The Organized Home with Kids: Why Baskets Rock

As I mentioned in a recent post, I adore baskets. Baskets were a part of my life before I became a mom, but in retrospect, I think my pre-parenthood self was only scratching the surface of their full potential.

As far as I'm concerned, baskets are a mom's best friend. Here are tons of ideas on how to organize your life with them, on the cheap.

While I love an organized home, getting mine to that state is a constant, ongoing work-in-progress. Enter baskets. For those of you who haven’t fully unlocked their secrets yet, here are a few of mine:

Inexpensive Home Organization Hacks with Baskets

1. Baskets can contain, sort, and separate.

The baskets near my downstairs changing table include an easily-washable plastic one for dirty clothes.
The baskets near my downstairs changing table include an easily-washable plastic one for dirty clothes.
  • Our downstairs changing table is surrounded by an assortment of baskets: clean diapers, wipes/creams/spare diaper covers, spare play-clothes, clothes half-worn and not yet ready for the laundry, dirty clothes that need washing, socks, and tights.
  • My sewing area has baskets for mending supplies and projects, crafting supplies and projects, and sewing projects-in-progress.
  • My guest bathroom (a.k.a. our laundry room) has baskets to hold facecloths and an assortment of travel-sized toiletries.
  • The kids’ bath has a toilet-top basket to corral reading materials and spare undies, and a metal one on the floor next to the tub to keep their various shampoos, conditioners, and body washes handy yet contained.
  • In the master bath, which doesn’t have a medicine cabinet or linen closet, countertop baskets keep toiletry supplies nearby and neat. Near the toilet, another holds spare toilet paper.

2. Baskets can hide and store.

  • Our kitchen hutch, which is only steps from the kitchen table and the first-floor bath, used to keep baskets of clean baby bibs and post-meal washcloths at our fingertips. As our girls have grown, the basket of bibs has morphed into a container for crayons and colored pencils.
  • Since I often find myself doing paperwork at the kitchen table, I like to keep a stash of office supplies (pens, stapler, letter-opener) at my fingertips. But I don’t like them to disappear into the hands (and from there, the secret hiding places) of my curious offspring. I’ve found a deep-sided basket that keeps my stash accessible to me, but out of the sight (and minds) of my kiddos.
  • I love to crochet, but don’t particularly enjoy untangling yarn after my dear daughters have gotten into it. As a result, I’ve hidden various caches of yarn, squirrel-like, in baskets scattered around our living room and my craft area (which doubles as the girls’ basement play space).
Baskets don't have to be all matchy-matchy, all the time, as my amazing sister-in-law Alicia has demonstrated in this superb bathroom collection. This assortment of baskets in her tiny apartment's bathroom works so well as a linen-closet-out-in-the-open precisely because each basket is unique.
Baskets don’t have to be all matchy-matchy, all the time, as my amazing sister-in-law Alicia has demonstrated in this superb bathroom collection. This assortment of baskets in her tiny apartment’s bathroom works so well as a linen-closet-out-in-the-open precisely because each basket is unique.

3. Baskets can keep things close at hand.

  • My car has baskets in the backseat to keep the girls’ toys contained but within reach. Others keep spare hats/sunglasses/shoes and blankets/coats handy. On road trips, the front seat holds a basket with snack items and extra water bottles; on a day-to-day around-town basis, a basket serves as a catchall for stuff I need to return and small items I’ve purchased.
  • A small handled basket, hung from a magnetized hook on the back of our kitchen door, holds outgoing mail in the winter, and sunblock and bug repellent in summer.
  • Near the kitchen door, small mesh baskets hold things we need when heading out in the morning (hair ties, socks, sunglasses, hats/gloves).

4. Baskets can give you an extra hand or two.

  • When I’m cleaning house or picking up, I often use a large basket to collect items that belong in another room, or on a different floor. This saves me trips up and down the stairs, and helps me bring more stuff in one trip than if I had to carry it in my hands.
  • As noted above, I also use baskets for getting little things in and out of the car around a day of errands: those empty printer cartridges to recycle, the store flyer with coupons I plan to use, my refilled water bottle, etc.
  • And of course, my favorite mom basket of all time is the Outdoor Basket we use for a morning out playing in the front yard, an afternoon on the back deck by our inflatable pool, or a walk to our neighborhood park.
Just a few of my recent secondhand basket finds, ranging in price from $0.97 to $2.50.
Just a few of my recent secondhand basket finds, ranging in price from $0.97 to $2.50.

Tips and Tricks For Stocking Up

You can always splurge on matching baskets if you really need a certain size or color for a particular space (and even then, I recommend off-price locations like TJMaxx or HomeGoods over Pottery Barn, if you’re doing this on a budget).

On the other hand, I’ve acquired most of mine at yard sales and thrift stores, where you can easily find them for as much as $5 or as little as 50 cents. (Just be sure to look them over carefully before you buy, to make sure they’re structurally sound.) You can also find great sales on handled baskets in the weeks after Easter, and on baskets for shelves (and storage containers more generally) in January.

Looking for those flat baskets with liners that are GREAT for tucking onto shelves? Here are Amazon’s top-rated options, including several picks under $20! 
And if you’re interested in nesting sets for Baby’s nursery, these options under $30 are also customer favorites!

Happy Basketing!

If you enjoyed this post on how to max out home organization with baskets, why not share by pinning this image?

As far as I'm concerned, baskets are a mom's best friend. Here are tons of ideas on how to organize your life with them, on the cheap.

As far as I'm concerned, baskets are a mom's best friend. Here are tons of ideas on how to organize your life with them, on the cheap.
As far as I'm concerned, baskets are a mom's best friend. Here are tons of ideas on how to organize your life with them, on the cheap.

NOTE: This site contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission from any purchases made through affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. For more information, please read the full disclosure/privacy policy.

Follow Super Mom Hacks on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X!

Or stay in the loop by  joining our mailing list!

 

13 thoughts on “The Organized Home with Kids: Why Baskets Rock”

  1. Pingback: Homemade Christmas Gifts: DIY Spa Treatments - Super Mom Hacks

  2. I love baskets. I am notorious for having a milion baskets around the house for different things. I work hard to try monthly to go through them and put everything away and where it goes.

    1. Haha, so your husband and I could probably commiserate! I confess, using baskets for things-that-need-putting-away is one hack I haven’t tried yet, though so many people recommend it; kudos to you for setting aside the time to deal with the things these catch-alls accumulate! 🙂

    1. I totally agree, Angie! I’m due for another rearrangement of my home office, and I just bought some more to organize things on my bookshelves while keeping them tidily out of view 🙂

    1. Haha, so you’ve already discovered one of my favorite hacks when it comes to your cleaning things! They really are SO handy for all sorts of stuff 🙂

  3. Pingback: DIY Shelf Installation: Helpful Tips To Make Your First Project Easier - Super Mom Hacks

  4. Pingback: Need More Storage Space? Try Looking Up - Super Mom Hacks

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.