Do the containers (like cabinets) respawn or is it safe to store items longterm in them?

i have never had item stolen from me, i believe its safe.

They're safe, I've never had the containers eat my items after I've stored them there.

Chests and drawers near the bed are but things in the barrels goes missing.
And J'Zargo insists on putting his books on the tables >:[

I checked now, they're safe (put stuff in all the containers, waited for a full week and checked, items still there) =)

But you know there's a free house in one of the cities
I don't want to spoil it or something, so if you want to know where go wiki it =)

Ok, thanks. I made the mistake of storing some items in a chest in Balgruuf's castle in Whiterun and they had disappeared on my next reload. Forgot the best places to leave stuff (if you don't have a safe container nearby) are on floors and the ground.

Actually, NPCs will pick up items off the ground. Sometimes they give the items back to you. Sometimes they'll just walk up to you and say something like "You didn't want this piece of armor anymore, right?" and keep it.