Easy Home 4-Tier Chrome Shelf

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Aldi sold these shelves again in the fall of 2022 and in January of 2023 for $59.99, and they sold for $39.99 in December of 2023. 

My basement is a space that always seems to need additional help with organization. It’s a place where my family keeps both necessities (extra food, water, and toilet paper in case of emergencies; laundry supplies; pet care supplies) and fun stuff (camping supplies; picnic gear; holiday decorations; luggage when it’s not in use; rarely used kitchen stuff such as canning supplies, a bread machine, etc.).

To help keep everything in its place, over the years I’ve cobbled together a handful of various storage shelves of different sizes and weight capacities. Some shelves are from relatives who downsized. Others are from estate sales. Others are small, inexpensive plastic shelf sets I bought at Aldi.

It seems like several times a year, Aldi sells a metal shelf set that has a high weight limit for each shelf — 350 pounds per shelf, or a total of 1,400 pounds for the entire unit. It’s a heavy duty piece of furniture that looks ideal for holding heavier stuff such as water jugs, canned goods, tools, or any other large or dense things you need to store.

I decided to get a shelf set and try it.

The Easy Home 4-Tier Chrome Shelf (Product Code: 810296) cost $44.99 at the time of publication. (Aldi sold it for $39.99 in 2021, 2020, and 2019, and for $29.99 in 2019 and 2018.) Even at its current price of $44.99, it’s significantly less than what similar 4-tier metal shelf units go for on Amazon at the time of publication, with other shelves starting around $64 and going up from there. The Aldi shelf also looks almost identical to many of the other 4-tier metal shelves on the market, even down to the specific way they are assembled with plastic sleeves that fit onto grooves on the vertical poles and then support each shelf level (more on that shortly).

The Easy Home shelf is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a short time, and Aldi won’t ship it to you after it sells out at your local store.

Here’s more information on the shelf:

• Measures 36″ L x 14″ W x 54″ H
• Features adjustable shelves
• Easy assembly
• Total weight capacity: 1,400 lb.
• Capacity per shelf: 350 lb.
• National Sanitation Foundation certified (important if you’re using the shelves in food service or healthcare)
• Made in China

The shelf comes with a four-year warranty serviced by Simon Hegele Health Solutions (formerly Hegele Logistic), a common Aldi warranty provider. For after-sales support, call 1-855-754-8297 or email Aldi-US@protel-service.com.

Assembly:

All the components after sliding them out of the box.

This shelf is easy to put together and does not require tools unless you want to anchor it to a wall. If you want to anchor it, you’ll need a crosshead screwdriver and an electric drill (not included).

The four corners of each shelf have these plastic discs on them. They easily fall off, and they’re just there to protect the shelves during shipping. You can discard them when you’re done putting the shelf together.

The box the shelf comes in also is not heavy, and one person can easily carry it (it also fits nicely under your shopping cart while you’re at Aldi). That also makes it relatively easy for one person to assemble at home. Getting all four poles inserted into the lowest shelf level — which then offers some stability for the rest of the assembly process — is easier if you have a second person to help, but I put this together by myself in about 15 minutes.

The bottom and top poles are screwed together here, waiting to have plastic sleeves and shelves attached.

When you open the box, everything is held together with plastic ties and slides right out of the box. When you sort through the parts, you’ll have four shelves, four top posts, four bottom posts, and 16 pairs of plastic sleeves for holding the shelves in place (plus one extra pair as a spare). You’ll also find wall-connecting elements: a wall plug, a washer, and a screw.

A pair of plastic sleeves. These get fastened onto the poles, and the shelves rest on them.

Assembly is simple. Start by screwing the top posts (with threaded connectors) and bottom posts (with adjustable feet) together. Then, starting toward the bottom of the posts, snap the plastic sleeve pairs onto a groove on each post at your desired shelf height, making sure the arrow markings on the plastic sleeves are pointing upward. Next, slide a shelf along the four assembled posts until it has a snug fit with the sleeves. Push down firmly on the corners of the shelf to secure it. Continue attaching plastic sleeves and shelves until you’ve completed the set, making sure all shelves are level.

Even after you’ve put all the shelves on, it is possible to adjust the shelf heights if you need to. Simply push up on the four corners under a shelf to raise it, and then unfasten the plastic sleeves and move them to where you want them.

The assembled shelf.

If necessary, you can adjust the feet on the bottom posts by simply turning them. (If you turn them too far to make the feet taller, they will eventually detach from the bottom of the shelf, but they’re easy to screw back in.)

If you want to mount the shelf to the wall, place the shelf where you want it and mark the position of the drill hole on the wall. Drill a 1/4″ hole in the wall and place the wall plug into the hole. Mount the shelf to the wall with the washer and screw.

Thoughts:

Ready to load.

This shelf is sturdy, holds a lot, and seems to be able to handle the load so far. It also looks good in my basement storage area. I decided to use it to store extra water for camping and/or emergencies and to store food that doesn’t fit in my upstairs kitchen pantry, including extras of things we go through quickly like ketchup or salad dressing.

My shelf in use.

I like the adjustable feet on this shelf because mine is on a basement floor that isn’t completely level. The shelves don’t have much of an outer lip to keep things from falling off the edges, so if that’s a priority for you this might not be the shelf set for you. Because they’re wire shelves, they also aren’t great at keeping small things upright, but that’s something you just know going into it, and placing smaller items in baskets helps.

I like this shelf enough that I bought a second one a couple of days later and loaded it with heavy plastic totes filled with yearbooks, photo albums, and other mementos. My basement is looking more organized these days. I’ll update this post as necessary with any new developments regarding both of the shelves’ durability and longevity.

The Verdict:

The Easy Home 4-Tier Chrome Shelf is competitively priced, assembles easily, and holds a lot of stuff. If you’re looking for affordable storage for a basement, garage, kitchen, craft room, or anywhere else, this is worth a look.