So, my husband and I had a date night last night. Long gone are the days of wine and roses, late night movies and romantic walks through the city. Sometimes we pull off something more fun, but many times now we share a plate of nachos at our favorite cantina and then zip across town to Costco for our big monthly shop. Last night was special because it included a trip to Home Depot to purchase a new thermocouple for our gas fireplace. At least we hold hands while walking down the HVAC and electricity aisle.
Despite the lack of romantic ambiance at the big-box store, I found some useful storage solutions, and I thought I’d share one of my very favorites.
One the years, I’ve purchased several locker baskets for various areas of my home. The wire construction is sturdy and easy to grab off a high shelf. They allow for ventilation in all kinds of weather which helps keep produce fresher longer. They easily fit into most types of shelving units. And most of all, they’re affordable. The ones we found last night rang in just under eight bucks. Amazon has several sizes and styles at varying price points. Here are a few ways I use mine:
I keep this one in my laundry room to store all things related to caring for our bamboo floors. This is where you’ll find the floor cleaning spray, the various sweep and mop heads and my furniture slider pads. The laundry is a convenient location for this basket because, once the microfiber mop heads have been used, I throw them in the washer and then put them right back in the basket from the dryer.
This basket started out it’s life as a bike basket, but now it lives in our pantry and rounds up all the bags of snacks we have out there. Ummm, was I preparing for a snow storm or something?
This locker basket keeps all our potatoes and sweet potatoes corralled in our pantry. If for some reason we have a potato go bad (which is so gross), it leaks through the basket and doesn’t harm the others. It’s a relatively easy clean-up and I like that we can easily keep track of how much we have on hand.
Do you remember when I talked about putting assorted items on a tray? The locker basket works just as well. I think keeping my yarn stash together is a worthy goal. This way, again, I always know what I have and I always know where to go when I need to find a different color. It’s a bright and cheerful spot in my craft area.
Here are some other ways I could see these baskets being put to use:
To keep balls, mitts and other sports equipment together in the shed or garage
In the coat closet to gather mittens, hats, gloves and other cold-weather gear
In the back of the car filled with basic safety gear
A place to keep and easily transport the books you’re reading right now (so handy for students)
As a way to corral larger craft items including cans of paint and spray paint, folded fabric, boxes of crayons and assorted tools
A way to manage food brought to a picnic or potluck
Do you use locker baskets in your home? What do you use them for?