1. I am looking for 18"Deep x 30" Width Chrome Wire Shelving that are 54"/60"/96" tall.
Are there any stores in the Phoenix AZ area where I can purchase these for lesser?

2. Which is better the cubes or shelves?

3. Do you any other ways to organise the toys?

My kids are teens now (different organizational issues all together) --

But I wanted to suggest that you use the search feature on this forum. Enter "toys" in the search box and the results will lead you to several discussions that might answer questions #2 and 3.

When my kids were little, I found that cubes worked better than shelves. (Think kindergarten classroom - cubbies - etc.) Most of the playing was done at floor level and it made it easier to put toys away. Also, the cubes were modular - could be configured to your needs, and moved if necessary. I preferred particle-board cubes to wire cubes.

Good luck to you!

Maura

That meant, less space, or stuff crammed into the gaps.

So I used shelves--one a bookcase, and one wall-mounted w/ adjustable brackets. And I spaced them strategically. Some close together, some spaced farther apart.

So that there was very little "headroom," and the stuff fit into the cubbies better.

Also, I had an array of these Sterilite drawers, the 16-quart size. I liked them bcs the drawer became a "box" that could be carried around, or simply set on the floor for fast filling, and then the stuff could be carried to the frame and slid into place.

Also, if a certain category of toy needed to be put int he basement (rotated out or back in for variety, or removed for punishment), I could simply wrap the thing once in tape to hold the drawer in place, and carry it to the basement.

Another thing I liked is that the toys didn't get dusty or gritty. NYC has soot that settles (yes, we all breathe it), and sticks, and has to be scrubbed off--it's not just white dust. So I liked that stuff was kept clean, from both regular dust and our stuff.

We had different drawers:
-the airplane drawer;
-the food drawer (w/ plastic food & dishes);
-the Barbies drawer (and yes, we filled the drawer completely and then some; the secret it to lay them face down, they nest better for some reason);
-the animals drawer
-the horses drawer (bcs there were more horses, and they got played w/ at separate times)
-the Lincoln Logs drawer

you get the picture.

One thing about these drawers, they hold a lot, but sometimes they hold a little TOO much; stuff on the bottom may not come out. But mostly, they worked great. Even my toddler son was able and willing to put things away there.

Big trucks didn't go there, of course, but anything w/ multiple parts. Or small things (like the airplanes) that could be considered to be part of a larger, multipart collection.

I stacked them too high, though (4 wide, 4 high); I wouldn't stack them more than 3 high, bcs the sides of the frames will start to bow from the weight. Were I to do it again, I'd build a support to go in the middle of the stack.

I also put the shoebox-size of those drawers on the shelves themselves (sometimes as the supports) to hold other stuff:
-cassette tapes in one
-modeling clay in another.

CRAYONS AND MARKERS
I came up w/ a slightly counterintuitive way to store these. Especially markers. I keep them in shallow drawers.

The secret is to NEVER let them slide off the end of the stack so that they tip, pointing up and getting caught. That means they have to just fit in their storage space, w/ no sliding lengthwise.

I got those extra-small three-drawer plastic chests--smaller even than the 1791, I think--and found that the markers lay crossways in the drawers EXACTLY. Not enough space for a marker to slide partway off the stack.

Shallow drawers are great for extra-small things.

especially----

here is the SINGLE BEST THING I DID:

the Silly Stuff Drawer

I got one of those classic shallow 3-drawer units (big enough to possibly hold a piece of paper), and in it we put all the little, silly things.

Happy Meal toys. Party favors. Teeny train sets purchased at a souvenir shop.

All those dumb little things that aren't really part of a larger set, that are too small to really deserve space on a shelf (you know, golf-ball size to softball size).

Sometimes I put a drawer divider in there, a little basket to keep all the train cars together. Sometimes when they weren't looking I threw some of the stuff out (esp. if the drawers started getting full.

The drawers are shallow, so nothing really gets so deeply buried that you can't find it if you want. And they don't pull all the stuff on top out to get to the little thing at the bottom.

I still use the Silly Stuff Drawer, and it's been nearly 12 years!

I think *I* need a Silly Stuff Drawer.

Those are all my toy-storage secrets. Except for the stuffed-animal sling I put on the wall over the bed (and took down when we decided to try to sell our apartment)

this would be good too since the larger bottom drawer could hold paints or rubber stamps.

I have also used a larger shallow drawer, and used cardboard (and clear packing tape to hold it in place) to make a divider that keeps the markers from sliding off the end of the stack and sticking up.

and coolest of all--I may steal these--he adapted CD cases into shelving cubbies for TINY stuff by making "shelves" to slide into the grooves! (he made the shelves out of CD cases). My DD has TONS of stupid little animals and souvenirs, etc., and it's hard to store them. I could put them in this case, and maybe even add a lid to keep the dust out.

I bet you could even wall-mount them!

One of the best organizational items we've added has been the shoe organizer that hangs over a door. It has clear pockets and is only a few bucks at places like Wal-Mart. The pockets are great for holding markers, pens, scissors, etc. The kids know where things go and it is out of sight if you hang it on the inside of a closet door.

Most toys have their own clear bags & smaller toys 4" or lesser goes in Sterilite boxes.
3-4 clear plastic bags goes in a box by category.

After reading all your inputs I'll go with the Chrome wire shelf solution where the boxes can go in. Now I have to find a place where I can get the Chrome wire shelves CHEAP.

I am looking for something like 84"/96" tall & 36" wides so I can stack all the stuff in one corner.

Don't forget plain old bookcases. Or garage shelving units.

One problem I have w/ nearly every shelving unit is that it has too few shelves. There's way too much of a gap between the shelves, so either you have a lot of wasted space because of the dead air, or you stack stuff on top of other stuff, and then you can't get out the stuff on the bottom.

So whatever you get, see if you can buy one extra shelf.