Sorting through a subterranean shelter packed with 17,437 scattered supplies can quickly turn relaxing gameplay into an overwhelming chore. Knowing in Bunker Tidy Up where items go is the essential foundation for clearing clutter and turning chaotic piles into orderly storage racks. If you find yourself holding random cans or tools while staring at red shelf outlines, mastering in Bunker Tidy Up where items go across both floors will save you dozens of wasted trips.
The shelter features exactly 136 unique shelves distributed across a ground-floor pantry and an upper walkway. Every single item type has a designated, dedicated shelf space. Placing even one duplicate product on an extra rack can lock out other goods entirely. This comprehensive manual details the precise placement for every supply group, guides you through tricky classifications, and explains how to finish the bunker cleanly.
Ground Floor Pantry: Food, Groceries, and Drink Shelves
The lower level of the bunker serves as the primary mess hall and food depot. The floor is divided into distinct shelving racks with wooden signposts indicating broad categories: Drinks, Groceries, Preserved Foods, Canned Meat and Fish, Canned Fruits and Vegetables, Spices and Sauces, and Sweets and Snacks.
When determining in Bunker Tidy Up where items go on the ground floor, visual appearances can occasionally deceive you. The most frequent sorting error involves hot beverages and breakfast staples. Items such as cocoa powder, coffee, and tea do not go into the Drinks section; instead, they belong strictly on the Groceries shelves alongside baking supplies and dried staples.
Food and Pantry Item Classification
| Shelf Category | Verified Item Placements | Notable Item Counts |
|---|---|---|
| Drinks | Bottled beer, canned beer packs, sparkling water, bottled water, soda cans, 6-packs of cola, lemonade, orange juice, milk, wine bottles, energy drinks | Energy drinks (over 500 cans), water barrels (5 on initial rack) |
| Groceries | Bread loaves, bread mix boxes, raw flour, pasta packages, ramen packets, dried noodles, coffee tins, cocoa powder containers, tea boxes, raw potato sacks | Potato sacks (8 large bags) |
| Preserved Foods | Pickled cucumbers, pickled tomatoes, pickled beans, pickled olives, pickled crayfish jars, pickled mushrooms, pickled corn jars, pickled peppers | Pickled olives (180 jars), pickled crayfish (180 jars), pickled tomatoes (64 jars) |
| Canned Meat & Fish | Canned tuna, canned sardines, canned chicken, canned pork, canned rabbit, canned sausages, canned beef, canned ravioli | Canned rabbit (200 cans), canned pork (200 cans), canned sausages (200 cans) |
| Canned Fruits & Vegetables | Canned vegetable soup, canned green beans, canned peas, canned carrots, canned yellow peaches, canned mango slices, canned pineapple chunks, assorted canned fruit | Canned carrots (200 cans), assorted canned fruit (200 cans) |
| Spices & Sauces | Table salt shakers, black pepper, ketchup bottles, mustard bottles, salad mayonnaise, cooking vinegar, olive oil bottles | High density of small condiment bottles |
| Sweets & Snacks | Strawberry jam jars, granulated sugar, dark chocolate bars, energy bars, breakfast croissants, sweet fruit rings, bagged potato chips, yogurt cups | Potato chips and fruit rings classify as snacks, not groceries |
Take extra care with peanut butter and jam. While savory spreads might seem like pantry groceries, strawberry jam belongs on the Sweets and Snacks rack. Similarly, canned ravioli is classified under Canned Meat and Fish due to its filling, rather than falling under Groceries with dry pasta.
Upper Floor Storage: Survival Gear, Protection, and Chemicals
Ascending the metal staircases brings you to the elevated walkway and adjacent storage alcoves. This upper tier houses survival equipment, defense gear, pet maintenance supplies, and domestic hygiene products.
Learning in Bunker Tidy Up where items go on the upper deck prevents confusing domestic cleaning supplies with emergency gear. For example, large white jugs of bleach belong with household chemicals, whereas steel fuel canisters and portable power generators must be carried to survival equipment racks.
Survival Equipment
The Survival Equipment category covers life-support gear, emergency power tools, and field medical items. It occupies multiple heavy-duty industrial racks along the main walkway.
- Medical supplies: First aid kits (requiring 40 containers to fill the rack), medical bandages (totaling 420 rolls), iodine bottles (160 units), and loose painkiller bottles.
- Power and warmth: Steel fuel canisters (20 jugs), red gas cylinders, 4 heavy power generators, AA batteries (420 count), and matchboxes.
- Field gear: Metal canteens, standard MRE ration packs, hand-held compasses, portable field radios, walkie-talkies, oil lamps, standalone lanterns, handheld torches, and wall-mounted fire extinguishers.
Weapons and Protection
Located adjacent to the workshop area, the Weapons and Protection racks hold offensive armaments, protective clothing, and wearable carrying capacity.
- Firearms and ammunition: Pump-action shotguns and shotgun shell boxes (312 boxes needed to complete the shelf).
- Melee implements: Wooden baseball bats, splitting axes (12 axes per full rack), and steel machetes.
- Protective armor and carry gear: Bulletproof vests (15 total vests), protective combat helmets, military backpacks, and blue urban backpacks.
- Explosives: Live fragmentation grenades (50 units) and cylindrical smoke canisters.
Household Chemicals and Pet Care
The remaining upper-floor bays are split between sanitation supplies and domestic animal rations.
- Sanitation and cleaning: White bleach jugs, concentrated laundry detergent, liquid dish soap, paper towel bundles (40 rolls), and individual toilet paper rolls (12 packs).
- Personal hygiene: Fluoride toothpaste tubes (294 tubes), manual toothbrushes, hair shampoo bottles, shower gel bottles, stick deodorant, and disposable razors.
- Pet food racks: Canned cat food (576 cans), canned dog food (588 cans), large dry dog kibble bags, and dry cat kibble sacks.
The Upper Walkway Library: Exact Book Categories
The bookstore section of the shelter contains dozens of specialized manual titles spread across six distinct subject bookcases. To earn the Archivist achievement and clear these shelves, you must place every title into its matching literature group.
Sorting the library requires memorizing in Bunker Tidy Up where items go across six specific bookcase topics. Do not leave reading materials mixed with floor clutter or general tools.
Book Titles by Literature Rack
| Bookcase Category | Required Book Titles | Focus of the Manuals |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Underground Gardening, Seed Preservation, Mushrooms and Algae Cultivation | Subterranean farming and food production |
| Hunting & Foraging | Animal Tracking Behavior, Wild Hunting Tactics, Traps: Simple and Effective, Field Dressing and Game Preservation | Wildlife harvesting and wilderness survival |
| Life in the Bunker | Organizing Life in a Small Community, Psychology of Isolation, Self-Sufficient Underground Living | Social structure and mental endurance |
| Medicine | Basics of Field Surgery, Wilderness First Aid, Infections, Injuries, and Quarantines | Emergency triage and health preservation |
| Technology & Repair | Basic Mechanics for Survivors, Repairing Generators and Power Stations, Water Supply and Purification | Facility maintenance and utilities |
| Survival | The Art of Survival, Navigation Without GPS, Weather and Climate Shifts, Supplies Calculation, Storage, and Distribution | General field craft and resource logistics |
Keep an eye out for yellow rubber ducks hidden behind bookcase corners and furniture bases. These toy ducks represent unique collectibles tied directly to the "Nothing Forgotten" Steam achievement.
Duplicate Shelf Lockout and Common Sorting Mistakes
The most frequent hurdle discussed in community discussions involves players running out of space for legitimate items. You might hold a baseball bat, a loaf of bread, or a jar of pickled olives and find that the game provides a yellow outline indicating the item is acceptable, yet every relevant slot is occupied.
According to player reports on the official Bunker Tidy Up Steam store page, this issue is almost always caused by duplicate shelf assignments. The shelter features a strict one-to-one design: exactly 136 item types correspond to exactly 136 shelf spaces. If you place a batch of shotgun shells on an upper rack and inadvertently place another stack on a lower shelf, a completely different item like a baseball bat will lose its designated spot.
How to Resolve Locked Shelves
- Stop picking up loose floor supplies and return to the category rack where the stuck item belongs.
- Inspect the label text and fractions displayed on each completed row in that section.
- Identify whether two separate shelves show identical product names (such as two cocoa shelves or two shotgun shell racks).
- Remove the duplicate items from the extra shelf and return them to your inventory or temporary floor space.
- Place the unassigned product onto the newly liberated shelf slot.
- Verify that the shelf outline glows green, confirming that the proper item has claimed its unique location.
Community reports reveal that confusion over in Bunker Tidy Up where items go often stems from duplicate placements in Groceries and Preserved Foods. Always double-check your pickled goods and breakfast grains before assuming a shelf is missing.
Essential Skills and Ability Controls for Clearing Piles
As you complete racks and earn upgrade stars, spending points in the Upgrades menu transforms how quickly you move supplies. Utilizing active powers also helps clarify in Bunker Tidy Up where items go when sorting dense floor piles.
Skill Upgrades and Keybinds
| Skill Name | Default Input | Functional Effect | Practical In-Game Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grabby Hands | Passive | Expands carrying capacity from 5 up to 50 items | Dramatically cuts down transit time across stairs |
| Match Finder | R Key | Outlines all floor items matching your held item in yellow | Locates buried cans hidden beneath large crates |
| Right Shelf | C Key | Highlights shelves accepting your held item | Instantly reveals the exact target shelf location |
| Magnet | V Key | Pulls nearby matching items directly into your inventory | Collects scattered supplies without manual clicks |
| Everything Away | X Key | Sends held supplies directly to shelves already storing that type | Empties your inventory instantly from a distance |
| Autoloader | Hold Left Click | Feeds items onto compatible shelves at 5 items per second | Eliminates repetitive clicking at large food racks |
| Compaction | Passive | Groups identical carried supplies into single inventory stacks | Simplifies inventory management during big runs |
| Quick Step | Passive | Increases player movement speed by 20% | Accelerates travel across the large bunker |
| Springiness | Passive | Boosts jump height (from +50% up to +670%) | Enables jumping directly across railings and piles |
Recommended Routine for Fast Sorting
To optimize your cleanup runs, follow a consistent loop:
- Clear massive footprint objects first, such as water barrels, generators, gas cylinders, and potato sacks, to expose hidden floor layers.
- Keep a single sample item in your hand and press C (Right Shelf) to identify its assigned rack.
- Place the first copy to establish the shelf assignment.
- Press R (Match Finder) while holding an identical copy to illuminate all matching pieces across the floor in bright yellow.
- Activate V (Magnet) near high-density clusters to rapidly fill your carrying slots.
- Return to the assigned rack and hold the interaction key to let Autoloader deposit the batch in seconds.
- Once all 17,437 items are distributed and all 136 shelves are completely filled, walk to the upper walkway and interact with the green-lit exit door beside the bookcases to complete the simulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know in Bunker Tidy Up where items go when a shelf outline is red or yellow?
A red outline with an error chime indicates that the held item is incompatible with that shelf category. A green outline confirms a correct match. If an outline appears yellow, the item belongs to that broad category, but the specific shelf slot may already be claimed by another supply type or blocked by a duplicate item.
Where do coffee, tea, and cocoa powder go?
Despite being hot drinks, coffee, tea bags, and cocoa powder belong on the Groceries shelves on the ground floor. The Drinks rack is reserved exclusively for ready-to-consume beverages such as water, soda, juice, milk, wine, beer, and energy drinks.
Why can't I find in Bunker Tidy Up where items go for bread mix or pickled olives?
If you cannot find an open slot for bread mix, pickled olives, or baseball bats, you have likely placed a duplicate item on two separate shelves. Check nearby racks for repeated titles (such as two cocoa powder or two shotgun shell slots) and clear the duplicate so the missing item can claim its rightful space.
Where do personal hygiene supplies like toothpaste and razors belong?
Hygiene items belong on the upper walkway inside the Household Chemicals and Supplies alcove. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, deodorants, shampoos, and shower gels are placed on the racks adjacent to bleach jugs and paper towels.
