Quick Tip: Using Your Laundry Basket Around Your Home

by Guest on April 28, 2011

The following guest post is from Marci at Overcoming Busy:

source: FloydSlip

I have a secret weapon to fight clutter at my house. You probably have one or two of your own and don’t even know it yet! This weapon is so powerful I can use it in any room and it can give an almost instant room transformation.

What is this awesome secret? My laundry basket!!

The laundry basket is not just for laundry. Oh no! I do keep one in the laundry room for the laundry, but the other basket is all over the house. I use it in the living room, in the bedrooms, in the toyroom… Basically, my laundry basket is my clutter collector. When I am cleaning an area of the house and need to de-clutter, I just put the items that don’t belong in the room in my laundry basket. After the cleaning is finished, I just take my basket and deliver the items to the appropriate rooms. That way, I’m not putting away just one item at a time or filling up another area with clutter while I’m cleaning.

At the end of the day, one of the last things I do before going to bed is take a quick trip through the living room and kitchen with my laundry basket. I throw whatever does not belong into the basket and deliver the items to their proper rooms on my way to bed. This also works great when we are expecting company. Instead of making everyone’s life miserable trying to keep the house tidy, I just make a breeze through the house right before company arrives, throw the clutter in the basket and stash the basket in the laundry room to be dealt with later. This keeps everyone much happier.

My goal is to keep life simple, not busy. Visit me at overcomingbusy.com.

Mandi here: We also use laundry baskets for this purpose (although I’ll admit we have a few more than two!). I find that it’s a great tool for cleaning, decluttering and straightening because I don’t have to walk back and forth between rooms several times.

Do you use laundry baskets in this way? What other things do you use to help you in your decluttering and straightening?

Tracey

I am putting my laundry basket into use now – thanks for stating something so obvious I just hadn’t considered it!

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

I have those lightbulb moments all the time when I read what other people
are doing — it’s one of the things I love about the internet!

LeahB

Every summer we spend a week with family in a rented beach house in VA Beach. Instead of packing all our clothes in suitcases in the car, I just pack our belongings in laundry baskets. One basket for each of us. There’s a washer/dryer at the beach house so we need the baskets to do our laundry anyway and it makes packing and unpacking a breeze.

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

I do this too, and everybody makes fun of me, but it really does make life
soooooooooo much easier!!!

http://twitter.com/granolacatholic Lisa

If I did not use my laundry basket I would be lost. I use it to move things around the house
http://www.farfromflawlesslife.blogspot.com Missy June

We put the wet bath toys in a laundry basket, then the basket back into the empty tub, close the shower curtain and the toys dry off while keeping everything contained.

I also use laundry baskets like ‘drawers’ under the lower shelves in my closets.

A laundry basket holds our sports equipment in one place so we know where to go when it is soccer night!

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

So many great ideas! Thanks, Missy June!

Leanneja

I use baskets too. I don’t know what I’d do without them. Thanks for linking to Home Decor and Organizing Link Party.
Pingback: Overcoming Busy » Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
Krissimarr

I love market baskets for this. I have one for errands and one for clutter! Love it!

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

This may be a dumb question, but what’s a market basket? I tried Googling,
but I got a lot of store listings instead, and it sounds like a prettier
option than a laundry basket, LOL!

Sinea Pies

I use laundry baskets for all sorts of projects! They are perfect for carting things around and even storage.
Bugmom92

I have been using laundry baskets in my linen closet since I moved into my house 12 years ago. The shelves are extremely roomy…so much so that towels and sheets would end up falling all over the place. I have 4 of the rectangular baskets on shelves in there, 2 for towels, 2 for bed linens. Keeps it neat, and the kids can get a towel for themselves easily.

http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life…Your Way

Oh, I like this idea…very creative!

Shopperoo38

Baskets Galore! I buy used wicker baskets at the local Goodwill in all different stains from bleached wood to white to fawn to mohogany. I use the white ones with the fabric lining for diapers and baby lotions in my chabby chic sitting room. I bought a huge rattan picnic basket to use as a recycling center in my kitchen. I have an big round african basket with handle that I use to put things away. A huge handled rattan basket for junk mail, bills, my calendar, house manual and to-do list’s. Another big picnic basket on the floor in the den for throw blankets. On the floor in the guest bathroom full of magazines- they stay in there forever! hehehe On the two shelves in my laundry room filled with glass bottles of fabric softener, washing soap and bleach.