Containers (Skyrim)

Container is the generic term for any object in Skyrim that is capable of storing items inside of it.

Containers are found throughout Skyrim and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The storage capacity of a container is not dependent upon its size or shape and it can store nearly an unlimited number of items. But, the items initially found inside most containers are determined by the type of container.

Most containers in the game are subject to reset, that is, they clear out all the contents after a certain period of time and are reset to their initial state. Most containers reset after about a week of game time, however, examining the contents of the container causes the countdown to start over. A container could be made to never reset simply by opening it once every 5-6 days or so. Any items left in a container that has reset is forever lost.

Apothecary's Satchel
These are small leather pouches that can be found near Alchemy Labs or on shelves. They typically contain alchemy ingredients.

Barrel
Barrels can be found almost everywhere. They typically contain 1-5 food items or alchemy ingredients. A variant of the standard barrel are ones that contain alcoholic beverages, such as the Black-Briar Mead. Some barrels are called Thief Cache because they are used by the thieves guild to hide weapons, lockpicks and other things their fellow thieves would need.

Chests
Usually the largest storage container found and they normally contain items of higher value than other containers. Chests can vary in appearance dependent upon their location. As chests are the "best" container available, the term chest, is ofttimes used interchangeably for any storage container found within a dungeon.

All chest have a generally rectangular box shape. For example, a Falmer Chest is constructed out of Chaurus Chitin and has a distinct appearance but is still recognizable as a chest.

Coffin
Usually found in The Hall of the Dead or tombs; they often contain clothing, armor, gold, jewelry, and other misc. items

Cupboard
These are found in almost all houses. They typically contain clothing items.

Display Case
Not a full container per se, but can hold weapons. Items are placed into them and the glass case can be closed. They are typically found in some purchasable properties or Jarls residences.

Dresser
These are found in almost all houses. They typically contain clothing items and general clutter.

Egg Sac
Egg Sacs are usually found in caves, tombs and ruins. These are the egg sacs of Frostbite Spiders and typically contain a random number of Spider Eggs.

End Table
These are found in almost all houses. They typically contain general clutter.

Pot
These are found in almost some houses and shops. They typically contain alchemy ingredients.

Sack
These are found in almost all houses and shops. They typically contain 1-5 food items or ingredients.

Drawers
Usually contains various clothing and sometimes armor. can also contain useless items, such as a iron pot.

Satchel
These containers are fairly rare, but can be found in almost any enviroment. They typically contain a range of items such as books, ingredients, jewelry, potions and gold.

Strongbox
Used primary for Thieves Guild missions.

Wardrobe
These are found in almost all houses. They typically contain clothing items.

Urn
These various sized containers can be found in tombs, ruins, and other places where the dead reside. Typically contain a small amount of gold and on occasion jewelry or potions.

List of non-resetting containers
There are some containers that never reset.
 * All chests and containers inside purchasable houses.
 * The chest in the secret room inside Sleeping Giant Inn.
 * The chest and wardrobe inside the ruined Helgen Inn.
 * The wardrobe in Riverside Shack.
 * The end table located in the Alchemist's Shack.
 * The Apothecary's Satchel located in the cellar of Anise's Cabin.
 * The barrel between Warmaiden's and Breezehome in Whiterun.
 * The Arch-Mage's Quarters after completing the College of Winterhold questline.
 * The chest at the entrance of Sky Haven Temple.
 * The metal chest at the top of Valtheim Towers

Notable chests

 * In Dawnstar, to the north of Iron-Breaker Mine there is an invisible chest underneath a small rock overhang. The invisible chest contains a huge amount of leveled goods varying from armor to gold and soul gems. If you wait two days, and then open the bartering window for Ahkari, the chest will replenish. It is believed that this chest is connected to Ahkari's shop just outside of the town, as items sold to her can be retrieved from this chest and resold after waiting 48 hours.
 * In Whiterun, it is possible to glitch under the map, then proceed to walk around Whiterun, near the Skyforge you can jump through some rocks. When you jump through, you will be under Skyforge. Underneath is a chest full of valuable goods (armor, weapons, gold etc.) that will replenish every 48 hours game time.
 * Chest named "Do Not Delete" - this is a chest that Dragonborn can buy from Arcadia at Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun for $ 200-300 gold. This is the box that essentially "allows" an NPC to be a merchant. It does not contain anything, the only reason it exists is to allow the merchants to sell their items. It isn't known why it is a chest, rather than a line of code within the game's programming. It isn't actually deletable except on PC, and if you delete it on PC, most merchants will cease to function altogether, although sometimes all it does is "break" their shop menu, meaning you can open it, but it does not work. It has similar physics as the paintbrushes of Oblivion. When you drop it, it does not hit the ground, and can be stacked in the air, or used to reach high places. If multiple are obtained, you can use them as a sort of "ladder" that allows you to reach high places quickly. Some places are even able to be reached with them without going through the loading screens, although this is NOT recommended as it can make the game extremely buggy, laggy, and will often cause the game to crash completely. In some cases, fps rates have dropped by nearly 90%, due to the areas reached not having been rendered. These chests can make it possible to skip entire dungeons. For example, at Shimmermist cave, instead of going through the entire dungeon to get to the loot at the end, you can jump, drop a "Do Not Delete" box, climb the ledge, and go through the hall and fight the Centurion, skipping 95% of the dungeon.