Beautiful Baskets for Decorating and Storage
self help article
by Colleen Moulding
Self Help Happiness article:
I Admit It! I’m A Basket Case! Okay, I confess, I love baskets.
I think they are just the prettiest things and so useful around the home.
I keep vegetables in baskets, shells and bathroom
toiletries in baskets, socks, remote controls, washing,
toys, pens, plants – you name it there’s a basket
somewhere that’s just right to store it in.
They aren’t expensive either. If you keep your eyes
open you can find quite a variety at dollar stores or
pound shops and charity or second hand shops usually
have a selection too.
I have found that Summer Fayre’s or table sales
raising money for hospitals or residential homes
for the elderly yield lots of baskets, as they often
contain gifts of plants or flowers and are discarded afterwards.
Don’t be afraid to wash your basketware. I regularly
completely immerse baskets in warm soapy water,
and even scrub them, before rinsing well and pegging
them on to the washing line or placing them in the
sun to dry.
If you can’t dry them outside, shake
them well and leave them on a towel in a warm place.
This only applies to inexpensive everyday basketware
of course, for antique baskets, rare or cherished family
pieces, dust off with a soft brush, or vacuum with a piece
of a pair of old tights stretched over the nozzle.
Once clean, they have a thousand uses.
Trim a piece of plastic or polythene to fit inside a
basket and it is the perfect home for any type of
indoor plant. Just pop the plastic pot into the basket.
In fact a table filled with foliage and flowering plants
in an array of different baskets interspersed with
some coloured glass or pretty china can be a simple
and inexpensive way to create a beautiful focal point
in a conservatory or garden room.
Baskets in the kitchen can display fruit and
vegetables, store cutlery, bread, eggs, tea
towels and a million and one other items.
You can also paint them to go with your room
scheme, decorate them with silk or dried flowers
attached with a glue gun, or hang them as decorations
mixed with drying herbs and pretty jugs for a
homely country look.
Magazines can be a storage problem but
flat baskets contain them in a stylish way.
I do admit to a failure here though.
I once decided
to store some of my home decorating magazines
in a tall wicker basket thinking it was a great looking
storage solution, until guests kept throwing their
litter in with them! I know when to admit defeat!
Collecting baskets whenever you see them
throughout the year can also solve lots of
gift problems when Christmas rolls around.
Fill them will bits and pieces that you
know the recipient will love, such as, gardening
gloves, seeds, plant labels and a trowel or a video,
popcorn and cans of cola or cups and saucers and
chocolate dipped spoons.
Wrap the whole thing
up in cellophane, decorate with ribbon and voila -
personalized Christmas gifts to go.
In a wardrobe or closet, baskets can help you to
get organized. Really large baskets can hold
shoes, smaller ones are ideal for scarves, belts,
gloves, folded tee shirts, jumpers or underwear.
Even bathrooms can benefit from baskets.
They can hold spare loo rolls or soaps, rolled
up towels, face cloths or displays of shells,
pebbles, driftwood and shore treasures.
In children’s rooms they can hold small toys,
hair decorations, socks and underwear, craft
supplies, jewellery, books and collections of
anything that will clutter up the place if not
gathered together.
Whatever your storage problem somewhere
there is a basket that will solve it for you.
Happy basket hunting!
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© Colleen Moulding 2000
Colleen Moulding is a freelance writer living
in the south of England. She is also the owner/
editor of All That Women Want.com
http://www.allthatwomenwant.com a magazine,
web guide and resource for women everywhere.
We Know What You Want! Home, Parenting, Women’s Biz,
Work At Home, Fashion, Kid’s Sites and more. Come on over to
http://www.allthatwomenwant.com It was made for you!
Subscribe to the FREE monthly e-zine by sending a blank e-mail
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