Embracing and hacking the laundry piles with (of course) baskets!
I have had many clever and functional Ikea storage solutions gather dust because I can’t help but let my clothes pile up on the floor. So when I moved in with my boyfriend I knew I could’t let stuff pile up, but I also knew I would never be able to fight my piling ways forever. So just like you do in any relationship, I compromised with myself. I bought cheap hampers to separate my clothes into contained pile — keeping them clean and within reach.
Baskets! The final missing piece in my quest for a simple home-cooked meal plan
I had a “baskets!” moment about … baskets. A while ago I mapped out a basic cooking roster for my partner and myself, based on our schedules. Then I got thinking about how I’m going to make sure we actually use all these ingredients so I don’t have to scrape them out of the vege drawer in a month’s time. Also how to make this easy for us both…
“Baskets!” moment: it’s super easy to DIY your own chalkboard on the cheap
I’ve been wanting a gigantic chalkboard to hang in my house for a while but they’re expensive — or they were, until I realized just how easy it would be to make my own inexpensive version. I picked up a canvas at an art shop, a can of spray paint, and got busy! I tend to change things in my house pretty often, and since this chalkboard is lightweight, it’s easy for me to move around or change the drawing.
“Baskets!” moment: Your veggie scraps are actually delicious soup in the making
Next time you’re chopping up some veggies, get out a gallon-size zip-top bag. Toss in any edible pieces that you’re trimming. This includes peels, end bits and weird fleshy bits that wouldn’t look appetizing, but are harmless. Then use those veggie bits to make soup stock!
Defeating my most-loathed chore — putting the dishes away
ome people hate taking out the trash, for others cleaning the toilet makes them fly into a rage. My own personal household Waterloo has always been emptying the dishwasher. It wasn’t until my husband and I put all of our stuff in storage, moved across the country, and rented a temporary apartment that I had my Oh, baskets! moment: HAVE FEWER DISHES.
Keep a shopping list for clothes
My lack of fashion-seeking prowess has led to a wardrobe that, while totally me, has some major holes in it. Like the hippie skirt I love, but rarely wear because it’s so hard to match the colors with my tops. Or the shirt that’s too low-cut to wear without one very specific cami, which is usually in the laundry due to its popularity. You get the idea.
This morning, while putting away laundry, I had a baskets moment about my wardrobe situation…
Ditch your DVD cases: a “baskets!” moment for your media
This idea was a truly redefining “baskets!” moment for our household. We were running out of precious bookshelf space, so we decided to recycle all our DVD cases — take every disc, put them in disc sleeves, and store them in a lovely media basket.
A “baskets!” moment for your freezer
We had lots of extra baskets from berries and tomatoes around the apartment. We also had little foil packets of things like garlic that we keep in the freezer for when we need them. They kept falling though the holes in our shelves and were annoying to keep track of. Here’s my “baskets!” moment from my freezer.