Apr 9th, 2008
Let me help you organize your life
Back in January, I wrote about my own little IKEA hack: using IKEA’s giant blue tote bags as laundry baskets. I still have them scattered throughout the house, and I still love them.
One of the people who commented on that post, Frank, is a friend of mine from college who lives at least 300 miles from an IKEA. (Poor guy!) So I mailed a couple of the Big Blue Bags to him. (In lieu of cash repayment, I’ve asked him to send me a fridge magnet for my collection. Don’t forget, Frank: it’s gotta be the tackiest one you can find!)
But I am so bizarrely thrilled with these bags that I’ve decided I really need to spread the IKEA love. So I have three of these bags that I’ll send to someone. (And because these suckers don’t weight much at all, this contest, unlike my last one, is open to readers anywhere.) Just leave a comment to this post. And if you have a makes-life-easier hack of your own (no, it doesn’t have to involve an IKEA product), sharing it will get you a second entry.
I’ll choose one lucky winner at random one week from today (April 16)!
—————
Happy with your current laundry-management system? No worries—these bags are useful for loads of other things, too. Grocery shopping! Yarn storage at home! Yarn shopping at the LYS! (Just think of how much yarn you could fit into one of these suckers…)
18 Responses to “Let me help you organize your life”
Oh I love Ikea! I can get lost in there for hours. It is a great way to furnish an apartment on a low furniture budget. Any of my make-life-easier hacks seem to be eluding my brain this morning.
I’ll plug this tomorrow. But since I live by an IKEA and I have my own huge blue bag, I’ll pass on playing. :)
As a yarnie? I sure could use those!
I found just the place for tacky refrigerator magnets and I’m getting ready to send them out to you.
IKEA bags are great for packing up a bunch of kids’ stuff to take to grandma’s or daycare.
My wife crochets, so I like the yarn storage idea too…
Hello, came over here by way of Chris- hmmm, never saw one of those bags so therefore I must need one! And a hack that makes life easier? the only thing that come to mind this early is COFFEE, makes brain go.
I am lucky to have W*Mart here in rural Alabama. Are there even Ikeas in my state? I went to one when I lived in DC, last decade, LOL. Can I put yarn in it?
Wow, lightweight, strong, reusable, somewhat water-resistant, long handles, and collapsable – PERFECT for spring fiber festivals! Want. Thanks for spreading the love.
love Ikea, but had never thought of using them for laundry! That is something I could handle myself up and darn the stairs vs the huge basket! (hmm..of course then i would have to lug it up and down vs having the family members do something!) lol. Perfect!
What a great site! People are so creative.
Used to live not too far from IKEA but now – none in site…
I found your blog thanks to Stumbling Over Chaos… Those are some freaking huge bags!! A perfect way to store my overflowing yarn stash… *grin*
Oh, if only we had an IKEA near here. The closest one is 4 or 5 hours away. Those bags are huge!
No IKEA in Indiana – alas
But what could I put in several giant IKEA bags?
Towels and stuff for bathing the dogs
Or any kind of bag?
All the stuff I need each month for the Tatting Guild
Or?
Stuff all the extra bags in one big bag, so I can find them easier
or the little handmade by a friend bag?
One ball of sock yarn and two circular needles
just the right size for stuffing in my briefcase :-)
Hiya! Chris sent me over… If there’s an IKEA in Maine, I just don’t know about it, but no surprises there… I pretty much live under a box. Certainly none nearby. I don’t even know what those big blue bags are, but I’m guessing they are like the ones at Old Navy (which is nearby)… they would make GREAT project bags for sweaters and large things…. I pretty much do all my shopping at the Goodwill, unless I make it into the Salvation Army!
Oh, How I would love them! I carry the bags I make to shows in lightweight plastic bags, but have never seen these from IKEA – perhaps b/c the only one near me is 5 hours away?
A “make your life easier thingy?” Hmm…Nothing unique comes to mind, but I’ve been making sure lately that I do important things (refill the Pur Pitcher and get the coffee maker ready, have lunch packed) the night BEFORE. Saving me time and as well as my sanity – and my money b/c I’m NOT eating out, stopping for coffee and -oh- just this quick energy bar, etc….
I would love them. They’d be perfect for laundry.
My only makes life easier tip is a pressure cooker and the Pressure Perfect cookbook. There’s nothing like rissoto or a great pasta dish in 15 minutes, including prep time. People will think you slaved for hours.
I live at least 120 miles from an IKEA… it’s very sad.
The only tip I can think of off the top of my head is to put a half dozen garbage bags in the bottom of the kitchen garbage can, so that when you fill a bag and take it out, you can immediately have a new bag ready to go. ‘Cause don’t you hate it when someone else takes the trash out and doesn’t replace the bag?
There is a new IKEA around Cincy–haven’t been there yet to see
the big blue bags–I love bags>>>Sorry can’t think of a tip to share, but great tip about the putting bags in bottom of trash can to replace one when you empty trash..
Living in the Land of No IKEA sucks, but the saving grace was visiting one with you! My dad loves the remote holder for his recliner, and I can’t be parted from the down comforter I got there.