With life comes stuff. And with stuff comes the need to organize that stuff. The big problem is the little stuff - the stuff that piles at the top and bottom of every staircase in your house - like the books, toys, belts, pens, and glasses case kinda stuff that takes an army to cart up/down the stairs.
It's the stuff you find yourself falling over, and saying words like "crap" (only worse).
And, if your house is as busy as mine is, that stuff just won’t stay where I put it. Imagine that.
Keep calm — There’s a basket for that!
The “Crap Basket.”
This basket lives at the top and bottom of each staircase in our home. It prevents us from having to pile crap (for lack of a better word) at the top and bottom of the stairs that's waiting to be carried up/down in several small trips.
It reduces clutter.
It’s a time saver.
Some families with older/several children have taken the next step with personalized crap baskets so kids can easily identify what needs to be put away at the end of the day. You need to do what works for your family, and the relentless flow of crap that travels between floors. Check out my Pinterest board for inspiration.
Here are the Rules of Order for buying your own crap baskets
Take your stair spaces and landings into consideration. Think about the kind of crap that tends to gather there. Choose your basket size accordingly.
This is fairly self explanatory.
If you chose something that’s flimsy, beautiful, and purely decorative, it’s likely to end up needing a crap basket of its own.
Do you have kids who could have their own basket? Are you someone who likes to pile crap at the top AND bottom of each staircase? In our house, we have one large basket at the top and bottom of each flight of stairs: 4 baskets in total. It’s a system that works well for us.
If you hate the way it looks, you won’t use it. Plain and simple. There are many gorgeous and functional options for clutter management. Choose something you aren't ashamed to leave out when you have guests over.
You can find these sorts of crap baskets at places like Bed Bath and Beyond, Solutions, Ikea, Pottery Barn, Neat Freak and The Container Store.
So add crap basket to your personal shopping list.. Think of it as a little quasi-present to yourself and your family before the next cleanup begins.
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