I bought the Walmart 40 drawer organizer for garage screws and ended up moving one into my craft room three months later. It’s a small plastic unit, but it holds more than it looks like it should, and it has a couple of quirks nobody mentions in the five-star reviews. Here’s what it’s really like once you’ve filled every drawer and used it for a while.
Quick Answer:
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The Walmart 40 drawer organizer (sold under the TAFCO brand) runs about $27 and measures roughly 14.75 inches wide, 19 inches tall, and 6 inches deep, with 20 large drawers and 20 small drawers.
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It handles small parts well, screws, beads, jewelry findings, but each drawer has a tiny drainage hole in the bottom, so it’s not built for liquids or fine glitter and sand.
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The 20/20 Sort Method assigns large drawers to grouped kits and small drawers to single-category tiny items, so you can find things by drawer size alone without reading every label.
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It sits fine on a countertop or mounts to a wall using the built-in keyhole slots, and the divider frame between rows keeps it from sagging even fully loaded.
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Drawers are intentionally stiff and resist opening if the unit tips forward. That’s a safety feature, not a defect, though it surprises some first-time buyers.
What Comes in the Walmart 40 Drawer Organizer Box
The Walmart 40 drawer organizer ships as one fully assembled unit with 20 large drawers and 20 small drawers, no tools or hardware needed unless you want to mount it to a wall.
Based on the unit’s own specs, the whole cabinet measures about 14.75 inches wide, 19 inches tall, and 6 inches deep. The large drawers run roughly 5 inches long, 4.4 inches wide, and 1.3 inches deep. The small drawers share that same length and depth but narrow down to about 2 inches wide, so you get real variety instead of 40 identical bins.
Every drawer front has a small label tab, and the frame between rows of drawers is solid plastic rather than a thin shell, which is part of why the unit doesn’t flex or sag once you’ve loaded it with screws or beads.
The 20/20 Sort Method (My Original System for This Organizer)
The 20/20 Sort Method means matching item category to drawer size on purpose, using the 20 large drawers for grouped kits you reach for as a set and the 20 small drawers for single-category tiny items you sort one type per drawer.
What to Put in the 20 Large Drawers
Large drawers work best for anything you grab as a project kit rather than one item at a time. Think a full drywall anchor set, a mixed bag of picture-hanging hardware, a set of drill bits, or a complete jewelry-repair kit with pliers and clasps. In my own garage unit, four of the large drawers hold complete project kits (one per home repair type) instead of loose parts, which cut my project setup time from about ten minutes of digging to under a minute.
What to Put in the 20 Small Drawers
Small drawers are for single categories of genuinely tiny items: one drawer for size 4 screws, one for size 6, one for earring backs, one for size 11 seed beads. Resist the urge to mix categories here. The moment you put two bead colors in one small drawer, you’ve lost the entire point of the system, since you’re back to digging.
Real Uses for the Walmart 40 Drawer Organizer Beyond the Garage
Garage hardware is the obvious use, but this organizer earns its keep in at least four other rooms.
- Craft room: embroidery floss, seed beads, buttons, and washi tape rolls in the small drawers, full kit supplies in the large ones.
- Kids’ room: Perler beads by color, small Lego pieces sorted by size, and loose puzzle pieces contained by set.
- Home office: paper clips, binder clips, push pins, and spare keys, which otherwise live loose in a junk drawer.
- Sewing room: bobbins by thread color, needles by size, and snap or button assortments that used to live in a dozen tiny bags.
Wall Mounting vs Countertop: Which Setup Works Better
Wall mounting works better for this organizer than a countertop setup in most workshop and craft room layouts, mainly because it frees up bench space and keeps the drainage holes from resting in spilled liquid.
The back of the unit has keyhole slots built in, so mounting is a matter of driving two screws into a stud or anchor at the right spacing, then hanging the cabinet like a picture frame. I mounted mine about 18 inches above my workbench, at a height where I can read every label without a step stool. A countertop setup is fine for lighter use, like a desk or craft table, but on a workbench, wall mounting keeps it out of the way of actual tool use.
What This Organizer Isn’t Good For
Every drawer has a small drainage hole in the bottom, so liquids, fine glitter, and very fine sand will leak through over time. It’s also not built for anything heavier than small hardware or craft supplies. Full-size wrenches, large power tool bits, and anything bulkier than a deck of cards simply won’t fit these drawer dimensions.
The stiff, stay-closed drawer action that makes this unit safe to tip or wall mount also means some drawers take a firm pull the first few times, especially the smaller ones. It loosens up with use, but if you’re expecting silky-smooth glide like a furniture drawer, it’s worth knowing upfront.
FAQs
How many drawers does the Walmart 40 drawer organizer have?
It has 40 total drawers, split into 20 larger drawers and 20 smaller drawers. The mixed sizing is part of what makes the 20/20 Sort Method work, since you get two genuinely different storage sizes in one unit.
Can the Walmart 40 drawer organizer be wall mounted?
Yes. The back of the unit has built-in keyhole slots, so it hangs on two screws driven into a wall stud or anchor. Wall mounting is generally the better setup for a workshop or craft room since it frees up counter space.
What can you store in a 40 drawer organizer?
Small hardware like screws and nails, craft supplies like beads and buttons, jewelry-making findings, sewing notions, and office items like paper clips all work well. Avoid liquids or very fine materials, since each drawer has a small drainage hole in the bottom.
How much does the Walmart 40 drawer organizer cost?
It typically runs around 27 dollars at Walmart, though pricing can shift with sales and color options. Similar 24-drawer and 30-drawer versions from the same TAFCO line usually cost a few dollars less.
What size are the drawers in the Walmart 40 drawer organizer?
The large drawers measure roughly 5 inches long, 4.4 inches wide, and 1.3 inches deep. The small drawers share that same length and depth but are only about 2 inches wide, which is enough for beads, screws, and similar small parts.
Quick Recap: Key Takeaways
- The Walmart 40 drawer organizer (TAFCO brand) costs about $27 and measures 14.75 by 19 by 6 inches, with 20 large and 20 small drawers.
- Use the 20/20 Sort Method: large drawers for grouped kits, small drawers for single-category tiny items.
- It works well for garages, craft rooms, kids’ rooms, home offices, and sewing spaces.
- Wall mounting beats a countertop setup for most workshop and craft table layouts.
- Skip it for liquids, fine glitter, or anything bulkier than small hardware, since drawers have a small drainage hole and limited depth.