Laundry Hampers: A Better Option Than the Floor or the Treadmill

Looking for a hamper that's cool enough that family members might actually use it? Take a look at the lovely hampers from Lovell Designs. [via Ohdeedoh]




Hey-Sign has felt laundry baskets, in grey and in bright colors; you can buy them here.




Another unusual option is this laundry basket made from vetiver, a "deep growing and naturally aromatic root." The vendor says that "the natural aroma of the vetiver root hamper should keep even the dirtiest laundry smelling fresh."




And then there are the stunning baskets made by the Wolof Weavers of Senegal; they're "woven from a local grass and plastic strips recycled from used prayer mats." You can find them Swahili African Modern, VivaTerra, and Connected Goods.

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Food Storage: Alternatives to Plastic

Some plastic food storage containers are safer than others, as I've noted before. But if you were already concerned about plastics, the latest research might increase those concerns; it indicates there may be problems even with BPA-free plastics.

I'm not trying to tell you not to use plastics; that's very much an individual decision, based on the imperfect knowledge we have now. But for those who do choose to avoid or minimize plastic food storage, let's look at some of the alternatives — beyond those I've listed before.

1. The storage bowls from Fishs Eddy are a fun choice. That's one of them, at the top of this post. They come in 16- and 24-ounce sizes, in a variety of patterns.




2. Duralex, from France, also has glass storage with plastic lids. You can also see them at the Duralex USA web site. One place to buy them is Chefs.




3. Sanctus Mundo has a number of interesting storage choices, mostly stainless steel. But the company now also sells airtight glass storage with stainless steel lids, which you can buy at Life Without Plastic. These containers come in several different sizes. [via Care2; thanks to the friend who sent me to this blog post]




4. If you like the idea of glass storage containers but don't like the plastic lids they often come with, take a look at the fabric food covers at Hunter Gatherer. [via Remodelista]




5. You can also get reusable bowl covers in a whole range of patterns from Taila Custom Designs.

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Fun with Office Supplies: Paper Clip Holders

If you've got paper clips scattered all over the place — or if you have one of those boring paper clip holders sold at big box office supply stores — you might want to look at some fun ways to corral those clips. The one above is called the Desk Knight.




This car-shaped paperweight and clip holder comes from Philippi.




Troika, in Germany, has so many fun choices that it's hard to pick just one. This car is sold by The Black and White Gift Shop in Australia. Liberty in the U.K. has the Troika ocean liner and red racing car. Morphose in Germany has the motorcycle, the excavator, and more. [via Retro to Go]




OK — I can't show you just one, because I have to include the Inukshuk. You can find this one at Rolo and Skripta-Paris (lava and pebble colors).




Alessi makes this paper clip holder, called Chip; you can find it many places, including Unica Home. [via Switched On Set]




This paper clip holder comes from ScanWood, also available from Panik and Modetwentyone. [via Better Living Through Design]





And let me leave you with a couple of the bobble head paper clip holders by Amy Hardacre.

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Two Companies with Amazing Storage Ottomans

Photo used with permission.

Want a unique storage piece? Look at the ottomans — including one intended for files — created by Nomad Ideas in the U.K. They're covered with kilims from Istanbul, and they're gorgeous. [via The Daily Basics]



Photo used with permission.

And then take a look at the ottomans and stools made by Katie Thompson of Recreate, based in South Africa. You'll find hatbox ottomans such as the one shown above, as well as suitcase stools. From Africa with Love, a showroom/gallery in Amsterdam, carries a limited selection. [via The Design Tabloid]

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July 2011 Organizing Tips and More

Worn-out clothes don't have to go to landfill. To learn how to donate them, see my July 2011 newsletter!

Also included in the newsletter:

- Product of the Month: Basket from Pine Needle Perfection

- Organizing Quote of the Month

- Twitter Updates: little tidbits you might enjoy

If you'd like to get my newsletter by e-mail, you can subscribe.

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Small Space Solutions: Storage in a Stool

Small spaces and dual-purpose furniture go together — and one such furniture piece is the storage stool. For storage and a splash of color, there's the Candy storage pouff from Calligaris; many different color combinations are offered. You can buy it here, here and here. [via From Europe]




Wildspirit, in Belgium, provides the Stoll 50, "serviceable as pouf, side table, serving tray and storage trunk." One place to buy it online is here. If you like color, check out the orange leather cushion option.




Pedersen + Lennard, in South Africa, created the bucket stool; you can get one here. [via The Design Tabloid]




This ikat storage stool comes from VivaTerra.




And finally, there's the Ava storage stool from Neiman Marcus.

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Got Purse Clutter? Consider a Purse Organizer!

Struggling to organize the contents of your purse? You must have a lot of company — because there sure are a lot of businesses selling purse organizers! I've written about purse organizers twice before — see the related posts at the end of this post — but I've since found many more. Let's start with the lovely purse organizers from Divide and Conquer, sold on Etsy. They come in many different sizes and patterns (and solid colors, too).




Another Etsy seller with a nice range of purse organizers is It's All in the Bag.




The Purse Perfector comes in two sizes and various colors. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was delighted to read that these organizers are actually made in San Francisco! And here's an interesting note: "Each Purse Perfector order is hand-packed by a local nonprofit, Easter Seals Work Resource Center, an organization dedicated to training the developmentally disabled in meaningful work for a variety of businesses."




I first discovered the PurseN organizer inserts on the Levenger web site, but there are many more options than the one Levenger carries.




The purse organizer from Plaid Doctrine was mentioned in the comments on a prior post, but not everyone would have seen the comments — and this is an organizer worth seeing.




Now let's leave the U.S., and go to London, where Oliepops is based. The company's handbag organisers come in five different colors, and the company provides free worldwide shipping.




Bragbags, based in Australia, has a number of interesting handbag organisers, handmade in Vietnam.





And finally, we have the purse organizers that come to us from Korea, from invite.L, Standard Number, and iswas. Invite.L handles international orders, but you can also find these products at Yesstyle, which also has web sites for the U.K., Australia and Hong Kong. You can also get them from Designed by Korea — or from MochiThings, which doesn't identify the brand/designer.

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Bathroom Organizing: Shower Curtains with Pockets

If your bathroom lacks storage space, a shower curtain with pockets might be useful. This one from Maytex is widely available; see here and here. The same product — or something that looks very similar — is sold as Colormate and Home Classics.




The Wintertek utility shower curtain has "four large self-draining pockets, capable of storing eight regular-sized shampoo and conditioner bottles and two loops (one large and one small) to accommodate various sizes of toothbrushes and razors." It comes in five different colors. [via Freshome]




And Pottery Barn Kids has its Ocean Shower Curtain with some smaller pockets.

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Paper-Based Storage Furniture: Cardboard and More

Q: Cardboard, really?
A: YES, really!

So says the Karton Group, which makes this Barnyard Method collection, and other less-fanciful storage furniture — shelving and bed drawers. Karton says, "Our board is made from a mix of virgin and recycled paper (the virgin pulp provides superior strength)." And like many paper-based furniture options, it's relatively inexpensive. [via Shoebox Dwelling]




Reinhard Diennes Studio has created two cardboard storage pieces — a sideboard and a bookcase. Each is available in eight different colors, and can be purchased from Fashion For Home.




Shelves2go positions its products as "your dorm room shelving unit made of corrugated cardboard." [via Apartment Therapy]




Way Basics makes its furniture, including storage cubes and storage bookcases, from zBoards — which in turn are "made almost entirely (99%) from post-consumer recycled paper."




Kroom makes a wide range of products from reinforced cardboard. Here's just one: a bookcase for kids. Although the company is based in Israel, the products are sold in many countries; I found this bookcase on Amazon.com. [via Magnifeco]




And let's end as we began — with some animals. This moose and bear come from The Green Apple; there's also a monkey. Unfortunately, these cardboard bookcases are only available in the U.K.; the company does not ship overseas.

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Organizing the Books, for Kids Who Read in Bed

Reading in bed is a pleasure for kids and adults alike — but how do you store the books your children are reading? Just today I came across two products designed to address this issue. The first is Tambino's clever combination of a bookshelf and a bed rail, also available through Etsy. Note: "Intended for kids over the age of two, who can get up and down from the bed unassisted. Not intended for the upper level of a bunkbed (upper bunk rails are longer)." [via Furniture Fashion]




But here's a product that is intended for use in the upper level of a bunkbed: the Tidy Books Bunk Bed Buddy, which holds books and assorted small items. Tidy Books also sells other neat products for organizing children's books, including the Tidy Box.

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Kitchen Knife Storage: Whimsical and Colorful

Unique is a word that gets tossed around a lot — but here's a product for storing knives that truly is unique. It's the Kitchen Bull from Toro Legno, in Australia — and you can get it through Etsy. As you can see, it's much more than a knife block — it's also a bookshelf, and there's a cheese board tucked away in there, too. And, of course, it's also a conversation piece, and a work of art. [via Freshome; photo used by permission of Ian Sargeant]




Also from Australia — and also available through Etsy — are the colorful magnetic knife blocks from Feel Felt Found. There are five color choices.





And another fun option is the BISTRO knife block from Bodum, which comes in six colors. Bodum says, "The inside of the knife bock is made of a myriad of very fine plastic sticks allowing any knife to sit anywhere in the block — tight and secure." This makes it functionally similar to the Ekobo knife block and the Kapoosh knife block, mentioned in earlier posts.

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Two More Ways to Store the Legos

Lego storage is an ongoing challenge for many — but fortunately, clever people keep developing more storage options. Back in 2007 I wrote about 16 Lego storage options, which I thought was a pretty comprehensive list — and then people added even more ideas in the comments. Last year, I found the BrikCrates. And now I've found two more ways to store the Legos. Both of these are targeted at kids, rather than older collectors.

1. Play mats that become toy bags

These would work great for any toys involving lots of small parts, including Legos. The eye-catching one above is the Swoop Bag, which comes in six different colors. [via Cool Mom Picks; photo used with permission of Swoop]




Gogo&co, based in Australia, makes the gogosac. This was mentioned in the comments on my prior post, but I wanted to be sure no one overlooked it.

And if you're craftier than I am, you could make your own, as described by Instructables and Bellgirl. Keren Kurti Alexander shows off another handcrafted one on Flickr.




2. Portable Lego Storage Box

This one comes to us from Knick Knack Wood Shack, and it's available in two different sizes. Each box is handmade — and the shop owner is a dad whose own children have tested these boxes out. [via Ohdeedoh]

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