This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Murray • There's a new treatment in town for Utahns who suffer from clutter, mess and disorganization.
The Container Store, a national retailer of storage and organizational products, will open its first Utah store on Saturday at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray.
Tell one of the well-trained employees "your symptoms," whether it's a cramped closet, a chaotic toy room, a jumbled pantry, and they'll show you a box, bag, basket, can, jar, hook or some other system that can make it orderly, said Container Store employee Karen Hartman.
"What we give people is the gift of time," said the expert organizer, who traveled to Utah to train new employees.
She said the average person spends 55 minutes every day looking for misplaced keys, shoes, bills, photos and other stuff. When rooms are organized and items are easily found, "that's time you get back in your day," she said. "It's time you get to do what you want."
For those who have never heard of The Container Store, here's a breakdown by the numbers of the company and the new location.
25,000 • The square feet of the Murray store, which took over the spot formerly occupied by Macy's.
10,000 • That's how many different items are in each store. They range in size from a 1-by-1/2-inch plastic box for tiny items like earrings to a large 50-pound dry food vault to store, rice flour and other staples. There's also elfa The Container Store's exclusive modular shelving and drawer system.
16 • The store sells items in 16 categories: kitchen, bath, closet, office, gift packaging, laundry, trash, shelving, containers, hooks, boxes, food storage, general storage, laundry, collections (think photos and scrapbooks) and elfa.
1978 • The year that Chairman and CEO Kip Tindell and Chairman Emeritus Garret Boone opened the first Container Store in Dallas.
68 • The Utah store is No. 68 for the company. Store No. 69 in Chicago and 70 in Glendale, Arizona, will open in a few months.
45 • The number of employees who will work at the Utah store. Fortune Magazine has listed The Container Store as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" each of the last 15 years. One of the reasons is employee benefits and pay, which are 50 to 100 percent above the industry average.
263 • The hours of training a full-time employee will get in the first year. That's compared to the industry average of seven. Part-time employees will get an average of 171.
1 • For the grand opening on Saturday, one "super fan" was selected. It's Salt Lake City resident Colleen Chytka and she will get the VIP treatment, including being first in line with a special golden shopping cart filled with gifts.
10 percent • The Container Store will donate 10 percent of grand-opening weekend sales from its Salt Lake City store to Ballet West.
414 • Utahns have had to drive 414 miles to Las Vegas or 532 to Denver to get the nearest Container Store. Until now.
More than lots of empty boxes
The Container Store, a national retailer of storage and organizational products, will open its first Utah store on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Where • Fashion Place Mall, 6191 S. State, Murray; (East side in the former Macy's)
Hours • Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Opening day • Festivities begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Doors officially open at 10 a.m. Prizes awarded at the top of every hour on Saturday and Sunday with a chance to win a $1,000 space makeover both days.
Online • containerstore.com