20 Home Organization Products That Are a Total Waste of Money

Getting organized can make you feel calmer and help you find items more easily. Being organized can even save you money — especially if you avoid buying more unnecessary items to organize your house.

There are some home organization products that simply aren’t worth their price. Here are the top 20 picks to avoid:

When you walk into the home organization aisle, you may find beautiful — and expensive — storage baskets that feel like they’ll solve all your organizing nightmares. But you don’t need to buy pricey storage baskets. There are so many storage solutions on the market and buying a more expensive option won't provide any more storage space than a less expensive alternative.

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When you need to find something quickly in a large pile, it helps if you can see what’s inside each container without opening it. Opaque baskets, containers and other storage items can make it harder to see what’s inside, slowing down your search for an item.

If you’re in the market for a container or basket, you should choose clear versions whenever possible. It will make it much easier to find what you need as quickly as possible. Plus, future organizing projects will become easier if you know where something should be. You don’t even have to label clear boxes and containers because it is obvious what’s in them.

If you have a treasure trove of earrings, you probably want a way to keep them organized so they don’t get tangled. However, vertical earring organizers where you have to manually insert each pair are impractical for most busy women. At the end of a long day, you’ll be tempted to just set your earrings down on the dresser instead of pinning them into the organizer stand.

Instead, choose a flat organizer where you can lay the earrings down in their own separate compartments. These are much easier to use and can take up just as little space.

Even if you love a banana in the morning or as an afternoon snack, you probably don't need a separate stand to hold your bananas. These unitasker items take up a lot of counter space. And if you decide to switch your snack of choice to an apple or clementine, you’ll have to get a different storage container.

Plus, when you’re down to only one or two bananas, you may have to transfer them to a different container. Instead, choose a colander-like container for your bananas.

When you use a basket that has small or limited dividers, it can make it hard to fill it up. Instead of using baskets with limited dividers, use ones with bigger dividers. That way, you’ll still be able to organize items, but you won’t have to buy more dividers.

Divided laundry baskets seem like a practical solution if you wash your clothes at different settings. However, most of these dividers don't actually make sense. You're better off using a regular hamper and a smaller one for special items.

Let’s be honest. If you need more organizing space in your bathroom, suction bath storage can seem like a good idea.

Unfortunately, suction items often break, so your items will end up on the bathroom floor. Suction storage bins simply aren’t reliable enough.

The open shelving trend may be on the downswing, but it’s still popular in many modern homes. While open shelves look beautiful on home-decor shows and magazines, they’re not practical for most people. Open shelves attract dust, dirt and oil. And if you don’t keep items immaculately organized, your shelves will just look more cluttered.

Vacuum-sealed bags can be a great way to save space. However, you may not be happy when you take the items out of the bags. Your clothes may end up wrinkled, and you may need to iron or steam them. If you have to vacuum seal clothes, you may be better off just decluttering your closet.

Label makers can make you feel super organized, but they’re completely unnecessary. The typical label maker costs around $20, not including the batteries you’ll need to buy. You can achieve the same results for just a few bucks. All you need are some white labels and a pen. Plus, using a label maker can take more time than just writing directly on a label.

If you love the pageantry of wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, you may think that a special gift wrap organizer makes sense. But you can probably do the same thing with a tall vertical storage container.

Your shelving needs may change over time. However, if you install shelves that can’t be changed, you may be forced to replace them completely. Adjustable shelves, on the other hand, can be adjusted as your storage needs change.

Seeing the same style of canister may look visually appealing, but it could actually be bad for your health. When you empty a bag of rice or pasta into a canister, you may cause that item to go bad more quickly. Also, if you throw away the bag or box, you won’t know the nutritional information, the expiration date, and other important details.

Spice racks are popular and may seem like a perfect way to store your spices. However, they may actually be hurting you in the long run. When you store spices in a spice rack, you don’t know how old they are. Spices can degrade over time, negatively affecting your recipes. Always keep spices in their original container, unless you’re committed to copying the “best buy” date on every container.

Storage bins can be a great idea when you need to organize similar items, like pens, blankets, or bath products. However, if the bins can’t be stacked, then you’re losing valuable vertical space that could be used for other bins. Always opt for flat bins that can be easily stacked on top of each other.

Food storage organizers can help you store leftovers, but they can also cause chaos in your drawers and on shelves. Try to use the same shape containers for easier stacking. For example, stick to either rectangular or circular organizers. If you have both types, it can be hard to stack them.

Individual battery organizers can take up a lot of space. Instead, try to use rechargeable batteries so you don’t need to store dozens of different batteries. Plus, you won’t have to worry about how to dispose of them.

Those clear shoe boxes are beautiful to look at, but they’re a waste of money. Instead, just keep the original boxes that your shoes came in. Or you can buy an over-the-door shoe organizer to save precious floor space.

If you’re buying and installing shelving, always double-check the reviews. Paying more for sturdy shelving is worth it. If you install flimsy shelves, then you run the risk of those shelves breaking — and damaging your items.

You don’t need a special toothbrush divider, especially if you’re using electric brushes. Instead, use a basic cup or mug. This will work just as well and is easier to clean when needed.