Thursday, June 20, 2013

47 UHeart Organizing: This Season's Hottest Basket

Sometimes we find solutions and products that work oh-so-well for not just one, but all sorts of organizational projects.  Their versatility brings us back for more and more and they become our "go to" storage.  Can you relate?  I am always so excited to welcome back my dear friend and contributor, Courtney from A Thoughtful Place blog.  Today, she is sharing one of her favorite organizational products, and all of the ways she puts it to use around her home.


Hi IHeart readers!  It's always so much fun hanging out over here.  The inspiration is endless in Jen's history of posts so it's an honor to share a little bit of what we do in our home.  With summer and warmer temperatures, the staple in my closet is the little white dress.  I can wear it with heels or sandals and it works with anything.  Well... I have discovered my little white dress of organization.  While extremely simple, my little white bins have made a huge difference in our home.  It is always refreshing when something simple can make things better.  So without further ado, here is this season's little white bin.


I picked my white bins up at Target for only $2 a piece.  They are on sale right now so you may want to check it out.  I am not sure what has taken me so long to pick these little babies up.  I am now using them everywhere.


Now that it is summertime, we are outside all of the time.  Inevitably, I end up taking off my watch or bracelet to fill a bucket of water for the kiddos or to ride bikes.  Whatever the reason, I needed a little bin on our patio so I could take off my items and know that I wasn't going to lose track of them.  This does the trick and I can just bring it inside without losing anything.  I often toss my sunglasses in it, too, as the sun goes down.


Next up are the white bins that go to work for me when it comes to the children's snacks.  These wipe clean and hold just enough fresh snacks for the kids each day.



I appreciate that they are small and don't take up a ton of space in my fridge, too.  The kids they they are pretty special since they each have their own bin.


These bins are also helping us out in the children's bathroom.  I was sooooo tired of their drawer becoming a huge mess.  While our headbands all have their own organized spot, the flowers have out grown their clip board and were starting to invade the bathroom.  Now they have their own home and so does the toothpaste.



By the way, if any of you have any great tips for teaching children to put the cap back on the toothpaste correctly, I am all ears.  I am failing with that life lesson.


But seeing these pretty flowers all piled in ONE spot makes this mama very happy.


And lastly, washi tape.  I can't seem to live without this cute stuff.  I have used it in place settings for a festive dinner as well as on vases to add some sass.  I use it all of the time for wrapping gifts or hanging photos on the walls.  I like to have it handy so I keep it in a white bin on top of my dryer.  May seem like an odd spot, but a good amount of my craft supplies are in my laundry room.  I also like to have this tempting bin of cuteness up high so that my creative daughter doesn't burn through it in one of her million art projects each day.

White simple, these fresh and sweet little bins are making our lives much easier around here.  Do you think you could put them to good use?


"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC,  with my talented sister.  I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."


47 comments:

  1. I love these baskets! However, I picked them up in the turquoise, red and black colors to coordinate with our house! I have all sizes from the small to extra large and use them in the laundry room, pantry and my favorite use....corralling our son's toys!

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  2. I have several of these types of baskets from Target in a variety of sizes and colors. I LOVE them. And, she is exactly right... They are so versatile. :)

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  3. I need to pick up a few of those bins. I know several areas where they could be put to good use.

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  4. I have these in turquoise - like 4-5 of them. I am glad Target brought them back. I do miss the size that Jen used in her playroom benches...I never see that size at my Target. These are versatile, cute and won't likely go out of style.

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    1. Totally agree. Wish I had picked up even more!

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  5. I love the idea of using bins in the fridge and how the colors pop against the white. I need to do this asap now that the kiddos are home all day (not that I'm pointing fingers) :) Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Yes!!! Emily! Home all day = they need to grab their own snacks, right! I love my kiddos but can not hear, "Mooooommmm, can I have a snack!" one million times a day!

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  6. I love target! They always have lots of adorable and functional items! One can never have to many organizing bins. :) Thanks for sharing!

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  7. These little baskets are so amazing! I feel like I've become a basket addict lately.
    Kerri at HollyMuffin

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  8. Love these bins. I have them in my kids linen closet for extra shampoo, etc, headbands, elastics, curling irons. I have the medium and large red and turquoise in my girls' closet for shorts, skirts, etc. I have the small white and small black in my pantry for all my cookie making and decorating supplies. I have the large red ones in my double hall closet upstairs for linens, extra school supplies, etc. I have small black in my master bath for alllllll my BE eye shadows. I love the idea for the fridge! Oh and wait! I almost forgot! I have the large green one on top of my washer with tide pods, downy unstoppables, shout and bounce dryer sheets. If you can't tell, I love these bins...the design, sizes, and colors!!!

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  9. I love these baskets too! I use them everywhere. BUT, I need to know where you got your watch. I want one!!

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    1. Haha! Always love the attention to detail! It was a gift from my husband but a little birdie told me he picked it up at Nordstrom.

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  10. In love with these baskets from Target! I always pass them in aisle but have little thought to what I would do with them. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  11. I love little baskets for organizing kids' art supplies (eg. crayons in one, glue sticks in another) within desk drawers. And I agree that they are so, so perfect in bathroom drawers! My son keeps stealing our little baskets for use outside in his forts. I took a peek, and he's organizing little rocks, pinecones and feathers in them. Ah, his mother's child ... :)

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  12. We have tons of those (in varying colors-blue, green, white, coral). Katie took a bunch of them to school last year...they were a lifesaver. She plans to use them again this year in her new space. I loved using them in my new craft room as well. The larger size fits perfectly in my expedite. And, since it is a craft room I love that they can be wiped off if something spills.

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  13. Courtney,

    What a great idea for the kids' snacks. I am sure this helps out when you have someone else looking after your kids too. Simple for the sitter, and it keeps your hands on what your kids are eating while you're gone too!

    Question: You mentioned using washi tape when you hang photos? Do you mind explaining what you meant? My wheels are turning, and it makes me think you might mean that on top of a glassed-in photo, you apply a simple caption, date or location of the photo using the removable washi tape. That is a fantastic idea, if that's what you meant. If not, please share anyway. I'd love to know what you meant. Either way, I owe the idea to you. I am putting that on my to-do list!

    Thanks,
    Anita Y. in Southern California

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    1. Hi Anita,
      You are so sweet. I love your idea with the caption! What I have done is hang a photo on top of the glass with a piece of Washi. It makes it fun to change photos in and out. I also have a small spot on a wall near one of our doors. I literally tape three or four Instagram photos to the wall with Washi. They are the photos visitors and we look at the most. Sounds odd, but it has really been fun!

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    2. I too would love to hear more ideas for washi tape please!!! I've just discovered it and have no clue what to do with it but I love it!<3

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  14. I just picked up a larger version of this bin on my last Target trip. I use it to keep our daily mail in. I'll have to pick up some smaller ones on my next trip. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Great ideas! I'd never thought about using those for so many different things.

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  16. I bought these for my makeup storage and am totally in love with them. I need to buy some more to use them around the house because they are pretty and very sturdy

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  17. I love these baskets too! I have one on the back of the toilet in our powder room - it holds extra TP. I also have a few in various closets & cabinets to contain all sorts of items. Cute & useful!

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  18. I use one of the large baskets in my kitchen for recyclables before they go out to the garage. I have the small ones in my cupboard to corral my tea and hot chocolate. I also use the large ones in my Expedit to corral my son's toys. Every time I go to Target I have to make a point NOT to go in that aisle or I will come home with more!

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  19. I also like these versatile baskets...I store all my extra lotion-potions in these baskets in laundry area. I use them in linen closet to store wash clothes, microfiber clothes etc...

    I just love all of your ideas.
    Love courtney and Jen

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  20. Re: Toothpaste caps,

    I myself am guilty of not putting the cap back on... so I always buy toothpastes with attached, flipping lids. Easy to open and close! No lost caps! No issues with getting the threading right!

    I don't know if kids' toothpastes come with these handy lids, but I hope so!

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    1. Omg...that is an awesome idea for the toothpaste caps!!

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  21. Best idea! I am so getting those for my fridge organization!

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  22. I love these baskets too!! I have a few of the white ones. However, on Sunday I went to Target and they were all on Clearance! Hopefully they arent discontinuing them!

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  23. I have one of these baskets! I got the large one for storing tub toys in. It's exactly what I was looking for. It blends in with all my real white baskets in the bathroom, but the plastic makes it great for wet toys. Now I'm wishing I'd bought more of them. :)

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  24. I am a white basketoholic! Love the different examples!

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  25. awesome ideas...as for the toothpaste problem-once we got the flip lid toothpaste we don't have as much of a problem. The lid might not get snapped on tight--but it's not lost for little brother to choke on either.

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  26. I use one of those exact baskets next to my kitchen sink to keep dish soap, and a glass straw holder (sans top) where my "sink brush" and dish brush are held. You organizers tend to keep that stuff UNDER the sink, but for the life of me...I can't get used to that...drives me crazy to open that cabinet a dozen times a day, lol!

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  27. Love the baskets but I have to know where you got the shelf liner in the food pictures. Thanks!

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  28. I love all your ideas and these baskets are fab and I'd have tons of uses for them, unfortunately we don't have a Target store here in the UK So I'll have to do some research and find a store like Target.

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  29. Hi,
    Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but I think it would be a good idea if you lined the bin with either a liner or cloth or felt etc. - especially for jewelery to prevent scratches! Great post! :)

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  30. I use these bins everywhere in my house too! The biggest difference they made was in my junk drawer and the kids junk drawer. I also used them in our guest bathroom for the kids toothbrushes and hair stuff (I have a colonial so we always have an extra set of stuff on both floors)! I've even used the bigger version of these baskets for under sink storage in my guest bath! They are fantastic, sturdy and easy to clean!

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  31. I use the larger ones in this same style for diapers and wipes under the changing table! They are precious.

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  32. LOVE the basket!

    Kristen from The Road to Domestication
    www.theroadtodomestication.com

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  33. What great ideas!!!
    amomsguidetosurvival.blogspot.com

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  34. The white bin is an excellent idea and I love white so it’s a must for me

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  35. Love these bins too. We use ours to organize medications in our medicine cabinet. Also have one for first aid stuff!! Love the refrigerator idea too!

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  36. I love the Ball jars in your fridge photos! Can you tell me where they're from?

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  37. Love these! I have them in my home office, in my kitchen cabinets, in my bedroom and bathroom, and in the kids rooms! I have them in black and white, and varied sizes. I always seem to find myself picking up more every time I'm there! : )

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  38. Jessica,
    I believe those are the plastic Ball Freezer Jars, available as a 3-pack from Lowes.

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