10 Household Items to Store in Baskets

Every home needs basket storage. Seriously. Look at any beautiful home interior and I betcha there are multiple baskets in all the right places just sitting there being organic and beautiful and functional all at the same time.

Baskets make for incredible decorative storage. They add an extra element of casual functionality to any space that might otherwise be missing. Baskets come in all shapes, sizes and materials making them simple to incorporate into any decorating style.

Perhaps, best of all, baskets do not have to be expensive to be loaded with style and practical purpose.

I personally have a slight basket obsession. I use them everywhere throughout my home and even have extras. Why? I love that baskets aren’t “ugly storage.” I like the character they add to every room.

They are a no-fail decorative staple.

To give you more insight, I want to show you 9 ways to use baskets for storage throughout your home:

1. Shoes

Organizing shoes can be a never-ending task, and an exhausting one at that. When so many people are coming and going throughout the course of a typical day, shoe storage – or lack thereof – can easily become an entryway nightmare.

Using baskets allows me to organize everyone’s shoes in one location right by the door. I even have a basket for each of my kiddos and one that I share with my husband (it’s mainly his, but I throw my running shoes in there from time to time). No more wondering where anyone’s shoes are, or finding one shoe but not the other. No, it’s all right there in the shoe baskets.

You don’t have to have a built in drop zone to make use of shoe storage. Before we built our drop zone (pictured) I had a bench by the door with baskets slid underneath. This worked so well for us until we were able to build the drop zone.

2. Linens

Folding linens and placing them in a fun basket makes for an easy grab when changing sheets. Everything I need is in the basket. No more looking for extra pillowcases (or pillow sheets as my son calls them). Each bed has its own basket so I can grab and go. This is especially handy in the event that someone is sick or has an accident in the middle of the night and I need to quickly change sheets. When midnight delirium wants to be my best friend it’s linen cabinet organization to the rescue!

One tip that I would offer about the type of basket you choose: Beware that, while they are super cute, rustic wire baskets have a tendency to catch on fabrics and may tear sheets, pillow cases, etc. as you pull them out.

An alternative solution might be plastic baskets or metal baskets with a liner like these.

3. Pantry Items

Categorizing pantry items in baskets makes it easy for me to survey what I have (and what I don’t) without having to dig through the entire pantry. This is an area where I do like to use wire baskets because I can see through them. I’ll show you more when I post about my own pantry organization project next week!

4. Blankets

Maybe the most obvious way to utilize large baskets is for blanket storage. Who doesn’t love a basket full of cozy blankets?! I like to roll my blankets up and place them vertically in the basket for a pop of interest.

My kids, on the other hand, like to wad them up and throw them in, because they don’t care about pops of interest and you know what? That’s fine, because I would rather them help clean up than to do it all myself.

5. Fruit

Metal baskets provide an easy storage solution for fruit. They allow the fruit to “breathe” while simultaneously adding visual interest to your counter. I recommend metal baskets for the kitchen, because they are easy to clean should any of your fruit sit for too long or leave a sticky residue behind.

6. Mail

A wall-mounted mail basket is a total space saver! This frees up an counter or desk space from being crowded with mail you haven’t gotten to yet. The mail basket pictured above (from Hobby Lobby) is slim enough that it doesn’t protrude into our drop zone very far, but it’s large enough to hold a couple of days worth of mail.

Which is great, because I don’t look through the mail every single day.

Now if I could just get the kids to actually put the mail in it…

7. Commonly used items at the table

Certain staple items are always on the table at our house. Salt, pepper, syrup, and vitamins are used daily and rather than carrying them back and forth each day I have found it beneficial to contain it all in a small basket. It’s the perfect size, and should I want to hide it from company it can be easily stored in the pantry.

8. Books

Books make for great foundational decor, because they are so versatile! I have always loved decorating with books, namely hardback books. Storing them in decorative baskets adds visual interest to any stack or set, and makes your books a little more accessible as opposed to stacking them.

9. Toilet paper

Toilet paper storage that is easily accessibly is the name of the game. No one likes to run out of toilet paper with no refill in sight. While we do have cabinet storage above the toilet, my kids can’t reach it. The solution: this basic metal basket.

This little basket offers visible, easy to reach toilet paper storage that doesn’t take up much space, or get in the way.

10. Medicine

When the flu hit our home a couple of weeks ago, there was instantly a cluttered mess of medicines, the thermometer, and medicine cups all over the counter. If you’re like me you do not do clutter or piles. No thank you. Clutter adds unnecessary disorganization and stresses me out.

Thankfully, I had an extra basket in the linen cabinet that made for the perfect medicine basket. It was the perfect solution and immediately eliminated questions about where certain meds were at any given moment.

 

Baskets have so many practical uses! Hopefully this list will spark some ideas on how you can utilize baskets in your home decor and functionality.

What would you add to the list? How do you utilize baskets to store things around your home? Let me know in the comments below!

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