Demand for home organization products in the US will increase 4.3 percent annually to $8.9 billion in 2013. As baby boomers become empty-nest families and move to smaller homes, they will look for ways to organize their possessions in these spaces. Also, the children of the baby boom generation are moving into dorm rooms and first apartments. The sharp downturn in the housing market in 2007 and 2008 also caused many homeowners to adjust the way that they spend money on their homes, leading many to invest in built-in organization systems either to upgrade homes they plan to stay in or to differentiate homes that are being sold. Preventing even more rapid growth will be the rising commoditization of many home organization products, competition from producers in China and other low manufacturing cost countries, and the expected decline in prices for many raw materials. These and other trends are presented in Home Organization Products, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Bins, baskets and totes accounted for the largest share of home organization product sales in 2008, with 38 percent of the total market. These products, which can be decorative or purely functional, are widely used in most households to store and organize belongings of all sizes. However, sales of modular units are expected to post the strongest gains. The ongoing interest in organizing closets and garages  where the majority of these systems are used -- will benefit sales of modular units.

Sales of home organization products for use in garages are expected to post the strongest gains through 2013. To some degree, this reflects the relative immaturity of the garage storage market. Sales of home organization products for use in closets are also projected to achieve above average growth, supported by the increasing availability of these items in a variety of retail outlets. Value gains will be boosted by high-end closet systems made from solid wood or laminated panels and by the increasing consumer demand for closet systems outside of the master bedroom.

Metal and wire home organization products accounted for the largest share of sales by material type, with just under one-third of the total in 2008. However, demand for wood- and laminate-based products is expected to post the fastest gains over the forecast period.