I am organizationally challenged. I love to see simple, clean lines and uncluttered surfaces, but it’s like visiting a zoo. I marvel at a clear kitchen island as though it were an exotic beast that I will never be near in real life.
I’m also cheap. To a fault. And we move very often. Any organization device must be simple, flexible, and inexpensive.
One of my fave ways to organize? Dishpans!
I use them all over the house. I must own 15 or 20!
I put underthings in them in our family closet.
We use them to organize our block shelf, or other play items that don’t need to go in a clear box.
I have one in the bathroom for the flotsam and jetsom of everyday living that we need often, but don’t necessarily want to see – like alcohol, peroxide, sunblock, and so on. Our downstairs bathroom has no storage, and I don’t like keeping those things where the littles can get them, anyway.
I keep one in the fridge, full of fruit that the children are allowed to eat at will. I can wash the fruit all at once (well, theoretically), dump it in, and they always know where to find a snack.
I use it in the fridge to hold meat for repackaging or defrosting.
It holds our paper products at the top of the pantry – I found that straws and forks got stuck or slipped out of the holes in baskets.
Other uses:
Kitchen prep in front of the TV or outside
Sick bucket (waterproof and eminently bleachable, plus it was a wide opening)
washtub
soaking sore or injured feet
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic idea. You have some great uses there.
‘found’ your blog on WearethatFamily and I wss amazed how much you and I think about organizing. You use dishpans, I use plastic baskets! Fun blog!
Now, that is a really good idea! I have been so discouraged about organizing, because it seems like every book you read wants you to go out and buy a bunch of expensive containers first. Which makes my budget plead for mercy. Thank-you for sharing this idea!
I love dish pans as well! My grandmother used them for everything. I can remember her shelling butterbeans in a dishpan while watching tv. She also used them for handwashing and kept a plunger to agitate and rub the clothes. (It was a plunger only used for laundry). Dish pans also make a good emesis basin for when the stomach flu rolls through town!
What a great idea! Thanks!
I love to use dishpans too! Wel, actually i use the big pans you get at the hospital… my son is in and out of the hospital a lot so we have a collection. They also work great to use when shelling peas and beans or cutting off corn from the garden.
I love dishpans!! They are so versatile. I use them for just about everything! I’m glad to see others do, too!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
My husband works swing shifts & we have 1 small bathroom for a family of 4. Often I have to get dressed/fix hair/apply makeup, etc in different places. This week, I’m leaving at 8am for VBS & he’s still sleeping because he doesn’t get home until midnight.
This really messes up my routine. If I’m not getting ready in the bedroom, I make a dozen trips back in there to get things forgotten.
I’m going to start keeping my “stuff” in a dishpan, so I can easily be mobile, but also put it up later.
I, too, have enjoyed using dishpans to organize. I started buying them because they were cheaper than plastic baskets at Target but worked the same! You have some great uses I haven’t tried!
I use dish pans to organize all sorts of toys and craft stuff.
I use em for toys too! They fit pretty well on our shelves, so that helps. I also have a couple in the laundry room for wet laundry that I don’t want to drop in the hamper, or things that need to soak.
But the real reason I’m commenting is because I pick them up at the Dollar store whenever I see them there. Cheapest I’ve found, at least…
GREAT IDEA! I’ll have to remember this one!