Crap Baskets: Family Organization

Our family of five lives in a home that is spread over three smaller levels.  Two of the kids downstairs, my husband and I on the main level, and our youngest daughter upstairs.  This makes for strong legs and many trips up and down or sometimes launching stuff that’s been abandoned to the end of the stairs and praying someone else will pick it up when they walk by…the launch and pray rarely works here! Enter life changing “Crap Baskets.” You may want to come up with a better name.  I will admit that I regretted naming these crap baskets when our children also started calling them crap baskets.  The concept of a crap basket is pretty simple it’s a basket on each level that can be used to corral the stuff from that level that belongs somewhere else.  I have also given each capable child (aka the older two) a “crap basket” that they are responsible for emptying before bed every night.  These personal crap baskets can accumulate “stuff” all day long, but by bedtime should be emptied. I also keep a permanent crap basket in my living room.  This one has odds and ends that almost always end up in it.  In the summer we keep a beach bag packed with sunscreen and towels that can be grabbed at a moment’s notice and this has a home in the living room crap basket, also my work bag finds its home in this basket then other things are quickly thrown in here if company is stopping by or if I’m just done for the day, but can’t stand looking at something a second longer.  I keep an old piece of wool fabric folded over the top so it looks pretty and decorative.  Plus, it doubles as a warm blanket.  In keeping with my lifestyle of trying to buy less I have used baskets I already had around my house.  My living room basket is pretty, but the others are just dollar tree plastic bins.  I started this method with baskets I already owned and thought that I’d upgrade them to better match my décor if the method stuck, but truthfully, they’ve never bothered me enough to spend the money to update them. I’d recommend if you’re interested in trying this method that you find whatever you have around your home and make sure the method works for you and your family for a week or two before you spend money on baskets.  You could use an old shoe box, amazon delivery box, an oversized Tupperware, whatever you already own that can corral some crap! Let me know if you try this and how it works for you!