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. In The Sims 3, families have unlimited uses, meaning that they will only disappear out of the bin if deleted.

Telling a Sim to "Find Own Place" also places them in the family bin. If University is installed, Sims go into the family bin when they leave college.

Until University, Sims or Sim families in the family bin could not be combined with other households. This feature allows teens who are going to college to join an existing (non-Greek) household, and allows graduates to do things such as re-join their families or form households with friends from college.

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.

Sims in the family bin cannot be called, even if they have cell phones. Since they're are not living on a residential lot that has a phone, they are not considered to have a phone, even if they have a cell phone. However, Sims in the family bin may be brought home from work or school. Also, if Open for Business is installed, they may appear in the hiring pool.