elfa!!!!! sjhockeyfan, the salesperson was incorrect--shelf lengths can, and often are, cut down to size, where and when needed. They can cut them for you in the store prior to pick-up, but will often leave them uncut for onsite cutting, which is usually a good idea (especially if using their installer, or if you have the tools to cut them yourself). Minor tweaks and adjustments (with regards to shelf and/or rod lengths) can come into play during installation (also 30% during the sale, BTW!). An unexpected extra inch or two of shelf or rod space could mean enough space for an extra hanger or two, or fitting a shoe or storage box on a shelf without it overhanging the edge. Shelf depths cannot be cut, but there are different depths from which to choose. A nice thing about elfa, is that you can return/exchange parts if, as you are putting the closet together (or putting away your "stuff" in the newly elfa'd closet) you realize you need more hanging vs shelf space than you'd realized (or vice-versa), or decide to add accessory items once you see your closet take shape. For ex., shortly after my closet was put together, I realized I needed more hanging space (and less shelf space) than I had originally thought so I returned a few shelves and brackets, and picked up another length of rod. I also realized it would be more beneficial to have a gliding shelf in place of one of the stationary wire shelves. I brought the wire shelf back to the store, and swapped it out for the gliding shelf (which was also 30% off; I just paid the difference in the cost of the more expensive shelf).

I have Elfa ventilated shelves (and some drawers) in my pantry and laundry room both. I love them BUT I use liners so I don't have the wobbly issue going on. That would drive me crazy. Elfa's ventilated shelves, unlike what you can find at Lowe's, HD or Ikea, have the wires a lot closer together. They also "lock" into place so the wire part is sitting really firmly in the bracket - not just a piece of wood sitting on top of the shelf bracket. As far as organizing little things, Elfa has "shelf baskets" that you can put dividers in and stack stuff in if need be. In the pic below, I have one of those on the immediate left (3 shelves up) and above the counter top oven in the back. I use it for bags of baking stuff like chocolate chips, coconut, etc on the left and treats in the back. And I absolutely love their big drawers. Container Store's return policy is great too - anytime with a receipt and the best Elfa sales is 30% off all Elfa products. It starts Dec. 24th and goes through the end of January typically. There is one in the fall that isn't as good - 25% of Elfa Shelving. (No, I don't work for Container Store, I am just a big fan and will be buying some more Elfa stuff during their Dec. sale.) Here's a picture of our new pantry.

I have used elfa in our master closet and absolutely love it. It is easy to install and very flexible - you can change /add something very easily. I have done it couple of times. We also used gliding drawers in our pantry and they are very good as well. To save money, we used HomeDepot's closetMaid solution in couple of places - it takes lot more time to install and does not have much flexibility, and not as strong as Elfa. Not to mention does not look very good. I put a bin with some heavy stuff in our coat closet and the shelf collapsed. I should have been more careful. Anyway, we are replacing it with Elfa. In our basement, we used Lowes solution - Rubbermaid - homefree. It also takes lot longer to install, lot less flexible than Elfa but better than closetMaid. In one of the storage closets we put in 18" shelves that hold heave stuff like books, holiday stuff..luggage, and it is holding up great. The biggest advantage of Elfa is that, you have lots of components and you can purchase any single item or a kit. With Rubbermaid, there are very few individual components that you can buy. Elfa also looks much nicer. I don't have any experience with IKEA closets - I checked it out one time and to me it did not seem very sturdy. Elfa's biggest sale is in December after Christmas - 30% off - that will be the time to buy entire closet system. If you miss that, there is the summer sale in August (I think) which is 25% off.

We used Elfa from the Container Store for our pantry and it’s...fine. Wouldn’t do it again because there’s no good corner solution, which drives me batty, but I like the ability to rearrange and swap out the shelves as needed. For a true budget option I would look at IKEA. If their sizes work for your space they have some good options.