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Overview
Storage management is one of the biggest early-game challenges in Starsand Island. You start with just 30 inventory slots and a single 18-slot storage box from the tutorial. As you progress, you can expand your bag to 70 slots, craft larger storage boxes, and eventually unlock the Realm Box an interconnected storage system that lets you access all your stored items from anywhere on the island.
Bag upgrades
Your bag starts at 30 slots and can be expanded 8 times, adding 5 slots per upgrade, for a maximum of 70 slots. Upgrades are done directly from the bag menu, press B and click the Expand button at the bottom-left corner. No NPC, shop, or crafting station is needed.
Upgrade tiers
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Tier 1 (35 slots) | 5 Fiber, 5 Stone, 5 Softwood. |
Tier 2 (40 slots) | 5 Carbon Line, 5 Stone Brick, 4 Softwood Plank. |
Tier 3 (45 slots) | 5 Radiant Core, 5 Copper Ingot, 5 Glass Pane. |
Tier 4 (50 slots) | 6 Bronze, 16 Flour, 6 Flannel, 5 Carbon Line. |
Tier 5 (55 slots) | 7 Hardwood Plank, 7 Iron Sheet, 10 Vegetable Juice, 5 Egg, 10 Protein Powder, 10 Fruit Pulp. |
Tier 6 (60 slots) | 6 Premium Wood Plank, 5 Alloy, 10 Sugar, 2 Sheep Milk, 10 Fish Fillet. |
Tiers 7-8 (65-70 slots) | Tier 7: 3 Meteor Plank, 3 Eternal Alloy, 20 Honey, 20 Rice. Tier 8: 4 Meteor Plank, 4 Eternal Alloy, 1 Rainbow Fabric, 5 Stardew Fern, 1 Perpetual Reactor. They are expected to follow the pattern of requiring increasingly advanced processed materials. |
Higher tiers require increasingly processed materials. Planks, ingots, alloys, and even food products. This acts as a natural crafting progression gate.
Storage boxes
Storage boxes are placeable furniture items that hold your overflow materials. You receive a Storage Box I blueprint from Solara's tutorial quest. Higher-tier blueprints are purchased from Zerine's General Store.
Crafted storage boxes
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Storage Box I (18 slots) | 8 Softwood. Crafted at Worktable I. Given during the tutorial. |
Storage Box II (36 slots) | 6 Softwood Plank, 3 Copper Sheet. Blueprint from Zerine's. Requires Apprentice Crafter. |
Storage Box III (66 slots) | 5 Hardwood Plank, 3 Iron Sheet. Blueprint from Zerine's. Requires Junior Crafter and Worktable II. |
All storage boxes have a sorting icon in the top-right corner that enables multi-box management. You can cycle through all nearby boxes without closing the storage menu.
Found storage
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Flawed Chest (32 slots) | Found via Treasure Map digs in the Moonlit Forest or caught while fishing. Open your bag (B), right-click, and select "Use" to either claim coin contents or convert it into a placeable 32-slot storage container. |
Destroyed Chest (18 slots) | Dredged up while fishing in lakes. Same right-click mechanic as Flawed Chests, but with smaller capacity (equivalent to Storage Box I). |
The Realm Box
The Realm Box is the endgame storage solution, starting at 48 slots. It functions like an interconnected chest, all placed Realm Boxes share the same unified inventory, accessible from anywhere on the island.
How to unlock
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Advance to Intermediate Crafter (the third tier of the Crafting profession with Zerine). | |
Blueprint | Purchase the Realm Box blueprint from Zerine's General Store. |
Worktable II. |
Crafting materials
5 Alloy
5 Starflare Core
3 Spirit Cube I
6 Hardwood Plank
Most of these materials are found in the Moonlit Forest and require upgraded tools like the Impact Hammer to mine.
How it works
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Placed on your lot | Opening a Realm Box gives you access to the unified 48-slot inventory shared across all Realm Boxes. |
Portable access | You can carry a Realm Box in your inventory. Open your bag, go to the Equipment tab, right-click the Realm Box, and click "Open" to access your storage from anywhere on the island. |
Multiple boxes | All Realm Boxes share the same inventory, placing several around your homestead gives you convenient access from different locations. |
Crafting integration | Processing devices (smelters, worktables, etc.) recognize items stored in the Realm Box and can pull materials from it directly. |
Realm Box expansion
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Base | 48 slots. |
Expansion 1 (72 slots) | 5 Spirit Cube II, 6 Starflare Crystal. |
Click the Expand button at the bottom-left of the Realm Box inventory screen, similar to Bag Expansion. Additional expansion tiers may be added in future updates.
Quick Shipping Box
The Quick Shipping Box is a separate convenience item that lets you sell items directly from your homestead. Purchase the blueprint from Zerine's General Store (3,500 Coins, requires Junior Crafter). Crafted at Worktable I. It can access your entire home storage network, so you do not need to carry items to it manually.
Crafting and storage integration
An important quality-of-life feature: crafting stations automatically pull materials from both your backpack and all storage boxes when you are at your home base. You do not need to manually transfer items from storage to your inventory before crafting.
Advanced Organization Strategy
An effective storage layout uses a hub-and-spoke model. Place a general-purpose storage box near your main house as the central depot, then position specialized boxes adjacent to relevant workstations. Keep ore and ingot boxes near smelters, crop and seed boxes near kitchens and farming plots, and animal product boxes near ranch enclosures. If you gather resources outdoors frequently, place a temporary storage box near resource nodes to avoid making multiple trips back to base.
Recommended Category Assignments
Box Category | Contents | Best Placement |
|---|---|---|
Ores and Ingots | Raw ores, smelted ingots, gems | Near smelter or Worktable |
Wood and Planks | Logs, planks, hardwood, premium wood | Near carpentry area |
Crops and Seeds | Harvested crops, seed packets, fertilizer | Near farm plots or kitchen |
Wool, eggs, milk, honey, truffles | Near ranch enclosures | |
Flour, sugar, spices, processed items | Near kitchen or oven | |
Crafted Parts | Gears, springs, plates, alloys | Near Worktable |
Gear and Tools | Equipment, weapons, spare tools | Near main house entrance |
Quest and Rare Items | Quest items, collectibles, rare finds | Central storage hub |
Daily Inventory Routine
End each in-game day by unloading everything from your backpack that you do not need for tomorrow's activities.
Before heading out, clear junk items and confirm you have adequate free slots for unexpected loot.
Reserve backpack slots for tools you use constantly and keep a small buffer of empty slots.
Use the sorting button inside storage boxes regularly to consolidate partial stacks and expose empty space.
Use the cycling keys (Q/E by default) to flip between nearby boxes without walking between them.
Planning Ahead
Assume your material volumes will increase significantly as you progress. Leave extra room in high-use categories from the start rather than filling every box to capacity. When you unlock new storage tiers like the Realm Box, integrate them into your main base layout first. Older, smaller boxes can then be repositioned to satellite locations near remote resource gathering spots.
Organization tips
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Name your boxes | You can name each storage box when you create it. Names are visible when cycling between boxes, making it easy to find what you need. |
Cycle between boxes | When interacting with a storage box, click the icon in the top-right corner to cycle through all nearby boxes without closing the menu. |
Quick deposit | The one-button deposit feature automatically inserts matching items from your bag into the box. If a box already contains Softwood and you have Softwood in your bag, one press deposits it all. |
Category method | Dedicate boxes to specific types, building materials (ores, wood, sheets), farming inputs (seeds, fertilizer), cooking ingredients, fish, and general overflow. |
Proximity placement | Place storage boxes near relevant crafting stations (ore box near the smelter, wood box near the worktable) for visual organization. |
Prioritize Realm Box | Once you have the Realm Box, individual box organization matters less since you can access everything from one place. Focus on unlocking it as soon as you reach Intermediate Crafter. |
Tips
Expand your bag early. The first two upgrades (Fiber, Stone, Softwood, Carbon Line, Stone Brick, Softwood Plank) use basic materials and give you 10 extra slots that make a huge difference.
Convert Flawed Chests into storage rather than opening them for coins. The 32-slot storage is usually more valuable than a few hundred coins, especially early on.
Craft Storage Box II as soon as you reach Apprentice Crafter. Doubling your storage from 18 to 36 slots per box is a massive quality-of-life upgrade.
The Realm Box is portable, keep one in your Equipment tab at all times so you can access your entire storage network while exploring or gathering resources.
There is no food spoilage system. You can safely store food in regular storage boxes alongside other items.