storage solution – Rhubarb & Burble

Most of my craft supplies are stored in a lovely walnut sideboard I inherited from my Mum, which was previously my Nanny Kiki’s. (She bought it after the Second World War.) It is pretty organised, but the one drawer which was beginning to frustrate me was the ribbon drawer.
The ribbons were organised by colour, but they were not visually attractive being stored in plastic food bags. The only advantage was that a lot could be squashed in.

I wanted to still be able to see the colours of the ribbons, but I just wanted a more visually appealing result. I hunted in my cupboards and found a couple of sets of plastic storage containers I had picked up in IKEA. They are the Pruta food containers. They are just £3.50 for a set of 17 in various sizes. They have green lids, but inverted they are transparent. This allows me to still be able to pick ribbons in the colour I need relatively easily. I did find that I couldn’t have as many colour variants as the boxes would not all fit in the drawer. This led me to combine the pinks and purples with the reds and the greens with the blues.

I also fished out all of the ribbon reels and put them together on one side of the drawer. About 99% of the ribbons in the tubs are scraps of less than one metre. I also cut out and retain all the thin ribbons from my tops. (It presses my OCD button when I see ribbons flopping out of people’s tops – I just want to go and tuck them in, or even better, cut them off!)

So as you can see below, this is the final result. I am sure there are better solutions, but I will stick with this for now and see how it goes.

What do you think? Have you created good ribbon storage? I would love to see your pictures.

Louisa

This article is NOT sponsored.

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I decided today was the day to sort out a small coat rack which I use for my younger son’s coats and hoodies. It is also used during the week to hang the coats of the children I look after. My son’s baseball caps are hung there and there’s also a small bag which contains his sunglasses. Additionally, it is a space where I hang umbrellas and my walking stick. So it has become a bit of a catch-all.

You can tell by this first photo that the coat rack is a bit overcrowded!

Canadian YouTuber Kristen McGowan, is a consistent source of inspiration for me. I watch pretty much every video she posts. She focuses mainly on room makeovers and storage solutions as well as IKEA hauls and room decor. Please take a moment to check out, and subscribe to, her channel.

In a recent video 10 AFFORDABLE IKEA HOME ORGANIZATION IDEAS | NEW PRODUCTS 2020 , she recommended a one-handled basket from IKEA as a storage solution for use on an entryway coat rack to contain items like hats, gloves and small accessories. It is called Lustigkurre and it is a slim basket made of seagrass with natural tones, an interesting woven design and bohemian vibes.

I checked the IKEA website, but the basket was out of stock at my nearest branch and when I checked further, it was out of stock in pretty much every store in Britain!

Lying in bed last night, I wondered what else I could use instead. My eyes were drawn to a ‘jelly basket’ that I had, stored on top of my wardrobe.

Those of you who were born in the seventies may remember the craze in the mid-eighties for jelly sandals and jelly baskets! Almost every girl at my secondary school had one and they were popular in all colours of the rainbow. I was the proud owner of a black one. Sad to say, I have no idea what happened to it.
Around six years ago, jelly sandals and baskets had a bit of a revival, so I decided to purchase myself a basket as it had brought back that nostalgia! I purchased it from a company called Sun Jellies. I am pleased to see that they are still in business selling retro shoes, bags and accessories and here is a link to the ‘Retro Baskets‘ which are available in small and large. My basket is in the large size. I had instagrammed it when I received it and this is the photo I took. (I subsequently purchased one in yellow as a couple of the local groups I am involved with have yellow branding.)

My Retro Basket purchased in summer 2014

Back to the coat rack. I decluttered the rack by removing of a couple of small bags and three hoodies which my son had outgrown. I placed the hats and accessories into the jelly basket. The basket is slim and flexible and I was relieved to discover that the width of the hooks allowed me to be able to hang the basket over two of them, giving it more stability.

I am really pleased with how this turned out and that I have found a use for my basket which also compliments the black hooks of the coat rack.

Additionally, my son’s sunglasses are now simply hanging from the basket which means he will see them if he is going out and will be able to easily choose which pair to wear without having to dig around in a bag.

What do you think? Have you created good entryway storage solutions? I would love to see your pictures.