Product review: OXO Good Grips Expandable Wall-Mounted Organizer

I purchased this organizer over 6 months ago, and I am very pleased with it.  It really organized my cleaning tools well, and freed up a lot of room in the closet.

The installation into a hollow wall was difficult but once it was installed I am pleased with the organizer (a minor issue detailed below).

The organizer can be installed in a variety of configurations ranging from 12 inches to 20 inches. I hung it in the most extended length of 20 inches, which is shown on Photo#1. Photo#2 shows the organizer in its most compact form. In the shortest configuration no silver slide bar is showing, the organizer will look all black.

The organizer consists of 4 holders, 4 hooks, and 4 mini hooks. CamLock Holders hold a pole by squeeze it. Each CamLock Holder also has a very small hook built-in into one of its sides. In addition to CamLock Holders the organizer comes with 4 slightly larger hooks, which can be positioned separately. Photo#3 shows a close up of a holder and a hook.

I found only one brush (see blue loop on the right) that fit the very small hook on the CamLock Holder. This is the minor issue I mentioned earlier. I wish these hooks were somewhat bigger to be useful. The larger separate holders were a good size to hold all the things I wanted to hang (see red handle), however when I "auditioned" hanging items on the hooks many of them hung in the orientation that put their heads perpendicular to the wall, extending them further out than if they hung against the wall. I placed the organizer behind the bathroom door and for the door to open without hitting anything the Swiffer and other implements had to hang flat against the wall.

However, I managed to fit everything I needed on the organizer (see Photo #1 at the top of the review). The larger hooks accumulated two small things hangings (but each of the things I was able to double up on the bigger hook, did not fit on the smaller hook of the CamLock Holder once the CamLock Holder was holding something). I have all 4 larger hooks and 1 small hook occupied as well as all 4 CamLock hodlers occupied. The CamLocks hold the handles well and it is easy to take thing in and out of the holders.

Installation:

To install the organizer you need to completely take it apart. Photo#4 shows the organizer disassembled. In addition to the hooks and holders, there are two slide panels that hold the hooks and holders, two mounting brackets (one with built-in level), and nails and hollow wall anchors. The positions of the mounting brackets are very
important, the instructions specify the clearance you need to allow to the ends, with respect to each, and minimum amount of overlap they need to have. I marked positions on the wall with masking tape, measured and double measured. I drilled pilot holes and then inserted the anchors. The anchors that came with the organizer are not the easiest kind of anchors to work with. After they were inserted into the wall they made the holes so large that when I attempted to mount the bracket the screw along with the anchor came out of the wall leaving a very large hole behind. I had to run to the store to get spackling paste and better anchors (the one that have metal wings behind the wall once you screw them in). I had to spackle the holes, wait for patches to dry up, and start all over.

Using the replacement anchors the installation of the anchors went better, however the mounting bracket is pretty thick and the screws that came with the new anchors were a little too short to open the wings behind the plaster and I had to go out again to get longer screws. The screws of 1" are too shot, you need 1 1/4" or a little more. Before mounting the first bracket with built-in level (pretty handy!) I used it to mark the level of the second mounting bracket making it levelled with the first one. I made a pilot hole for the second bracket. Then mounted the first bracket.

When I slid the panels over the first bracket I found that I have a problem. The second (small) bracket had to be mounted a bit lower (not levelled) with the first bracket. I decided that I will spackle the hole and drill a new pilot hole, but first I decided to mark the hole by putting in the second bracket into the sliding panel, sliding the entire panel onto the first mounted bracket, and making a perfectly aligned mark with a screw (the mounting bracket was too thick for a pencil to reach the wall). That all worked well, except when I was done I could not unscrew the screw from the second small mounting bracket. The screw just spun in place without going up or down. Nor could I slide the bracket out so I can pound on the screw from the other side (since the screw was embedded in the wall). After working on this for a while, my only option was to leave it mounted without an anchor (the first bracket was mounted with two anchored screws). I will have to hang only light objects on this side, which is not supported well. Once the slide panel was installed the rest of the installation was easy. I slid the locks from the ends, and clicked in the hooks from the top.

Based on my experience with installation I would recommend
1) get better anchor for hollow walls right away, minimum screw length has to be 1 1/4 inches.
2) do not use a screw to mark hole position, only use a pen (you will need a very thin pen/pencil for the small bracket).

Once the installation was complete, I was very pleased with how the organizer handled all my tools and how roomy my closet has become.

After more than 6 months of use I am still very pleased with the organizer. The squeeze mechanism continues to work well and have not lost the strength of the spring at all.

I finally found a good use for the small hooks I mentioned in my review as not being able to hold much of anything. The organizer is hanging in my bathroom, which has a shower and I now hang a terry robe on one of the small hooks. This worked out to be very convenient.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★