• Donald Trump will have a chance to leave a big imprint on the alcohol industry.
• On Friday, the Biden administration moved to expand the warning on alcoholic drinks to list cancer risks.
• Only Congress could force such a change, but how Trump will react remains to be seen.

Donald Trump once said that not drinking was "one of my only good traits." President Joe Biden, a fellow teetotaler, and his administration have left the president-elect an opportunity to leave a lasting imprint on the billion-dollar beverage industry.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Friday released a bombshell report warning that alcohol consumption can increase cancer risk. Murthy also called for an expanded warning label on all alcoholic beverages that would include cancer risk, similar to the warning label on cigarettes.

Trump's aversion to alcohol is well documented. He was once observed toasting his fellow world leaders with Diet Coke during his presidency. Trump has said that his brother Fred's struggle with addiction led him to avoid drinking and smoking entirely. Fred Trump Jr. died in 1981 at the age of 42, the result of a heart attack attributed to alcoholism.

"I had a brother, Fred. Great guy, best-looking guy, best personality, much better than mine," Trump said during a 2018 news conference. "But he had a problem. He had a problem with alcohol, and he would tell me, 'Don't drink. Don't drink.' He was substantially older, and I listened to him and I respected (him)."

It remains to be seen how Trump will move forward. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The president-elect has generally opposed more stringent regulations. Trump's first administration also rejected an advisory committee's advice to urge men to cut back on alcohol consumption. Adding warning labels to alcoholic beverages would require congressional action, though Trump's support of such a measure would likely influence a more obedient GOP.

Alcohol played a major role in one of the biggest stories from Trump's first administration: the contested confirmation of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh said during his Senate hearing that he "liked beer," but bristled when Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota asked if he had a drinking problem.

"I watched him. I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer," Trump said at the time. "This is not a man that said that he was perfect with respect to alcohol."

Trump was "extremely put off" by Kavanaugh's comments about drinking, Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, said in his book "The Chief's Chief."

The former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, is also expected to face questions about his drinking during his confirmation hearings. Like Kavanaugh, Hegseth has faced allegations that his drinking habits fueled sexual misconduct. (Both men have strongly denied any wrongdoing.)

Trump has a personal stake in the discussion. His hotels and golf clubs all sell alcohol, and the Trump Organization owns a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia. And while Trump doesn't drink, that didn't stop him from once hawking his own vodka brand.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump has nominated to lead the Health and Human Services Department, also doesn't drink. Kennedy has been sober for years after a highly publicized history with drugs, including a 1983 arrest for heroin possession.

There is a growing push among public-health groups for lawmakers to take a tougher approach to regulating alcohol. The industry routinely spends millions of dollars lobbying Congress.

Trump previously defended Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest beer company, when some of his closest allies and supporters urged a boycott of the company in response to its brief partnership with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

"Anheuser-Busch is a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance? What do you think?" Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023.

At the time, Trump was preparing to attend a major GOP fundraiser hosted by a top Republican lobbyist for the beverage giant.

Regardless of how 2024 went for you, 2025 is another chance for all of us to make the new year better than the one that came before it. New Year’s resolutions are usually set with the best intentions, but it’s no secret many people fail after just a few weeks — old habits die hard. It’s important to have a support group, people who can cheer you on during those particularly hard days. But it’s also important to have the right tools to make achieving your goals easier. Whether you’re trying to get healthy, be more organized, read more or anything in between, there are tech tools that can make your journey smoother and more enjoyable.

Fitness tracker

If you’re attempting to turn over a new, healthier leaf, you’re not alone. Fitness trackers (and their companion apps) are highly sought after this time of year because they can help you stick to those new movement, hydration and sleep habits you’re trying to build. The Xiaomi Mi Band 8 is a good option, not only because it’s affordable at $50, but because it does pretty much everything a beginner needs. It tracks daily steps, calories, sleep and more, and it has a two-week battery life so you can keep it on all the time and rarely have to remember to charge it.

If you’re already a runner or a cyclist (or want to be one), we recommend upgrading to the Fitbit Charge 6 instead. You’ll get all of the basic fitness tracking features you'd expect like daily step, sleep and activity tracking, along with onboard GPS for mapping outdoor workouts and Fitbit Pay for contactless payments. That way you’ll be able to go for a run in the morning and stop to grab a coffee without bringing your phone or your wallet with you.

Smartwatch

If you’d rather invest in an all-purpose wearable that also has serious fitness chops, the Apple Watch SE is a good choice. While it doesn’t include all the bells and whistles that the pricier Series 10 does, it still offers the same core experience. It tracks all-day activity and heart rate, and watchOS finally offers basic sleep tracking, too. In addition to built-in GPS for outdoor workouts, it tracks dozens of exercises and supports fall detection, as well as high and low heart rate alerts. It’s also quite good at automatically recognizing when you’re working out and prompting you to start tracking your efforts. On top of all that, the Apple Watch excels when it comes to table-stakes smartwatch features: You’ll be able to send and receive text messages from the device, as well as control music playback, smart home devices and more.

Android users should consider the Fitbit Versa series of smartwatches. The latest model, the Versa 4, has many of the same features as Apple’s most affordable wearable including all-day activity tracking and heart rate monitoring, built-in GPS and even more advanced sleep tracking capabilities. It also has a lot of features you won’t find on an Apple Watch like Alexa voice control, Google Maps and Wallet integration and a days-long battery life (up to six days to be precise). There are smart alerts as well, so you’ll get notified when your phone receives calls and texts. At $200, the Versa 4 is decently priced on a regular day, but you can often find it on sale for close to $150 — that could make it a good options for anyone on a budget, not just those with Android phones.

Workout classes

Finding exercise classes that you actually enjoy can make working out feel like less of a chore. You may prefer going through your local gym — that push to get out of the house and into a dedicated exercise space can be really effective for some — but there are plenty of on-demand fitness classes as well that you can participate in from the comfort of your living room.

I’ve tried my fair share of these services and my favorite has been Peloton. No, you don’t need one of the company’s expensive bikes or other machinery to take advantage of their classes. Access to the app-only version costs $13 per month and it lets you take HIIT, strength, yoga and even outdoor running classes, many of which require little to no equipment. If Peloton isn’t your speed, Apple Fitness+ is a good alternative, especially now that anyone with an iPhone can subscribe and take classes, regardless of whether they own an Apple Watch. Alo Moves is another good option for those who prefer yoga and pilates workouts.

If you can’t afford another monthly subscription fee, the internet has tons of free exercise resources — you just have to work a little harder to find the ones you jibe with most. I highly recommend Fitness Blender, a free website where you can watch hundreds of workout videos and even set a schedule for yourself, assigning routines to specific days of the week. I like the quality and consistency of their videos, but you may connect more to YouTube workouts if they’re taught by instructors you like; Heather Robertson and Move with Nicole are two personal favorites.

Habit tracker

Accountability is key when you’re trying to build new habits, so keeping track of your progress is crucial. While you could go deep down the bullet-journal rabbit hole, a habit-tracking app is probably the easier option. Done and Strides are two iOS options that let you log when you’ve completed a new habit you’re trying to build or when you avoided a bad habit that you’re trying to break. You can get pretty granular, customizing how often you want to do a task, set reminders to log, review stats and more.

Both apps have paid tiers you’ll be asked to subscribe to after you create a few trackable habits. If you’d rather avoid yet another subscription, consider an app like Streaks, which can be all yours for a one-time fee of $6. As for Android, there’s Habitica, which turns habit tracking to an 8-bit RPG game where you level-up your custom avatar by checking things off your list.

To-do list apps

The new year provides an opportunity to get back on track, and one way to do that is by finding organizational tools that work for you — and making sure they’re as uncomplicated as possible. The worst thing that could happen is that your to-do list or note-taking system ends up being so cumbersome that you avoid using it. Keeping all of your necessary tasks in your head may work on easy days, but it can quickly get overwhelming when you have a million things to handle in both your personal and professional life. I’m a fan of Todoist and Things (the latter of which is for iOS and macOS only) because both are detailed enough for big work projects, but simple enough for personal tasks. Both also have a Today view, which will show everything across all of your projects that need attention immediately.

While Todoist has a free tier, you’ll pay $80 to get Things for iOS, iPadOS and macOS. Microsoft’s To Do is an alternative that, while less involved than Things, is free and works on almost every platform including Windows, iOS and Android, among others. You can keep it simple and just have a task list and a grocery list, or you can go deeper and add due dates, sub-tasks and even share lists with family members.

If you don’t want to bother with another service, you can always opt for the reminders app that (most likely) came preinstalled on your phone. That would be Reminders for iOS users and Google Keep for Android users. Google Keep also doubles as a note-taking app, which will be a better solution if you’ve been jotting down ideas for new projects on Post-It notes you inevitably lose. Apple Notes is the default option for this on iOS devices, and it’s come a long way in recent years with new features like interlinked notes, inline and annotatable PDFs and native support for scanning documents using the iPhone’s camera.

Password manager

If you’re looking to up your digital security game in the new year, a password manager is a great place to start. I’m partial to 1Password (as are we as a whole at Engadget), but there are plenty of other options including Bitwarden, NordPass and Dashlane. After saving all of your passwords for various accounts, you only need to remember one (hence the name) to log in to your 1Password account and access all of the others. The service has browser extensions Chrome, Edge and others that will let you seamlessly log in with just a few clicks, and 1Password has apps for most platforms including iOS and Android, so you can use it on all of your devices.

The Password Generator feature helps you create a new, secure password whenever one of yours has expired. LastPass has this too, and Dashlane even has a free tool that anyone can use to make more secure passwords. Not only does this take the onus of coming up with a strong key off your shoulders, but it also makes it easy to override old credentials with new ones.

Cable and accessory organizer

One of the consequences of the past few of years is the dual-office life. Many of us now work both from home and from an office, and the last thing you want to do when you arrive in either place is rummage around your backpack only to realize that you’ve left your mouse, charging cable or dongle at your other desk.

An organizer bag can prevent this before it happens — we recommend BagSmart tech organizers thanks to their utilitarian, water-repellent designs and their multiple pockets and dividers. They also come in different sizes, so you can pick the best one for your commuter bag. If you want something a bit more elevated, Bellroy’s Desk Caddy is a good option. It’s pricier but for the money you get a more elegant silhouette, higher-quality materials and a design that sits upright when full and has a front panel that fully folds down to give you a good view of what’s inside.

Computer docking station

It’s all too easy for your work-from-home setup to get really messy really quickly. When you’re going through your busiest times at work, the last thing you’re thinking about is cable management, but dedicating a bit more effort to tidying up your workspace can make your day to day more efficient and more enjoyable.

We recommend some sort of docking station to keep your laptop, monitors, accessories and the like in check. There are plenty of options out there, regardless of if you use a macOS or Windows machine, or even a Chromebook. We like Satechi’s Dual Dock for MacBooks thanks to its unique design that allows it to sit under your laptop, and the fact that it plugs into two USB-C ports at once. This means you can connect to two external displays (provided you have an M2-powered MacBook or later), which will be handy if you have an elaborate workstation on your desk. Kensington’s Thunderbolt 4 dock is a good all-purpose option for other non-macOS laptops.

There are also USB-C hubs and adapters out there that can give you similar organization while on the go, albeit in a less elegant package. UGreen's Revodok Pro is an affordable solution that includes an HDMI port, microSD and SD card readers, an Ethernet slot, two USB-C connections and three USB-A sockets. It also supports 100W power pass-through, so you can charge your laptop through the hub while using it.

Multicookers and air fryers

Eating healthier, or even just avoiding takeout multiple times a week, can be challenging in part because it usually means cooking more at home. This can be hard to even start if you’re not used to cooking for yourself and don’t have the basic tools to do so. On top of that, cooking takes time — much more time than ordering a meal from an app on your phone. But tools like an Instant Pot can cut your active cooking time down drastically. You can find a plethora of recipes where you simply throw a bunch of ingredients into the pot, set it and forget it until it’s time to eat.

We recommend the Instant Pot Duo for beginners because it’s relatively affordable and combines seven different cooking methods into one appliance, including rice cooking, steaming, pressure cooking, slow cooking and more. If you’re primarily cooking for yourself and a partner, the three-quart model will serve you just fine, but we recommend the six-quart model if you’re routinely cooking for four or more.

Whereas the Instant Pot and multicookers as a whole had their moment a few years ago, air fryers are the big thing now thanks in part to the fact that they let you cook so many different foods quickly and with less oil or other fat. The best air fryers come in all shapes and sizes (and from many companies), but our top pick also comes from Instant Brands. The Instant Vortex Plus air fryer doesn't take up too much space on a countertop, includes six cooking modes and it comes with an odor-removing filter that prevents too much of that cooking smell from wafting out of the machine as it runs. We also appreciate that, unlike most other air fryers, this one has a window that lets you see into the machine during cooking so you can keep an eye on the doneness of your food.

Recipe organization

One of the best things about cooking at home is finding recipes that you love so much that you want to make over and over again. You’ll want to keep those recipes safe and readily available so you can refer to them when you need a quick weeknight meal or a dish to bring to your next family reunion. Recipe cards are a great way to do this, and you’ll build up your rolodex of delicious meals over time. If you’d rather have a cookbook of sorts that you fill in yourself over time, opt for a recipe book instead.

If you’d rather keep your arsenal of recipes accessible at any time, anywhere from your phone, Paprika’s recipe management app is the best solution I’ve tried. The $5 app basically acts as your digital recipe box, allowing you to enter your own as well as save them from the internet. You know those hundreds of words that precede online recipes, in which the author divulges their entire life story before telling you their secret to making deliciously moist cornbread? Paprika strips all of those unnecessary bits out and only saves the ingredient list and the instructions. You can also make grocery lists and keep track of pantry staples in the app, so don’t be surprised if it quickly becomes one of your most-used kitchen tools.

Reading apps

Don’t take your habit of doom-scrolling into the new year. You could instead use the internet to find other things to read and the free Libby app is a good place to start. Powered by Overdrive, it connects you with your local library’s digital collection, allowing you to borrow and download all kinds of e-books, audiobooks, magazines, graphic novels and more. Libby also has a tag system that you can use to “save” titles for later without actually putting a hold on them (although you can do that in the app, too). If you find a bunch of audiobooks you eventually want to get to, you can give them all a “TBR” tag so you can quickly find them and borrow one when you need new reading/listening material.

As someone who uses Libby on a regular basis, I love how easy it is to borrow from my local library without leaving my home. However, there have been numerous times in which my library doesn’t have a title I’m looking for. If that happens to you often, you may want to consider a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited or Everand (formerly Scribd), both of which give you unlimited access to a wide library of e-books for $10 per month. And for audiobook lovers, your options are Amazon’s Audible or Libro.fm, the latter of which lets you choose the local bookstore you want to support with your purchases.

Ereader

Ereaders are still around because so many people recognize how much better it can be to read e-books on a dedicated device — especially one with an high-contrast, e-paper display. Sure, you could read on your smartphone or a tablet, but staring at those screens all day long can be tiring for your eyes. An ereader like the Kobo Clara Colour or the Amazon Kindle is a better choice not only for its more comfortable display, but also because it focuses your attention on reading. (If you’ve ever picked up your smartphone intending to finish a chapter only to be distracted by email or Facebook, you know how crucial this is.)

The Clara Colour is our current top pick in our best ereader guide, thanks to its 6-inch color E Ink display, adjustable brightness and temperature, weeks-long battery life and handy Overdrive integration for checking out digital library books. But if you already get most of your e-books through Amazon, the latest Kindle is the best option. You can listen to Audible audiobooks, too, if you connect a pair of wireless earbuds to the ereader. Kobo’s device primarily gets books via the Kobo Store, but it also supports various file types like EPUB, PDF and MOBI.

• Business Insider spoke to professional organizers about what to get rid of before the new year.
• The end of the year is a good time to go through your holiday decor and outdated clothing.
• Expired food and beauty products shouldn't make their way into the new year.

The end of the year is a great time to do some decluttering. However, it can be difficult to decide what should stay and what should go.

To make things easier, Business Insider asked professional organizers about the best things to get rid of before the new year. Here's what they said.

Get rid of expired items.

The end of the year is a great time to toss expired items, from food and beverages to old beauty products.

Ashley Coleman, founder of home organization company Done Neatly, told BI that starting with bathroom products is a great way to jump-start your decluttering journey.

She also said to go through your kitchen cupboards and pantry for expired canned goods and toss what can't be kept.

The end of the year is a good time to go through your holiday decor.

Styles and preferences naturally change throughout the year, so December can be a good time to get rid of old holiday decor, broken ornaments, and other items that have remained in your holiday-decoration bins and boxes.

Nikki Bell, founder of Just Us Organizing, suggests taking note of what items you didn't decorate with this holiday season and getting rid of them.

Kids' spaces should be decluttered during the holiday season.

Bell said December is a good time to go through kids' toys and clothes since they are likely to receive an influx of new items at the end of the year.

She said it's a good idea to get rid of these items while kids are enamored by their new gifts and will likely have an easier time parting with some of their old things.

Sort through your outdated and worn clothing.

As the year draws to a close, the experts suggest going through your closets and looking for outdated, worn clothing.

Bell said it can be freeing to get rid of the sizes that no longer fit or feel good to wear.

Jamie Hord, cofounder of Horderly, said getting rid of one item for every new item you bring into the home is a good way to maintain order when accumulating new clothes throughout the holiday season.

It's time to go through your kitchen gadgets.

Coleman told BI it's important to look in your kitchen drawers and get rid of items that you don't use or have multiples of.

She said it's easy to develop a small stockpile of niche kitchen gadgets, but you shouldn't hold onto items "just in case" you may need them later.

Bell also said to purge old kitchen tools that have been replaced by newer ones.

Empty boxes take up valuable space.

Having a stash of empty boxes in the house is an easy way to collect dust.

Bell said unless someone is actively using the box to store their item or moving within the next few months, unused boxes from small appliances take up too much space in a room.

Keep sentimental items to a minimum.

Nostalgic items are hard to part with, but all three organizers emphasized the importance of scaling down your collection to only the most beloved items.

After all, a collection of old concert t-shirts or sports trophies can take up a lot of space in the closet, basement, or garage.

In addition to these mementos, Bell said to look through your trinkets and gifts from friends and relatives. After taking a closer look, you might just find some of the items aren't as sentimental as you thought they would be when you first received them.

"I try to keep one thing a year. And that makes that thing even more special and important to me," she told BI.

• The Container Store, a home storage and organization chain, filed for bankruptcy on December 22.
• I visited the store's Manhattan location in September.
• I loved the wide variety of options but concluded I'm not the store's target customer for now.

Before I moved to New York City, everyone warned me about the shoebox apartments I'd have to get used to.

They weren't wrong.

Living in a one-bedroom apartment definitely requires some innovative storage solutions. In the past year, I've looked to stores like Target, Ikea, Walmart, and Amazon for homeware items, but I can't stop my Type-A mind from searching for options to make my space more efficient.

Enter The Container Store, a home storage and organization retailer founded in 1978 in Texas. The company now has 102 stores across the US.

However, while the company boasts a cult-like following, sales have struggled. On December 22, the company filed for bankruptcy, revealing in court documents that it's $230 million in debt. Still, CEO and president Satish Malhotra said, "The Container Store is here to stay."

The filing comes after months of other documented financial struggles. In June, The Container Store reported that first fiscal quarter sales were down 12.2% compared to the same period in 2023. The following month, Modern Retail reported that the company hadn't "posted a full-year profit" since 2021.

In September, I visited The Container Store's Sixth Avenue location in Manhattan to see if the storage solutions were right for me and if I could understand the brand's sales decline.

Here's what I found.

When I entered the Manhattan store, I was happy to see it lived up to its name, with aisles and aisles of — you guessed it — containers.

As soon as I stepped inside, I was shocked at the massive space. According to the retailer's website, stores have "an average size of approximately >24,000 square feet (18,000 selling square feet)."

Though this location spanned just one floor, all I could see were aisles and aisles of items lining its perimeter and throughout its center.

The store was largely sectioned by the room you're looking to organize, such as the closet, bathroom, kitchen, garage, office, and more.

I started with the closet section and loved the look — but not the price — of these Drop-Front Shoe Boxes.

During my visit, a case of six was on sale for $59.99, but I still couldn't justify purchasing these, given that my boyfriend and I easily have about 30 pairs of shoes — it would cost us about $300 at a minimum.

But even if we were comfortable justifying the price, I wouldn't expect these boxes to be very apartment-friendly given their size; one case of six measures 11 1/16 inches by 14 7/16 inches by 7 1/4 inches.

As much as I would love to include these in a future dressing room, I had to pass.

As expected, there were plenty of decorative bins, like this Scalloped Maize Storage Bin.

This one was a good size at 11 inches by 15 inches by 8 1/2 inches and retailed for $29.99.

There was no shortage of hangers.

My favorite was the Non-Slip Velvet Suit Hangers, which retailed for $9.99 for a 10-pack.

Though I didn't need any more hangers, I would definitely consider purchasing from here in the future, thanks to the wide selection of colors and materials.

I loved these jewelry boxes by Stackers.

There were plenty of drawer options customers could "stack" to build their perfect custom jewelry box, which I loved.

However, I had difficulty locating the prices of each drawer type on the shelves.

The Stackers Belt Organizer seemed like a great practical gift for the holidays.

This belt organizer, retailing for $24.99, could sit on a closet shelf or in a drawer next to similar organizers.

Moving on to bathrooms, there were plenty of countertop organizers.

There were plenty of decorative storage options, from soap dispensers and toothbrush holders to apothecary jars and trays.

But I don't understand the appeal of acrylic.

The Luxe Acrylic Large Tray pictured above satisfies an itch in my brain that loves the aesthetically pleasing bathrooms I see on Pinterest and TikTok.

But, having been fooled by acrylic pieces, I think these dishes seem more trouble than they're worth. Given the likelihood of dried water, toothpaste, and soap drips, this tray could easily become an eyesore, just like my old acrylic toothbrush holder did.

These pieces don't appear to serve much purpose, especially at a cost of $24.99.

I was shocked to see this makeup organizer retailing for $60.99.

As smart as this storage kit looked, I would never spend this amount when similar options on Amazon are sold at fractions of the price.

And I'm not sure how useful a toilet roll dispenser could really be.

Maybe I'm missing out — and maybe it speaks to the space I have in my bathroom — but for $49.99, I'd rather just grab a new roll of toilet paper from the pack when I need it.

However, I really liked these hair tool storage options.

My hair dryer and diffuser attachment have a bad habit of getting tangled under my sink, so I could see this being a great addition to my bathroom that would be worth the $25.

And I enjoyed browsing the mock closets by Custom Spaces.

One thing I didn't know about The Container Store before my visit was that it has staff designers available to help curate "Custom Spaces."

In collaboration with acquisitions Elfa and Closet Works, "Custom Spaces" was identified as a key part of the company's growth strategy.

Launched in November 2022 as a rebranded expansion of the company's "Custom Closets," The Container Store's Custom Spaces "is defined by three areas of the home: Closet Spaces, Living Spaces, and Garage Spaces," the company said at the time.

As part of this effort, The Container Store launched a new "Garage + Elfa" line in October 2023 and expanded its "Decor+ by Elfa" line in June 2024. Elfa was not included in the bankruptcy.

My favorite section to explore was all of the aisles dedicated to kitchens.

Look at all these storage options!

These Montana Jars were added to my holiday wishlist immediately.

These jars appeared straight out of my Pinterest dreams and seem perfect for holding baking ingredients like flour and sugar.

The collection includes three jar sizes: 1.5 quarts, 2 quarts, and 3 quarts. They retail for $19.99, $21.99, and $26.99, respectively, making the full collection about $69.

Plastic and stainless-steel scoops were also available on another shelf nearby.

This water bottle organizer also deserves a spot in my cabinets.

YouCopia's Upspace Bottle Organizer 2-Shelf holds eight to 10 bottles and costs $24.99.

This bakeware organizer makes great sense, especially in a small living space.

Even if I'm not happy with its $65.99 price tag.

I also appreciated this shopper-friendly display for mapping drawer organizers.

If you're looking for something specific, visit the store with measurements in mind so you don't have to guess what product would best fit your space.

However, I wasn't sold on this $45 spice rack.

Call me picky, but I wouldn't like picking through the bottles to find the spice I'm looking for, and I'm not a huge fan of labels.

But if you are a fan of labels, they have plenty.

Near the crafting section were packs of labels for kitchens, laundry rooms, bathrooms, playrooms, and more.

Each pack from the "Everything Organizer Collection" retailed for $12.99.

I moved on to more storage options for clothing.

This section included plenty of laundry baskets to choose from.

I have closet organizers like these, which've been a lifesaver for small spaces.

They're perfect for maximizing closet space when there isn't much room for dressers.

I also found a few kid-friendly storage options.

These animal-themed bins seemed perfect for a child's bedroom or an elementary school classroom, but I was a bit surprised by the cost.

For example, the peacock storage cube was listed for $19.99, but another unpictured sloth cube was listed for $26.99.

There were also sets of rainbow-colored storage bins and rolling chests.

I was surprised to see Jason and Kylie Kelce while walking through the garage section.

Malhotra told Modern Retail in July that the brand is "starting to do more collaborations."

"I think the partnership we did with the Kelces was really encouraging for customers to see," he said. "Oftentimes, they think that expense is a reason why things are not done, and they look at someone like the Kelces and they go, 'Obviously money is not an issue for them.' Their issue was knowledge, time, and solutions, and that's why they wanted to work with The Container Store."

There were plenty of options for trash cans, too.

Ranging in size, color, and material, I loved the variety available.

I also enjoyed browsing the office and stationery sections.

There were so many trinkets, pens, and notepads to choose from.

There were fun options, like this candy-themed highlighter pack.

I would've loved having these in my pencil pouch in elementary school.

I liked the simplicity of this to-do list by Ramona & Ruth.

If I didn't already own four different notebooks and calendars, this would've been a very easy $15.99 out of my wallet.

I was also surprised by the number of seemingly random trinkets available.

Like this beginner crochet kit.

Here's another example: mushroom bookmarks.

I'm still unsure if this design makes much sense, but it is cute.

At this point, I started losing track of what aisles I'd already toured.

There were just so many choices.

Here are some more options in case you haven't seen enough.

The Weathertight Clear Totes looked like a great choice for reusable moving boxes and basement storage.

Prices ranged from $14.99 for a 6.5-quart tote to $34.99 for a 74-quart tote.

And who doesn't love a clearance section?

The store's clearance options were robust, with different plates, bowls, glassware, decor pieces, and more.

My favorite clearance item was this marble wine chiller.

Though this definitely wasn't a need, I'm disappointed I didn't snag one while it was on sale for $29.40.

Overall, my trip to The Container Store made me realize that I'm probably not the brand's target audience ... for now.

Malhotra told Modern Retail in July, "There will always be a cheaper alternative to a plastic bin. Our objective is not to compete there because we don't have the scale and buying power to do so."

Instead, he said it's about offering "a white glove experience" through Custom Spaces and the brand's merchandise. He added that The Container Store differentiates itself from the Walmarts and Targets of the world by spending time with customers to help them choose the right products for their space.

Therefore, it seems that The Container Store is looking to target shoppers who have an established home base and plan to invest in it for years to come.

As a 20-something-year-old who plans to bounce from rental to rental for the next few years, I'm nowhere near that phase of my life. So, buying more expensive organizers that may only fit my current apartment isn't worth it.

However, if you have the money, space, and time, I completely understand falling in love with The Container Store. But for now, my visits will simply remain sources of inspiration.

The Container Store did not reply to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Trump took over the family real estate business in 1971 and used it to build his business brand.
• As the family's businesses expanded, they faced lawsuits and financial volatility.
• Here's everything to know about the Trump businesses and increasingly complicated ethical questions.

When President-elect Donald Trump was growing up, he worked in the offices and on the construction sites of his father's real estate business, Elizabeth Trump & Son. By 1973, he had taken over the company and given it a now well-known name: The Trump Organization.

In the decades since, Trump has pursued global real estate development, reality television shows, a media conglomerate, cryptocurrency, and branded products like Bibles. His signature company has faced financial and legal turmoil throughout the years, but has become synonymous with his trademark brand of business success.

When Trump took office in 2017, he handed formal control of the Trump Organization to his two elder sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Some questioned whether conflicts of interest persisted for the then-president, who had simultaneous political and professional power. Now that Trump has won a second term in the White House, the Trump Organization will again have to navigate a murky business landscape.

Here's everything to know about the Trump Organization and the family's business ventures, including financial volatility, lawsuits, and an increasingly complicated web of ethical questions.

Company history

Fred Trump was born in New York City in 1905. He started building and selling homes in Queens when he was 19, eventually developing properties in Brooklyn and Staten Island as well.

The president-elect was involved with the business since childhood and began officially working for his father shortly after graduating college. He took over the company in 1971 and renamed it in 1973.

Key business areas

Real estate

After taking over, Trump helped expand the business, buying properties in Manhattan and outside of New York. He developed the Grand Hyatt Hotel in 1976, despite not having enough money to buy the property (this is among the early plot points in 'The Apprentice,' a 2024 movie about Trump's business rise).

By the 1980s, Trump had established himself as a real estate mogul, boasting properties like Trump Tower and beginning to pursue casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Trump Organization faced financial challenges in these years, with multiple Trump-owned properties filing for bankruptcy in the early 1990s. The president-elect used bankruptcy protections to restructure the company's debts and maintained his image as a successful businessman.

Today, the Trump Organization's website lists eight hotels, five of which are in the U.S. It also lists residential properties across the country and globe, with a focus on New York. In addition to the real estate holdings, the organization lists 18 golf courses it owns or is developing.

Entertainment ventures

In 1996, Trump bought the Miss Universe Organization, which included Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. He sold the company in 2015, after NBC dropped the show due to remarks he made about Mexican immigrants during his 2016 presidential campaign. The beauty pageant has been awash in controversy in recent years, and some contestants have said that Trump would look at them as they changed backstage.

Trump starred as himself in a reality show, 'The Apprentice,' which he hosted from 2004 to 2015. Aspiring business leaders battled each other in challenges and Trump served as the judge, telling a contestant each week, "You're fired!" The show and its spinoff, 'The Celebrity Apprentice,' helped expand Trump's national reach. NBC cut Trump's ties with the program in 2015.

After leaving the White House in 2017, Trump formed Trump Media & Technology Group and its flagship product, Truth Social. He founded the company after being kicked off of many mainstream social media sites for his actions on January 6 and now owns a majority stake. Trump Media's financial health shifts with the president-elect's political prospects. Many consider it a "meme stock," since its share price doesn't correlate to its profitability.

Trump Media's stock soared after Trump won the 2024 election. The president-elect's stake in the company is his most valuable asset, valued at around $3.5 billion in December, 2024.

Trump-branded products

Since his earliest business days, Trump has profited from branded products, starting with his buildings themselves. During his reality television days, he attached his name to everything from board games to steaks.

Trump has continued to sell branded products as a political figure, and financial disclosures released in August reveal that he made more than $12 million off of NFTs and books alone. He also sells sneakers, cologne, and a Trump Bible.

Leadership and ownership

The Trump Organization is a collection of around 500 privately held companies. Trump ran the day-to-day operations of the company prior to becoming president, but handed control over to his two oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, when he moved into the White House in 2017.

The company's leadership is composed largely of family loyalists. Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are currently the executive vice presidents.

Since the 1970s, most presidents have put their assets into blind trusts, a financial arrangement whereby an independent trustee controls the holdings. During the 2016 campaign, Trump put his assets into a trust controlled his older sons and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer at the time. The arrangement was not as extensive as a blind trust structure.

Trump resigned but didn't sell his stake in the company, which promised not to make any new foreign deals while Trump was president. The Trump Organization also hired an outside ethics advisor at the time and said it would donate any profits from foreign governments to the Treasury Department.

Various parties sued Trump over alleged violations of the Constitution's emoluments clause, which prevents presidents from receiving payments or gifts from foreign governments. International governments with interest in US policy decisions spent money at various Trump properties during his term. Three cases about the clause were dismissed without resolution after Trump left office.

Controversies and legal challenges

The company's legal troubles predate Trump's time in the White House, stretching back to the era of Fred Trump's leadership.

In 1973, the Justice Department sued Fred and Donald Trump for alleged racial discrimination. The parties settled and the Trumps didn't admit any wrongdoing. The company's business practices continued to receive scrutiny throughout the rest of the 20th century, especially as it faced financial difficulties.

Trump borrowed money to fund new projects like hotels and casinos, and in 1990 his dad bought more than $3 million worth of casino chips to help a venue make an interest payment. Later, the state of New Jersey found that the transaction was an illegal loan and levied a fine of $65,000.

Over the past three decades, Trump and his companies have been engaged in many lawsuits, ranging from bankruptcy proceedings, to fights with gambling patrons, to personal defamation suits. Recently, the company has been entangled in both a civil and criminal fraud trial in New York.

In the civil case, the state's attorney general accused the Trump Organization of misleading banks and insurers about property values. A Manhattan judge found Trump guilty in February 2024 and ordered the company to pay almost $364 million before interest, with Trump personally responsible for nearly $355 million of the penalty. By March, judges had lowered Trump's bond to $175 and the president-elect has appealed the case. As part of this case, Weisselberg, the company's former CFO, was sentenced to jail time after admitting to perjury.

On the same day the AG first filed the civil fraud case, Trump formed "Trump Organization II" in an apparent attempt to protect his holdings. Anticipating that Trump might try to move his holdings to a company that isn't being sued, the judge made him tell a court-appointed monitor about "any corporate restructuring, disposition or dissipation of any significant assets."

New York's criminal suit against Trump ended in 34 convictions, making him the first former president convicted of a felony. A 12-person Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star. The judge in the case has indefinitely postponed Trump's sentencing and the president-elect is now arguing that the case should be thrown out entirely because he has presidential immunity. In July, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents are broadly immune from prosecution, and Trump's legal team is arguing the same should be true for presidents-elect.

Next steps for the Trump Organization and other businesses

Now that Trump is headed back to the White House, the Trump Organization once again finds itself in a thicket of legal and ethical questions. The company may or may not reinstate its ban on foreign deals once Trump is sworn in for a second term and has business in countries central to America's foreign policy agenda, like Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the Trump Organization, Trump Media is another ethical gray area, as people with a vested interest in policy decisions could buy advertisements on Truth Social or shares of stock. Doing so would raise Trump's net worth, given that he owns a majority stake in the company.

In September, Trump announced a family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. The platform is marketed as a way for traders to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Barron Trump are all involved in the venture. A document from the company lists all four of them as part of the team, but says no Trump family members are employees or officers. Ethics experts have said that World Liberty Financial could also pose conflicts of interest since Trump will oversee crypto regulations as president.

The Trump Organization, Trump Media, and World Liberty Financial did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

As Donald Trump returns to the White House promising to obliterate business as usual in Washington, the city's lobbyists are preparing for a seismic shift in how — and where — they do business.

"Florida is becoming the power nexus for the country," Bill Helmich, a lobbyist and close Trump ally, tells Business Insider. "It's where decisions will get made."

It's a sentiment echoed by Evan Power, a lobbyist who's serving as chair of the Florida GOP. "Florida is now the epicenter of Trumplandia," Power says.

A dozen leading lobbyists, some of whom spoke with BI on the condition of anonymity, say that having a significant presence in Florida is now an essential part of doing business in Washington. First and foremost, that means hiring lobbyists in the state to work the hallways and links at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump and his inner circle have been charting the transition and making Cabinet picks. A presence at the resort — along with the golf courses Trump owns in West Palm Beach, Doral, and Jupiter — is now seen as a major currency in the lobbying game.

Never before, lobbyists say, has the geographic center of power shifted so dramatically with the arrival of a new administration. In many respects, they say, Palm Beach is going to be the new K Street — the headquarters of the political-influence industry — particularly since Trump no longer owns a luxury hotel blocks from the White House.

What's more, the consensus among lobbyists is that anyone who hopes to influence Trump this time around will have to dispense with traditional lobbying conventions. "We can't do this the same old way," says one prominent lobbyist with ties to Trump. "Trump is such a wild card, and that gives him a lot of leverage. Cookie-cutter lobbying efforts probably won't work like they used to."

For Washington lobbyists, that means changing the way they talk about the world to appeal to the hardcore MAGA loyalists who have succeeded at commanding Trump's attention and dominating his inner circle. "This is not Trump 2.0," says Justin Sayfie, a partner at Ballard Partners, a powerhouse lobbying firm with deep Florida roots and an office down the road from Mar-a-Lago. "It's more like Trump 5.0. This is the most anti-Washington president we've elected since maybe Andrew Jackson."

When it comes to lobbying, the big winner of Trump's first term was Ballard Partners. The firm's success offers some lessons for lobbying firms itching to capitalize on their ties to Trump and his inner circle and establish a beachhead in Florida.

Before Trump's unexpected victory in 2016, Ballard Partners had no presence in Washington to speak of. But its founder, Brian Ballard, had been part of Trump's inner sanctum — first as a top fundraiser in Florida, then as part of the president-elect's transition team. By leveraging his access to Trump, Ballard Partners was able to compete with the old white-shoe lobbying firms that have been the industry's dominant players for decades.

In 2017, the first year of Trump's term, Ballard added dozens of major clients, including Google, Amazon, Uber, American Airlines, Honda, the tobacco giant Reynolds American, the private-prison firm Geo Group, and the American Health Care Association. By 2020, Ballard ranked as the nation's seventh-largest federal lobbying firm in terms of income — an astounding feat for an office that was only 3 years old. Ballard's lobbying business in Florida, meanwhile, regularly ranks among the state's top-earning firms, making it ideally positioned to once again be the go-to lobbying shop for corporations and special interests eager to cozy up to Trump and his MAGA allies in Congress.

Corporate clients need lobbyists who appreciate that Trump is "disrupting the status quo in Washington," Sayfie, the Ballard lobbyist, says. "This creates a sense of both possibility — and great worry and anxiety to navigate."

Any presidential transition poses significant challenges for corporations. Business thrives on stability; it's hard to make plans in the middle of all the uncertainty that comes from shifting political philosophies, legislative goals, and regulatory ambitions. But lobbying insiders say Trump's presidential transition has brought a new level of unpredictability — one that also represents a golden opportunity, for those able to capitalize on it.

"Trump has a mandate from the American people and is using it," says B. Jeffrey Brooks, a partner at Adams and Reese, a law firm with more than 300 attorneys and lobbyists across the country. "It hasn't been this exciting on Capitol Hill since 1994, when Republicans had their Contract with America."

Through his appointments and his campaign promises, lobbyists say, Trump has clearly signaled his desire to remake Washington in Florida's regulation-slashing, "woke"-fighting image — and do so from the comforts of his "Winter White House," now a political redoubt for all seasons. Already, many of the top slots in Trump's administration are going to Floridians who have stuck by him through his many legal and political troubles. Among them are two former Ballard lobbyists: Susie Wiles, whom Trump has tapped to serve as his White House chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, his choice for attorney general.

"Trump's team has distinct, new views that are not old Washington," says Colin Roskey, a principal at the FHP Strategies lobbying firm who served as a deputy assistant secretary of health and human services during the first Trump administration.

Some major companies, lobbyists say, have been caught off guard by the rapid pace of Trump's transition moves. "They're freaking out a little bit," says Dave Wenhold, a partner at Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, which provides clients with lobbying and strategic planning. "Things are going to be coming at them fast and furiously, more than before, and this is where the lobbying community can really show its value."

There's also a new way corporations can seek to influence Trump —without disclosing their influence. Unlike his predecessors, Trump is allowing donors — including foreign nationals — to finance his transition in secret, through unlimited private contributions. Those who bankroll his staff and travel before he takes office, lobbyists say, stand to build connections and curry favor with the once and future commander in chief. "People appreciate people who invested in them," says Power, the chair of the Florida GOP.

Taken together, Trump's singular take-no-prisoners style has lobbyists excited about the possibilities for influence. Scott Mason, a senior policy advisor at the lobbying firm of Holland & Knight who served as the director of congressional relations for Trump's presidential campaign and transition team in 2016, is blunt about the prospects of Trump 2.0: "It'll be a great year for the lobbying world," he says.

Having a good lobbyist, in fact, may be more important than ever. Whatever companies think of Trump and his policies, they now face the prospect of a president who speaks openly about pursuing retribution for what he perceives as slights. On the campaign trail, Trump threatened John Deere with tariffs, called for the prosecution of Google, and tanked Meta's stock price by denouncing Facebook as "an enemy of the people." In an environment of fear and uncertainty, lobbyists expect their business to boom — likely surpassing the record $4.2 billion clients spent last year on federal lobbying.

"You have to recognize how Washington affects your business," Mason says. "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu."

Dave Levinthal is an investigative journalist based in Washington D.C. He was a reporter and editor at Business Insider until 2022.