Organising with boxes, baskets & buckets

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You've seen the pictures, right? Beautiful colour coordinated, fabric lined baskets inside linen closets, a basket, box or bucket for just about everything. Well, you won't find it in my place. Yeah sure, they all have their place to be a practical hold-all when you don't have anything in the cupboard to hold smaller things. I tend to believe that a items folded neatly and stacked nicely on a shelf is enough. Inside your desk drawer might be a different story. Paper clips, pencils, pens etc all need their tidy little space to keep things easily accessible.

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But it needn't be matching. It needn't be brand new from a homemaker or container store. Look around your house for suitable storage containers. Who except you is going to see inside your cupboards? If you feel you might need a basket for a specific purpose, op shops have heaps. A normal carry basket with the handle cut off for 50 cents will do the same thing as a $20 cane basket from a homewares store. A spray paint with a bright colour and it'll be like brand new. Think about how much money you'll save. Money you can save towards paying off your mortgage sooner or a family holiday. Check out these other repurposed storage solutions.

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Milk crates, if you can get them (and I don't mean steal them), are a great hold-all. If you can sew, what about these pretty liners? You can also top them with a foam covered board and they become a storage solution and a stool.

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How about weaving those pesky plastic bags into these handy baskets? Aren't they gorgeous?

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You couldn't get much easier than this. The humble carpet square cut and made into these handy boxes.

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Recycle cans into this lovely desk top organising caddy for all your craft tools.

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Something as simple as stacking cardboard sheets on top of each to create this handy catch all. I love the simplicity of the brown cardboard.

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Who has CDs anymore? I'd bet you'd find heaps of CD storage options at the local secondhand stores which can be used for much more than just CDs. What about fabric storage? Books? Kid's toys? Turned on its side and wall mounted to store just about anything.

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Those bathroom caddies have many uses other than just for the bathroom. How about this handy craft organiser or wrapping station organiser?

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Old suitcases are just so cute. They're just the perfect shape to slide under the bed and store your linen or winter woolies or this novel way of mounting them on the wall as in this quirky vintage display.

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This is one of the best storage solutions I've seen in a long time. Tie buckets together as a great toy storage solution. Can be stored upright or on its side. Just great! Remember to keep the handle on the one you keep in the centre so it can be easily carried around. They're just tied together with cable ties.

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Pretty paper covered cans stacked on top of each other also become a great storage solution for all sorts of things.

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A tool box makes a great cutlery and table linen storage option. I think this looks just wonderful.

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Can you believe these used to be nappy boxes? Aren't they just beautiful?

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In fact, any old cardboard box covered in fabric makes a lovely storage solution. Colour coordinate them for boys or girls or to match with decor.

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If you can do basic sewing, how about sewing your fabric boxes? There are many free sewing patterns on the internet for these. I've been wanting to make some of these for ages.

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Tea cups and other odds and ends of vintage china make great jewellry storage for inside drawers. Any kind of container does well inside a drawer. Think plastic yoghurt cups, small cardboard boxes, plasticware that's lost its lid.




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How about just cutting cardboard to size from old cereal boxes to suit the size of the compartments you need?

My fruit and vegie suppliers deliver the produce in a blackboard style box with a lid and it's just the best thing for storage both in size and to mark the contents. Look outside the box (pun definitely intended) for your storage solutions.

This post is part of domesblissity's THRiVING - Thrifty Living feature.

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