Disclosure: This post and giveaway are sponsored by JCPenney. All opinions and ideas remain my own.Is there a mom alive who doesn’t simultaneously love and despise reusable water bottles? Water bottles have saved me from the horror that is watching my children try to drink from public drinking fountains without contracting the plague more times than I can count. I love them so much that each person in my family has at least two to their name: one for using plus one in the wash. Even I have a couple of them: one for home and one for barre and Pilates classes at the studio. But OH MY WORD, the clutter.
They have fallen on my head after rolling off of the top of the refrigerator (bad place to try to keep them, FYI). More than one has clanked and slammed down the stairs to its untimely squished death after a storage basket upended because kids were wrestling near it. I shoved them all over my kitchen counter waiting for the insides to become bone dry after a trip through the dishwasher because I have a serious fixation with not putting a lid on a wet bottle. No more wire hangers? No. I’m fine with wire hangers. No more wet water bottles with lids in place so they can fester and grow bacteria ever! And I’m not going to even TRY to count how many water bottles have been retired because their extra proprietary, funky shaped lid went missing in our black hole of a kitchen catch-all drawer.
I tried everything I could think of to organize them: wine racks, shoe holders, laundry baskets, and even -out of sheer desperation- plastic grocery bags hanging on hooks inside the basement stairs. Every one of them failed because of one major flaw: nothing had a place where we could store the odd lids and still actually see them. Every one, that is, until I found this Michael Graves Design Over-the-Door Basket Organizer from JCPenney. There are two main differences between this bad boy and an over-the-door shoe organizer.
- The nifty mesh pocket at the top lets you drop in the un-matched lids or tops or straws for the water bottles and still keep a visual on them. No black hole happening there.
- The baskets (or shelves) hold everything from small 1-cup water bottles to the largest canteens (in the top basket) and everything in between. They even hold our 1-liter Sodastream bottles neatly.
To say that I’m a fan of this basket organizer is to put it mildly. I recommend it to all my mommy-friends who have been overrun with water bottles.
MAJOR BONUS: The kids can find their own water bottles and lids for all their summer excursions into the great wild that is our backyard or the playground or picnics or bike-riding with friends, or…or…or… You get the idea. Summer just got a little easier.
Giveaway
The good folks at JCPenney have kindly offered a $100 JCPenney gift card to one lucky Foodie with Family reader. You can use it to grab a water bottle organizer, er, Over-the-Door Basket Organizer and still have enough left over to grab some supplies to make your summer fun! How do you enter? It’s simple! Tell us your favourite #lifehack in the comments below: what tricks do you have that make your life a little easier?
Sweepstakes Rules:
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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
- Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/19-6/13/2014.
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Reader's Thoughts...
stephanie says
I love using baking soda for everything – cleaning, beauty, baking, deodorizing….
CarinaRdz says
I use shoe organizers in my preschoolers closet for his play clothes so they are easily accessible for his independent hands without getting confused with his good clothes which are on hangers or in drawers.
Suzanne M says
To wash my frosting/decorating tips in the dishwasher, I use the mesh holders that are sold for washing baby bottle nipples. I also use the little brushes from the bottle nipples to clean the tips out by hand.
Amy S. says
I take an over the door shoe organizer when we go on vacation. I’ve labeled the pockets with things like “sunscreen” and “cameras” as well as pockets with the names of family members. This way everyone (hopefully!) knows where frequently used items are without having to hunt everywhere.
Michelle says
I have a bench with large storage cubbies underneath, Each kid keeps one pair of sneakers and one pair of slip on shoes (flip-flops, crocs, etc.) there. That way no one is running around looking for shoes as we are walking out the door, there is always something to wear right there. In the drawers of that bench we also keep sunglasses, sunscreen, and extra electronics chargers.
Christopher Sorel says
tweet https://twitter.com/cjsorel/status/468426462878371841
christopher sorel says
make the kids get snacks and lunches for the week planned\done on Sunday
TiffH says
I use a shoe organizer, the kind for the closet where the shoe go hooks upside down, in the garage for wet or muddy shoes to dry after hiking. Shoes dry much faster and they’re not dripping in the house by the front door.
Also I use a shower curtain rod in the laundry room for hangers.
Amber says
my favorite #lifehack is using organizers for cabinets in the fridge and pantry for quick kid-snacks
Lisa B says
I keep a spray bottle of vinegar by the kitchen sink and clean the chicken eggs when them come in the house with a spritz of vinegar, warm water and a paper towel
Sandy Headtke says
.https://mobile.twitter.com/SandyHeadtke/status/468405582047625216
I tweeted
Sandy Headtke says
I buy vinegar and baking soda in large quantities and use it to clean everything. Safe and deodorizes.
Maggie B. says
Hair Spray to remove ink marks on clothes and furniture.
Betsy says
I use baking soda and vinegar to scrub and deodorize my kitchen sink.
Christie says
I use warm water and baking soda to remove hairspray residue from the bathroom walls! 🙂
Also, I tweeted: https://twitter.com/ChristineBean88/status/468389664571678720
Karen says
We get overrun with waterbottles too. We tend to accumulate lots of freebees and they never have lids and straws that fit the other bottles
TaraMcD says
Use equal parts baking soda and olive oil to remove sticky label residue from jars!
Jenn says
This would be a game changer in my house! 🙂
Kim says
I have a couple of bins out in my garage for snacks and for lunch stuff for my three kids. They know where it is and how it’s organized so they can go out and get whatever they need. It’s very helpful!
Bernie says
This might not be a life hack for anyone but me, but when I’m using a lint roller I don’t peel the used strip off–I just store it linty. Then before I use it the next time, I peel the old strip off, throw it away, roll my clothes, and the cycle begins again. I have found this to be much easier than trying to keep the label and reattaching it, etc. I would love to win!
Dina says
Perfect solution. We have a large family and this simple task can be very annoying!