- Home >> Lifestyle: Organizers:
7 Baskets That Help With
Home Organization
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.
|
Author: © COPYRIGHT KAREN FRITSCHER-PORTER |
|
Karen Fritscher-Porter publishes
http://www.how-to-file.com,
a website with all the informational answers and file products
that meet your home filing system needs. Start clearing your
paper clutter today!
|
|
ARTICLE POSTED
MAY 6, 2006
ARTICLE SOURCE: EzineArticles.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WHAT'S NEW?
