Eveclair It is no secret that Daiso is one of Singapore’s most popular budget stores. The Japanese retailer sells knick-knacks, household cleaning items, stationery, and much more …
Budget-friendly and quality are the two attributes that I look out for when purchasing organisational products. Although the pricing of items has gone up and price ranges have been put in place.
I still find Daiso a cheaper alternative to Muji, another unique Japanese homewares store. However, of all the fascinating products they carry, the home organisation’s products draw me to the store the most.
The Muji version of the stackable storage box is called the Make-up Box. The designs are very similar. It costs about SGD$4.60 at Muji, and Daiso costs SGD$2.14.
Best Home Storage Organizers from Daiso, where and when to use them-
I love two storage bins from Daiso: the Stackable Storage Box and the Storage Box with Lid. These bins are perfect because they help my cabinets and drawers stay neat. Gone are the days when my drawers were junk drawers. My cabinets were just a massive clump of things tossed in a pile. These bins and containers fit into the space, are stackable, and do not hinder the doors from closing.
I have been raving about my Interior Designer, Hosen Gan from Swiss Interior because he aced the task of space planning built-in cabinet space as possible. My favourite part of the house is the coffee station. My family and I use this space as a mini pantry to store home essentials like the first aid kit and other things you need around the house.
Clever ways to organise a kitchen Drawer-
When it comes to keeping drawers organized, one must consider the depth of the drawer and what it would be able to accommodate. When calculated precisely, you can maximise the number of containers able to fit in a drawer.
The benefit of organising your items into categories-
Give a bin a group title, and ensure you only fill the container with that group of items. For example, if the drawer in my coffee station/ pantry fits six storage bins from Daiso, I would mentally assign a container a category and distribute my items accordingly.
What I like about this method is that I can find what I need at a glance and look for what I need instantly because similar items are placed together. What I like about these bins is you can store things like honey and jams in them, and if there is a spill, all you have to do is clean the container. There are no vast sticky messes in your drawers.
Next, fill the drawers with organising bins. For the shallow cutlery bin, ensure that it is not overflowing with utensils; this may cause the drawers to jam and defeats the purpose of separating the utensils when the mess of utensils mixes on the top of the pile. Instead, purge the items you do not need or have duplicates.
Donate items that are still in good condition and dispose of broken things. Being organised prevents you from repurchasing what you already have and saving you money in the long run.
Maximise the storage space while keeping your cabinet organised-
I have inbuilt wardrobes built above my television, where I store all our festive decorations and exercise stuff. I used the Daiso Storage Box with Lid to keep things in order by stacking these storage boxes in the cabinet.
I have this rule of thumb: stop buying things when the container is full or purge decorative items or gym items that we no longer use after a year or two or are broken.
Now I know that you will say that those storage boxes are tiny …Keeping things to a minimum and purchasing smaller items is more suitable for my small apartment, where bulky items would otherwise be a hindrance.
The oversized items I own are stored in the bomb shelter, which we use as a storage room. Stacking the Daiso storage boxes and labelling them makes it easy for my family and me to get on with our daily lives without pausing to search for things. It is frustrating when you cannot find what you need when you need it, but it is also a time waster.
Why I prefer storage boxes and bins but not plastic mini drawers –
Drawers come in many dimensions, from mini ones in your cabinets and desk area to ultra-large ones similar to dressers or storage cabinets.
Transparent or opaque, with handles and without. Plastic bins can store many more items within a cabinet than drawers can. I do not usually use mini drawers in my cabinets because they occupy a lot of space, and not much; you can store.
When to use mini plastic drawers –
The only place I use plastic drawers is my dressing table, where I need quick access to my lipsticks, mascara, and concealers. It comes down to how frequently you need to use certain items. Items that you would not want to keep shifting boxes around to get to.
For example: Storing printing paper in drawers to keep it from crumpling is another good use for drawers.
The inbuilt cabinets store plenty of items in my home using the stackable containers saving me a great deal of time because my family can find where everything is placed.
They do not have to ask me. I zone my cabinets and give each a purpose, such as; a gift-wrapping station, gym items area, festive events area, and baking tools. You do not have to label anything; ensure that everything has a home, a place where you always put it back.
I almost drove my husband nuts when I kept shifting things around. One day, he firmly told me that he did not like it when I kept moving things around because he had difficulty looking for things when he needed them.
Humans are creatures of habits and routines, and our subconscious minds function on cues, triggers, routines and rewards, as I have learned from the book by Charles Duhigg.
Inculcating the habit of putting things away in bins or stackable boxes and keeping things in order minimises distractions.
My Family’s reward would be to be able to grab a quick snack, work out or do any other task without wasting time searching for things. My reward is having a tidy, spick and-span home and being able to go about my daily life efficiently.
