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Want to win one of these for yourself? Or maybe a Wall-Mounted Wine Rack or Tie Rollers or File Folder Holders? You could be a winner! Take a gander over at Clutter Control Freak. There are several ways to enter, along with daily enties to boost your chances! Check it out!

Iris Storage Box - 68 Qt - CB-60

I have a few of these Iris Storage Bins at home. I’ve had them for a while and they have served me well over the years, storing everything from educational home-school games for my kids to my grandmother’s dishes.

Since the kids are almost grown, we have been able scale down a bit and we don’t need to store quite as much these days. These are such rugged plastic bins though - I hate to get rid of them. So this got me thinking of what else I could use them for in my home besides just storage. Here are a few ideas I came up with:

·        One of these bins (minus the lid, of course) makes an amazing litter box! Cuts way down on the amount of litter tracked across the floor by tiny feet.

·         My daughter used to LOVE Barbies. When she’d get stir crazy in the winter, I would fill one half way with water and let her play “Pool” on a towel on the kitchen floor.

·         They also make a great indoor sandbox on rainy days for bored kids. (Only if you’re willing to deal with a bit of mess. I never minded so much in the kitchen as long as I could monitor them) Just make sure to put the lid on when you’re done so the cat doesn’t get confused. J

·         These plastic bins are a great size to use for a laundry basket.

·         Makes a nice catch-all for my son’s skateboard parts and tools.

·         Perfect for storing bath toys – no drips on the floor!

·         If you have artsy-craftsy kids (or even for you!) this makes a great supply box.

·         Makes the perfect sized bath tub for my Chihuahua.

What else would you use them for?

Sald bin?

 I love salad! I bring a giant one to work with me almost every day. It’s inexpensive and healthy, and doesn’t leave me feeling too full to work after lunch. 

Up until now, though, I didn’t have a good way to transport them here. Sometimes I buy the bagged salads and I just grab that and a bottle dressing in the morning and I’m good to go. But usually, I make my own salads from the fresh veggies I get at the market.

Most days, however, I find myself in such a rush that this poses a problem. If I don’t have tome to make my salad before I leave the house, I have to load up a grocery bag with the lettuce, carrots, peppers, walnuts, apple, dressing, etc. And then I wind up taking all the room in our little mini fridge at work with my melange of vegetables. I’m not too popular at work on those days. 

I found a cool plastic bin from my salads on Stacks and Stacks that’s perfect for me! It’s called the Salad Shaker. All it takes is a bit of planning to remember to make the salad the night before. The bowl part of the container hold 4 cups of salad. The lid has an ice pack in it, so I just freeze it the night before when I make my salad and it’ll keep my salad cool for 6 hours without the fridge the next day! The lid also had a cool little compartment that holds the dressing separate from my salad so I don’t have to drag along the entire bottle. I just open the little spout and it pours onto my salad, then I shake the container to evenly distribute the dressing all over my salad!

The lid also has a compartment for the included fork and knife, and a power bar or granola bar, too! Pretty nifty, eh? All for under $10!

If you’re like me, you love plastic storage bins for organizing! I have several in my garage for everything from Christmas decorations to summer clothes.

For the longest time I had them all neatly labeled and stacked against the side wall. But after a while I got frustrated with having to rearrange the stacks every time I wanted to access one of the bins (which was inevitably on the very bottom).

Then last weekend I was shopping for some sort of solution and came upon the Storage Box Organizer at Stacks and Stacks. It holds up to twelve 15-35 gallon plastic storage boxes (max size 17″h x 19.5″w x 18″-36″d) and has a unique design that allows your bins to easily slide in and out like drawers. This unit is made of PVC piping and will hold up to 1200 lbs. Putting it together is no hassle and it includes 12 ID labels for your storage bins!

And if you want something really cool - on the same page you can also buy a set of four 32-gallon folding storage totes. The folding bins are designed to fit the box organizer, but you can also use them elsewhere. The storage bins are made out of nylon fabric covering heavy-duty PVC panels. They are moisture and mildew resistant, and the boxes and their matching lids fold up totally flat for easy storage. There’s even a clear window pocket on each end so you can label the contents!

I’ll definitely be ordering one of these for the garage! And maybe one for the attic… 

Extra Large Storage Box with Snap Down Lid - Iris 251019

The sweets have been eaten and the wrapping paper cleared. Family and guests have all gone home. And as you bask in the warm afterglow of another memorable holiday season, the thought crosses your mind…”I have to clean all this up!”

Well, Stacks and Stacks makes that chore just a little easier to think about with a multitude of organizers and plastic bins made specifically for holiday storage!

So, let’s see…first there are the wreaths and garlands. They can zip up tight into the soft-sided Wreath Keeper. Then the lights need to come down. They can  be wound up on the handy dividers in the Holiday Light Box and tucked away, tangle-free, for next year. Then stash those ornaments away in the Holiday Ornament Bin. It comes with cardboard dividers that keep all your ornaments separated and protected from damage.

If you have an artificial tree, it can bed down in the Christmas Tree Storage Box for the year. This plastic bin has snap-down clasps on the ends to keep stray branches in their place. Finish with all your stockings and assorted decor in a 60 qt Holiday Storage Bin, also with snap-lock closures and your job is done!

Neat, easy and totally organized.

17746-Iris Large Photo Keeper with 12 Cases

I’m jealous of scrapbookers.

I have friends who keep scrapbooks. They set aside time every month to organize their photos, crop them down, carefully attach them to pages in their books, and then proceed to beautifully decorate the pages with colorful cutouts, stamps, and a multitude of fancy do-hickies. The result is a gorgeous work of art - a keepsake for future generations!

Me? I count myself lucky if I even get a print developed. Much less, spend hours painstakingly designing a fancy home for them. Don’t get me wrong! I’m most definitely the creative type. But most of my creativity these days is spent trying to feed a family of five on a budget for four, or finding a way to jimmy-rig the broken kitchen faucet until payday.

That’s why I love this Photo Keeper bin from Iris! The Large Photo Keeper includes 12 individual photo cases that each hold 100 standard 4″ x 6″ photos. The cases are acid free for long term use, and have rounded corners and edges to protect your cherished memories. The large and affordable keeper bin buckles closed and has an easy carry handle.

This way I can pat myself on the back when I do get pictures developed, and consider it a real accomplishment when I nest each batch into it’s protective box, give it a label and store it away for safekeeping.

Not a fancy scrapbook, but perfect for someone like me who just wants to document those memories and keep them for future generations.

You can purchase the Large Photo Keeper with 12 Cases at Stacks and Stacks.com for $19.99.

Iris pet food containers

I found the perfect plastic bins to store my dog’s and cat’s food - Iris Pet Food Storage Containers!

 These plastic containers are airtight and designed for storing all types of dry pet food in a compact space. These great storage containers can hold all different sized bags of dog food, cat food and bird seed, or I can just pour the food directly into the container.

They’re made of durable, clear polypropylene so you can easily see how much petfood is left so you know when to buy more. Seal-tight lid keeps pet food fresh and dry, and secure from any unwanted munchers.

They come in three sizes - small, large and extra large. The large and extra large containers come with snap-on plastic wheels so you can move them easily (the small container doesn’t need casters).
Small will hold:
Cat Food aprox. 20 Lbs.
Dog Food aprox. 17 Lbs.
Bird Seed aprox. 30 Lbs.
Large will hold:
Cat Food aprox. 40 Lbs.
Dog Food aprox. 35 Lbs.
Bird Seed aprox. 60 Lbs.
Extra Large will hold:
Cat Food aprox. 50lbs
Dog Food aprox. 55 lbs
Bird Seed aprox. 100 lbs

They range in price from $12 to $46 and will last and last! These plastic pet food containers are a really good investment!

bin-labels

I have a ton of plastic bins in my garage! I store my Christmas decorations, off season clothes, kid’s outgrown clothes and toys, art and craft supplies, my grandmother’s china and a slew of other stuff that I should probably go through.

I have written directly on my Christmas bins with permanant markers to identify the contents, but I don’t want to do that with some of the other bins as the contents will most likely change over time.

So I found these great little Bin Labels! They are little adhesive backed plastic envelopes that come with little write on cards that slip inside. You can easily write the contents of the bin on the card and place the plastic sleeve anywhere on the bin so you can identify its contents easily without having to open it! Change the contents? Change the card!

These are great for kids toy bins, too! You can even place a picture of the bin’s contents on the card for children who aren’t reading yet so they can be organized, too!

I picked these bin labels up at Stacks and Stacks dot com.

How would you use these Bin Labels?

Using plastic to protect important paper documents is smart and affordable. Plastic bins come in all shapes and sizes so you will definitely find exactly what you are looking for. Not only can you use a plastic bin around the house, there are also specialty plastic bins created just for protecting your paper documents and projects.

The reason is obvious – plastic will protect your papers from discoloration, liquid and odor damages.  

One of the specialty protectors I came across was from the brand Iris. They make a lot of plastic bins and this is just one of the many I like. The reason I like it is it has a snap down buckle and a handle. So I can take my work portfolio and other paperwork with me where I go. It isn’t too oversized so I can put it the bookshelf when it is not in use and it keeps the corners of my papers and folders from folding and creasing.

As I stated before, any plastic bin will work to protect your papers and documents, this one is just a more portable option.

The storage space under your bed is mostly likely not being used right now. In fact, it’s likely there are several items under your bed that you haven’t seen recently. There are several reasons why utilitizing the storage space under your bed is easy and affordable.

The first step to getting organized under the bed and utlitizing the extra space is evaluating what kind of space is available and what you’d like to store in that space. There are different types of under the bed storage boxes that work great with almost any bed.

The first option has a lid that opens in the middle of the box. So you can access either side without having to remove the whole box or lid from under the bed. These lids are really convenient. This storage box has a flat bottom and no wheels. The lid snaps around the outside instead of sinking down to clasp on.

The second option is a box with wheels. This is great for beds on hardwood floor so you aren’t scratching them up pulling the box in and out. The wheels are convenient and will not damage the flooring. Either option will work for carpet as the plastic material slides well. The lid for this box has snap down latches on each end to secure the lid to the box. It doesn’t seperate in the middle however.

There is another option for people who need to utilize the storage space under the bed but the gap is too narrow. Bed risers are great for adding extra inches between the bed and the floor very inexpensivley. You can usually get them in a variety of colors and shapes. These add more space for storage and allow boxes to slide back and forth with ease.