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There are 2 consistent things about my life: meals and laundry. I can choose to fight it or embrace it, so I embrace it. Since it isn’t my favorite thing in the world, I’ve come up with ways of making it easier to get done. One thing that has helped me is to have different dirty laundry hampers for different loads. I have so many laundry baskets around Ā that sometimes I feel like Oprah: “A dirty clothes basket for you … and one for you … and one for you …”
REALLY, WHY ALL THE BASKETS?
There are 6 people in my family and we all have our own dresser or closet space to put our clothes, so I prefer everyone have their own dirty clothes basket. This lets me skip the Sherlock-Holmes-moves required to separate my girls’ clothes who all wear about the same size after the clothes are washed in the same load. Doing loads separately makes laundry so much easier, especially kids laundry!
ššĀ Right now I’m loving these new laundry baskets (utility totes) from TidyLiving.com. The navy and white stripes fit right into my home decor. I’ve purchased rectangular bins like this before – and they LOOK boxy in the catalogs, but they’re actually just floppy and don’t keep a shape. These completely keep their shape!
WIRE INSERTS š KEEP THE SHAPE
THE PERFECT FIT
My girls share their room, so it’s hard to find a place for everyone’s laundry basket. Since I didn’t have time to DIY my own complicated stacking laundry basket system, I discovered that these wire shelves are great for stacking laundry baskets.
This shelf is also from TidyLiving.com. I use wire shelves like these a lot, because they are strong and so affordable. I have several similar wire shelves around my house and garage. Hands down, this one from TidyLiving.com feels much higher in quality. I will definitely order future wire shelves from them.
STACKING for SHARING CLOSET SPACE
With my kids sharing rooms, we run out of floor space for each to place their dirty clothes basket. Stacking them on this shelf makes so much sense.
When they want to put in dirty clothes, they can pull it out, almost like a drawer.
*Note:Ā The way I got it to pull out easily like a drawer, is I couldn’t have it squished against the wall. The totes fit the shelf to the max, so I had to leave a little room around the edges for part of the totes to push out the other side at an angle.*Ā
I labeled each tote so my kids don’t get their clothes mixed up.
I’m tempted to steal the combo of this bag and the shelf and put them in MY closet for my husband and I. It just looks so good! Though, if you’re wondering why I obviously didn’t take most of these pictures IN a closet, I’ll show you one photo of it in my girls’ closet and you’ll know why … I hate trying to take a photograph in a dark, cramped closet.
šĀ LOVING THIS BASKET/TOTEĀ š
Here’s all the places I want to use this bag. It works as a laundry basket, but it could really be used for anything. For such a good price, I might as well get more … just sayin’.
- Pool Bag – Load the bag with towels and gear, then slip sunscreen, sunglasses and a water bottle on the side.
- Baby Gift – load it with diapers and put the wipes and diaper creme in the side pockets.
- Trunk Organizing – I could keep a few of these in my trunk to help me keep it organized. Imagine putting a bunch of grocery bags in these and then carrying them all at once into the house.
- Linen Closet – Storing sheet sets, spare pillows, and even towels in the linen closet.
- Picnic Basket – Pack your meal with all the extras in here!
- Gift Bag – If you love someone who loves to organize, use this bag as a gift bag for their birthday or even Christmas gift.
šĀ LOVING THIS SHELFĀ š
It has so many uses. I did a quick picture of my girls’ suitcases in it and now I want another shelf so I can make this happen. I use these wire shelves in closets mostly, but I also have a few in my garage since the shelves hold a lot of weight.
šĀ LOVING TidyLiving.comĀ š
So many organizing products! I’m smitten by the selection and high quality.
Of course you can use this idea and get shelves/baskets from anywhere, but first check out TidyLiving.com. I think you’ll like what you see!
Check out theĀ 3 Tier Wire Shelf – Black.
Check out theĀ Utility Tote Navy Rugby Stripe.
From my home to yours,
Mary
PIN THIS IDEA!
I started laundry baskets when my now 50 year old “kids” were in high school, and they were expected to to their own personal laundry. Even now I have a modified version for my laundry tasks. I agree with you that this system works!!!
That is so awesome! It really does work, doesn’t it?! Thanks for sharing.
Walmart also has identical basket tote things in the laundry basket aisle for $9.99 for those who don’t shop online
Yes, this idea can definitely work with different shelves and tote bags. I don’t have experience with the quality of the ones you mention, but I do know that TidyLiving’s are really sturdy.
I love that Tidy Living is using your photo on their utility tote page!!
How fun! š I’ve had a great experience with them.
How sturdy are they? Do they bend when you carry them tho the laundry room?
They’re sturdy. The outside IS fabric, so it can bend, but the wire inserts keep the box shape. Does that make sense?
After seeing the totes and wire shelf on here I decided to order them. I wanted to use it for storage in my daughters closet. I find that the totes don’t pull out easily like a drawer. Is that something you noticed?
This is great question, and thank you for reminding me, because I meant to add a note in the original post. The way I got it to pull out easily like a drawer, is I couldn’t have it squished against the wall. I had to leave a little room around the edges for part of the totes to push out the other side at an angle. Does that makes sense?
Cute suit cases! Where did you get them? Have you ever given tips about how to pack for a family trip? I’d be interested in how you organize that. I have been experimenting with packing bigger suit cases all together and once tried smaller seperate suit cases and I’m still not sure I have found a good solution, new tips are always welcome!
Those are Target suitcases. š The travel posts I have on my editorial calendar keep getting pushed back. Right now I’m planning to have those for November. I do have some older posts on Travel. Search “travel” on the sidebar from a computer, or at the bottom if you’re on a mobile.
Are you still loving the totes?
Yes. I’m using them for other things than laundry baskets after we changed rooms around again. I really love them in my trunk.