To Organize or Not to Organize

Different scenarios require different kinds and levels of organization, but baskets fit the bill for the vast majority of those scenarios. From wicker to carbon steel, there’s a basket material and design for almost every organizational crisis (the sort and store kind, that is). In many cases, there are a whole lot of baskets for every opportunity.

In the grand scheme of things, how important is organization? To the obsessive-compulsive organizer, it’s pretty important. To the laid back, couldn’t-care-less couch potato, it isn’t, so much. For those undergoing reconstructive surgery, organization on the part of the surgical team is pretty important. To the entrepreneurial auto mechanic in the garage, taking apart his first client’s car, organization, for sake of getting it back together, is pretty important.

So, how about for the surgical team? Among many possibilities, there are stainless steel baskets that can be used not only for sorting and storing, but also for transporting all those tools. These kinds of baskets can even be customized to fit specific cleaning equipment and to hold specific tools.

For the lady trying to bring some order out of the chaos in her kitchen, there are wicker baskets with dividers to make it easier to pick a fork, spoon, or knife, without touching everybody else’s utensils, trying to find the right kind. There are bamboo baskets specially designed to steam dumplings and wontons, letting just the right amounts of heat and steam through the cracks between the strips of bamboo.

What about the auto mechanic? Sure–there are industrial wire baskets, tough enough, even, for the engine parts that need to be degreased, not to mention all the nuts and bolts that need to be sorted for re-assembly. They come with a variety of sides and handles, to make it possible to stack and store, without the risk of a mismatched pile’s getting wobbly and tipping over.

Then there’s the pool-side dumping grounds, where everything ends up in a mildewing heap next to the ladder. Not a problem. There are all kinds of vinyl and plastic baskets, perfectly suited to collect swim goggles, diving rings, snorkels, and “swimmies,” keeping everything organized, while still letting the water drain out and the air blow through.

For the recent high school grad headed off to college, there are multiple sizes of wire baskets tough enough to catch everything from the countless pages of re-written essays and reports, so the dorm-size desk can stay un-cluttered, to the hiking boots that have been evicted, by majority vote, from the room (or, in some cases, from the dorm).

With the myriad basket manufacturers out there on the web, you should be able to find the perfect design to tidy your mess. The great thing is, if you don’t find what you need in the ready-made options, there are companies that offer custom solutions to almost every opportunity. Even better, since so many of those that deal with customization are now on the internet, available to pretty much anybody, no one has an excuse to stay disorganized.