I am getting rid of baskets!

19 years ago

One of my fave slogans is "if you build it, they will come," which I translate into, "a mess expands to fill all available storage space."

I must have forgotten this. Because I have these two extra-large baskets, and I'm getting RID of them.

One of them, I used to use by setting it outside the door to the kids' room. Then, when I was straightening up the house after they'd gone to bed, anything that belonged in their room went in the basket. (I try really hard not to go in and out of their room, and rummage around in there, while they're sleeping.) In the morning, I'd put it away while I was waking them up. It worked really well for three or four years.

Then, somehow, other stuff got in there--stuff that needed a home invented for it. And, I didn't put stuff away as religiously as before.

Now, it sits in my DD's room and holds all KINDS of crap!

Then, I got another big one (oval) that I set on top of the shoe cabinet, thinking it could hold the spare gloves, etc. Well, it was SO big that when I had my temper tantrum the other night, I pulled out TWO kites, a jacket, umpty-dozens of gloves AND hats (that no one wears). It just holds too much, and it looks SO unsightly.

So, out it goes. I'll stick it in the basement storage bin for a month or two, to be sure. I'll work over the month on emptying out the one in DD's room, and it'll go down there, too.

If they don't find themselves needed very soon, I'll give 'em away.

I got a couple of smaller containers, and they'll hold about 6 pairs of gloves--which is about all that should be there (the bulky ones for playing in the snow, and a spare pair for each person in the house, so I don't have to go digging deep in the closets if someone loses a glove).

Do you have a storage "solution" that is really the source of a problem?

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Comments (6)

claire_de_luna
19 years ago
Yes, my armoire. I don't have a dresser in the bedroom, and the armoire is filled with baskets I can't see into very well. They are almost the right size! It looks nice, but it isn't working for me. It would be fine for out-of-season storage, but not for everyday. My New Year's goal is to clean that sucker out, and try to get all the clothes I actually wear into the closet, which isn't very big. I just want to get in there and see everything at once. (Where there's a will there's a way.) I also want better shoe storage. I'm looking for a pair of shoes I haven't seen since last year! Organized Living, here I come...
OKMoreh
19 years ago
Several years ago, in a school, I had essentially the same problem with baskets, although they were smaller baskets and mostly plastic. The people who worked there before me liked to use lots of small plastic baskets, but that made it easy to dispose of something by plopping it into a basket instead of putting it where it belonged. I did the same thing, too: got rid of all the baskets that were not actually being put to good use. (Some of them were used to hold things like art supplies that would be taken to a classroom and then brought back to store in the supply closet, and I kept those.)

The stuff I found in the baskets was pretty varied, but unfortunately, there was no money in any of them.
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intherain
19 years ago
Talley Sue, I had the very same problem with baskets. They'd end up collecting OTHER stuff, too. Another problem I had was that I'd forget to go back and empty the baskets and then it would end up being a big chore to empty everything. So, no more baskets for me.

When the children were younger and DH would clean the house, I'd marvel and how he put everything away so quickly. Eventually I realized he was just throwing everything into a basket and shoving it somewhere. I grew tired of this quickly because I ended up being the one to empty it. No more baskets!!!

Sheryl
joann23456
19 years ago
I got rid of almost all the baskets, too. I never had the problem of them collecting junk, but they're just too much - clutter on display. And I'm trying to stop that.
intherain
19 years ago
Joann, yes, baskets can be clutter, too. When DH and I got married waaaayyyy back in 1986, it was the rage to display baskets everywhere. I had baskets hanging from our wall, on top of the cabinets in the kitchen, on the floor, on dressers....everywhere. Finally DH admitted he couldn't stand the cluttered feeling of baskets. It took me a long time to part with my baskets, though. :) We are pretty much basket-free these days, except a few food baskets for entertaining. I know if I do bring a basket in this house, I'll have to sneak it past DH!!

Sheryl
cupofkindness
19 years ago
I have six fairly shallow rectangular baskets we use for magazines. That works for me.

I am getting rid of baskets!

Comments (6)

claire_de_luna

OKMoreh

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