Basket obsession. A confession.

taurusgb

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

Ah, I thought I was the only one, too.

I will never forget the time I saw a stair basket in a charity shop for £2, and didnt get it on the day...Went back the next day to get it (after a sleepless night wanting that basket), and it was still there, but was reserved for someone else. That haunts me to this day.

Oh no - you poor thing! I feel your pain

lil_me

Baskets - woven ones, cloth ones, leather ones.........I can count 15 here just woven without thinking about it, then there is 8 on a rack in the bathroom......

SnowyOwl_2

My cat loves to flex his claws on baskets. I have a big banana leaf lidded basket which holds a spare duvet and he has clawed it to bits. I'm going to have to replace it soon, will probably have to go for a wooden one, if I ever get the money together.

Otherwise I love little baskets to go inside narrow cupboards, it's so easy to just pull the basket out and push it back in, thus being able to get to the back of the cupboard easily. And I love those big brown wicker shopping baskets too, they look so lovely especially when filled with brown paper bags full of fruit and veg, and fresh bread wrapped in a cloth. Absolutely gorgeous! Where is the joy in a bright orange Sainsbury's plastic bag filled with plastic bags of fruit, or cucumber shrinkwrapped in plastic, and loaves wrapped in more plastic.

An Ali Baba laundry basket is a design classic, though it definitely needs to have a cloth liner to prevent snags - red gingham would be my first choice especially if it shows around the lid.

My name is SnowyOwl and I am addicted to baskets.

Soapy955

I love baskets too!
I have one holding the TV remotes, two with the baby changing stuff in (one upstairs, one downstairs!), one for the laundry, one full of babygros, one full of toiletries and my waste paper bins. I'd love more baskets but even in Wilkos my OH was aghast at the price of them! :eek:

larmy16

Soapy955 wrote: »

I love baskets too!
I have one holding the TV remotes, two with the baby changing stuff in (one upstairs, one downstairs!), one for the laundry, one full of babygros, one full of toiletries and my waste paper bins. I'd love more baskets but even in Wilkos my OH was aghast at the price of them! :eek:

Imagine my delight to find sets of three wicker baskets reduced to £5 in Homebase on several occasions. I ended up buying about four sets - nowhere to put them (already basketed out!) - it got to the stage where you could not move for baskets!

I have bought some lovely ones from charity shops.

IKEA do some nice storage ones too quite cheaply. Hope that does not feed your addiction.;)

valk_scot

I have a very deep picnic hamper type wicker basket through in the kitchen that must be at least 40 years old, because I remember it from my childhood. It's currently doing duty as a vegetable storage basket but in the past I've used it as a cat carrier, a laundry basket, wool storage, a toy box and yup, a picnic basket. I don't know what my parents paid for it...not much, I suspect...but it's been worth every penny.

Incidentally, tip for folk with willow baskets. Willow can get very dry in our centrally heated houses and start to crack. Best way to recondition them is to take out any liners then put them out in the garden for a couple of rainy days so that they rehydrate, or in cold water for an hour or two. (Do not do this for any other sort of basket, or for artificially dyed willow.) I left one big willow basket out under the apple tree for six months once by accident and by the time I rediscovered it the grass had grown through it, lol, but it was good as new after a rinse off. And that one came from Ikea twelve years ago, if I recall correctly.

InfamyInfamy

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

The other thing I really like is wooden bowls. I have quite a few, but my favourite ones which I can't afford are those made of a knot of Yew or Walnut...lovely, but I have none

Yes! I also love wooden bowls but do try to curb that need. I asked OH to carve some wooden spoons (thought it might keep him occupied whilst I slipped a few more baskets in through the back door) but he looked at me as if I was mad!!
Told him I had started this basket thread and that I was NOT the only one with an obsession but he just did the whole eye rolling thing rounded off with a tut!!!

laurel7172

I always wanted a proper shopping basket, but I didn't indulge until I found the perfect one (for me) in a market in Zagreb. It's an ordinary oval woven basket, but the handle goes end to end (like a gondola basket), which makes it really well balanced and easy to carry. That's fortunate, because I was travelling by train. Backpack and basket-I invented that look.

InfamyInfamy

laurel7172 wrote: »

I always wanted a proper shopping basket, but I didn't indulge until I found the perfect one (for me) in a market in Zagreb. It's an ordinary oval woven basket, but the handle goes end to end (like a gondola basket), which makes it really well balanced and easy to carry. That's fortunate, because I was travelling by train. Backpack and basket-I invented that look.

Now I envy your basket..........help!
:rotfl::rotfl:

oystercatcher

My mum had a basket on wheels when we were little. She used to shop daily with it. I can also remember using it to take our elderly pekenise to visit my grandmother as it was too far for the dog to walk!

My only memories of using shopping baskets involve aching arms from having to hold the basket out to the side and of scratched legs where it kept catcing. Was this just a badly designed basket?

I had a lovely small wicker hamper (from Harrods!) I used to keep on my dressing table with various bottles of 'stuff' in but it became clogged with dust and even when I tried to wash it, it still looked filthy so it ended up in the bin!

So my view is they look lovely but aren't practical , which is maybe why there are so many in charity shops !
I would consider the basket on wheels though....... it would make the children laugh at the very least!