7 Baskets That Help
With Home Organization
by Karen
Fritscher-Porter
Baskets are a perfect
"tool" to use in organizing your home. They're often inexpensive, beautiful and
functional items. And baskets are usually made of quite durable materials for
the typical person's usage. You can use them in every room of your home. Use
them to organize and store everything from your kitchen utensils to your
bathroom towels to your child's toys.
In a way, baskets are a magical
organizational tool. Why? Baskets are decorative items that hide mess right
before your eyes (and those of your visitors). They're your home organization
magic wand--the one that makes disarray disappear in seconds.
Here are seven types of baskets and how to
use them to organize your home.
1. Stair Basket - A stair basket is shaped
like the letter "L" upside down. Set one on your top step or your bottom step of
your staircase. Fill the basket ongoing throughout the day with things that need
to go up or down. That way you only make one trip. And whichever direction you
go with it, up or down the stairs, leave it at the opposite end of the stairs
once it's empty. That way your next trip with the basket will include items that
go to the opposite end of your home.
2. Bushel and Peck Baskets - These look
like wide, round pails and usually have swinging metal handles. They're deep
baskets (that hold a bushel or a peck, for example). And unless you're a farmer
(or selling produce at a farmer's market), you won't want to fill them with
dozens of tomatoes, apples or other fruits and vegetable (unless you have a lot
of immediate family members to feed!). Instead fill them with your children's
miscellaneous toys divided into different categories for each basket (dolls,
soldiers, rubber balls, etc.).
3. Wicker File Baskets - Wicker file
storage baskets or boxes are becoming quite popular. You'll find them in lots of
mainstream stores or specialty organizing stores. They're sort of square or
rectangular shaped baskets (to accommodate hanging file folders or manila file
folders). Usually the wicker file storage basket is made of rattan (because it's
quite sturdy and durable). And they'll often have a lid and swinging handle so
you can go mobile with the baskets from room- to-room. For instance, carry the
file basket from your home office closet to the kitchen table to do your work.
Just store the file basket on a shelf in your home office like you would a box.
Or store the basket in the open; that's okay because wicker file baskets are
much more stylish to look at than a plain paper file storage box or traditional
metal filing cabinet. A wicker file basket is part of your home decor.
4. Utensil Caddy - You've probably seen
these at picnics. They're a caddy or basket with dividers and a handle so you
can tote it around. A picnic caddy might be used to separate the knives, forks,
napkins, etc. The utensil caddy might be made of rattan or willow or something
else even such as plastic. Use them in your kitchen to separate whatever you'd
like (anything from straws and coffee filters to plastic forks and knives).
These baskets work in the bathroom too for separating and toting toiletries.
5. Hanging Wall Pocket Baskets - These
baskets, often wire or rattan, have a flat back so the basket hangs flat against
the wall and a pocket opening. Stuff it with oven mitts in the kitchen. Or fill
a "pot-bellied" wall pocket basket with a decorative flower arrangement and hang
it in the foyer.
6. Wicker Hamper - The best thing about a
wicker hamper is it's lightweight and durable. Fill it with guest pillows in
storage or your child's large collection of stuffed animals. You'll find many
sizes ranging from mini hampers to full-size hampers. Rattan is common in
hampers. But look for rag basket/hampers too for ones that are more unique and
stylish.
7. Wine Caddy - Store your bubbly in a
vertical, cylindrical shaped wine caddy or tote it in one that has a top handle.
A wicker wine caddy is an inexpensive way to jazz up a gift bottle of wine (and
it's classier than a paper gift bag.). Just line the caddy with some colorful
tissue paper that starts at the inside basket base and fluffs up all the way
around the wine bottle where you can see it. Then tie some curly, sparkling
streams of ribbon to the handle. When your gift recipients are done with the
wine, they can use the wine caddy basket to store tall utensils.
So where do you get all these nifty
baskets? From everywhere. Here are six places where you can purchase baskets (or
perhaps even get them for free):
...from online stores
that solely specialize in baskets
...from flea markets
...from yard sales
...from home decor bricks-and-mortar stores
...from home decor online retailers
...from friends who are discarding empty gift baskets (Ask them ahead
of time to save them for you year-round.)
And don't forget, even the plainest,
ugliest basket (in your opinion) can be painted or adorned and decorated in many
other ways. Don't discard these functional, handmade works of art.
Learn lots more about home organizational
and decorative uses of baskets and specific places to buy baskets in the eBook
"How to Organize and Decorate with Baskets" by Karen Fritscher-Porter. Buy the
eBook at
www.OrganizeWithBaskets.com. Also visit
www.EasyHomeOrganizing.com for
more free home organization ideas and articles like this one.