you want to check out what else the organizing industry has to offer, here are a few other essentials to shop.
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