Sturdy, foldable, cheap, cute: this pair of step stools earned themselves a spot here the day they arrived.
As with all things, it makes sense to think about your needs. Some people will want a handle they can grasp while on the stool, for greater safety/stability. Some people will want something bigger/taller, with a couple more steps, to be able to comfortably reach the rafters in their garage for storage.
These are perfect for me:
They fold flat as soon as you pick them up from the handle at the top, so one lives alongside my fridge in the kitchen and the other is next to my gardening bench by the back door.
One is about 12” tall and the other about 8”
I’m just shy of 5’9” and so both work fine for getting me up to easily reach the back of my tallest cupboards, (my Pull-out kitchen shelving helps as well), or to change light bulbs in the ceiling, or switch out my curtains.
(I also recently hosted a friend who is considerably shorter than I am and realized that I was remiss in my hosting duties by not having a quick and easy way for guests to reach the shelves where I keep everyday items. Similarly, these seem great for helping kids reach the sink.)
The shorter one is perfect as a Gardening seat—it keeps me off the ground (I can strategically place it so that the feet aren’t squishing anything, which is harder to do while balancing on human feet) and prevents me from stressing my knee joints with the deep squat which is my default position in the garden, but it’s low enough that I can still easily reach the smallest seedlings. 🌱
They’re rated to support 300lbs (assuming you don’t stress the plastic with extreme temperatures—I’m going to store them indoors year-round), but I’d probably double-check that the bottom pieces had successfully locked into their little slots (which they do automatically when you “open” the stool) before having someone attempt anything close to that much weight.
They also have little feet at the bottom of their legs, which provide a little grip and also protect the floors, which I appreciate.