Family bin

The family bin is where a Sim or a family is stored until they have a Residential lot to be placed in. It's as if the Sims are "in limbo" when they're not living on a residential lot. After a family is created in Create-A-Sim mode they go straight into the family bin, and from there they can be moved into a lot.

Telling a Sim to "Find Own Place" also places them in the family bin.

Until University, Sims or Sim families in the family bin could not be combined in other households. This feature is intended to be used with Teens who have gone to College and graduated to then join the family again.

The family bin, unlike the lots and houses bin, is neighborhood specific, so families can't be moved from one neighborhood to another. Sub-neighborhoods are the exception, though. A sub-hood (with the exception of a university) attached to a neighborhood shares its family bin. So, for example, if there is a Downtown attached to Pleasantview, any of Pleasantview's inhabitants could go to live in Downtown and vice-versa.