Comments on: Stair step baskets can help control clutter

By: Rachel Mason

Rachel Mason — Sun, 30 May 2010 08:36:29 +0000

I really love these. I'm about to order some. Do you know the approx measurements for the one you show? I've been lookin at the ones on this site Stair Basket

By: Stop Clutter with Baskets | Mom Living

Stop Clutter with Baskets | Mom Living — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:36:07 +0000

[...] mother-in-law has always used this simple tip from Unclutterer.com – baskets on steps can help clean up clutter! You could use a stair basket just to collect items [...]

By: laura

laura — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:55:30 +0000

I am not a Basket person – too country. However, I have constant clutter on my steps – things of the kids that belong upstairs. I am embarassed by it when we have company. This would get it out of sight & I could make emptying it part of kids chores. As for safety – if you put it under the rail, it won’t stick out that far & it’s no more dangerous that the hazards of books, papers & clothes that are always there. There is a more contemporary one at Ballard Designs that I will consider.

By: Jasi

Jasi — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:21:39 +0000

@ Erin: I wouldn’t expect guests or my small children to carry the basket. So it’s still a hazard for most of us. My house is always full of people, clear of junk.

By: Serene and Not Herd

Serene and Not Herd — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:07:46 +0000

Mr. Safety Man in me says: “Things left on stairs are a trip hazard.”

Jasi is right about the hazard. Sure it may be a decluttering tip for some, but it has the potential to be seriously dangerous.

And to rebut Erin, you arn’t going to carry the basket up and down with you everytime, if the basket is empty. Or if guests are using the stairs.

A shelf or table near, but not in the path of the stairs should be an acceptable compromise. A topsy-turvy trip down the stairs, and out to the emergency room shouldn’t be acceptable.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:34:04 +0000

I have a similar clutter-controlling method– a totebag on a hook by the basement stairs (which lead to storage & my crafting area). Whenever I come across something that needs filing in my memory archives or a piece of fabric or a gift for the gift shelf, I chuck it in the bag. When the bag is too full to hold more, I distribute everything. This save a lot of running up and down, and stuff actually gets put away instead of just piling up.

By: Sneezie

Sneezie — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:20:43 +0000

I have 2 plastic baskets on the steps at our home, one for each child. As I find miscellaneous kid-clutter laying around out of place during the day, I drop it in the appropriate basket. One of the kids’ daily chores is to empty their basket before school each morning, so it doesn’t pile up. My kids are 11 and 7.

By: verily

verily — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:26:21 +0000

I admit to hating baskets. I don’t know why; I just don’t like the look of them. Too crafty, I think.

When I was young, my mother would frequently put things on the side of the stairs and expect us to pick them up as we went upstairs. It worked for the most part. And we never came close to tripping and breaking our necks…considering that the stack was close to the landing and at one far end.

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:18:39 +0000

I’m pretty sure Lakeland sell these in the UK…

Wicker is a bit cheesy in my eyes but I do like the theory…

Yep – http://www.lakeland.co.uk/prod.....deas!20948
£16.99

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:26:25 +0000

@Jasi — Different solutions work for different people. What may be crap in your house, may be a clutter-solving device in another home–and vice versa.

Also, this idea isn’t “unsafe” because you’re supposed to carry the basket with you when you go up or down the stairs. You can’t trip over it if it is in your hands. The basket becomes unsafe if you don’t employ the method.

By: Jasi

Jasi — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:35:14 +0000

It’s dangerous to put things on the stairs. Why not install a small ledge near the steps on either side. It keeps the floor clear and the clutter up in plain view so that you could see it (and possibly be shamed into putting it away).

Really, though, I’d prefer none of these at all. It’s just more crap around the house.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:32:15 +0000

We have one and it’s just filled to the brim and isn’t going anywhere soon. One day I should just pitch it because we haven’t used anything in it and it just blocks the stairs.

By: Ethel

Ethel — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:54:33 +0000

We may try this. We get so much clutter around our stairs since they are right near our entrance, and the design of our home makes furniture near the stairs and entryway to hold the necessary clutter difficult.

By: Maria

Maria — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:24:40 +0000

I loved mine, but it just didn’t work with cats. They follow us around and run up and down the stairs next to us, and there were too many close calls. Organization wasn’t work cracking my skull open!

By: jen

jen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:51:04 +0000

Yeah, we do fine just putting stuff right on the stairs and taking it as we go up. If I can actually see the stuff, I’ll actually take care of it right away. If it’s in a pretty basket, then I’d be much more likely to let it go and forget about it.