Hasta La Ideas

As a professional organizer, I believe in having plenty of easy-to-use laundry hampers. Sometimes the reason the dirty clothes don’t make it into the laundry bin is that the bin is down the hall, not in the bedroom!

This laundry hamper from Simple Human has a lot going for it. The open top makes it easy to put things into the hamper. The double bags allow the end-users to sort darks vs. lights, or regular wash vs. dry cleaning. (Not everyone has room for a double-bag version, so Simple Human also provides a single-bag hamper.) And the bags are easy to remove from the frame and tote to the laundry room. Some end-users say they come off a bit too easily—coming loose when jostled by a vacuum cleaner, for example.

Some end-users prefer to have a laundry hamper that isn’t so open—so the dirty laundry isn’t on display, so the cats can’t get into it quite so easily, etc. These Brabantia laundry bins accommodate that preference while allowing laundry to be placed in them without removing a lid. There’s a removable, washable laundry bag inside, and Brabanita sells replacement bags; that’s a nice way to protect the end-user’s investment in the bin in case the bag gets ripped or stained. There are plenty of ventilation holes in the bin, too.

These laundry carts from Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware would suit an end-user who likes the super-easy-to-toss-into open look—and who has a laundry room down the hall from the bedroom or bathroom. With baskets that don’t go all the way to the floor, there’s no awkward reaching for laundry at the very bottom, but the a limited capacity.

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Bicycle owners with garages have an obvious place to store those bikes—but what about those without garages: apartment dwellers, etc.? Those end-users may want to store their bicycles in their living spaces, and they’ll want their bike racks to look good. Since floor space will probably be limited, wall racks have a lot of appeal.

Designers are recognizing the need, and addressing it in various ways. The Bike Shelf from Knife & Saw is designed to be installed into wall studs, and will leave only screw holes when removed—another consideration for those in rented spaces. The shelf gives you a bit of extra storage, although I wouldn’t put anything too fragile up there, since it seems like it would be easy to jostle things while putting the bike away. And one drawback which you’ll see in many designs: the shelf works well for top-tube bikes, but not for diagonal-tube bikes or step-through bikes.

The Shelfie is an active Kickstarter project which has already met its funding goal. Juergen Beneke wanted a solution for all types of bikes, because he owns a range of them himself; he also wanted to avoid scratching the paint on the top tube and kinking the cables. The Shelfie addresses these concerns by using the seat to hang the bike. The storage compartment is large enough for a bike helmet, which is a considerate design touch—since the bike and helmet are used together, it’s helpful to store them together. Shelfie comes with anchors for sheetrock, wood and concrete/block—and a paper-template with the hole-pattern, to make pre-drilling the holes easy and accurate. My one concern here is how stable the bike is; will a rambunctious child or an earthquake cause it to tumble?

The Bike All from Board by Design also uses the seat to hang the bike; it has hooks for hanging the end-user’s helmet, messenger bag, etc. The top shelf has a cut-out, allowing end-users to run the cord from a cell phone (or anything else) down to an outlet for charging. One concern: If one wheel rests on the floor, cleaning the floor becomes slightly more difficult than if the floor is left bare.

Fluo makes wall-mounted bike hooks for a specific subset of bike owners: those who like minimal design, own a light sports bike (with a top tube), and have a wall that will work with its dowels. They’re suitable for walls made of brick, concrete and masonry, for those ready to break out the hammer drill; they will not work with drywall. This is another design that would make me nervous if children, pets or earthquakes were likely to disturb the bike.

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You know those desks you see in magazines and on design sites—the immaculate ones with not a cable in sight? I don’t have a desk like that, and my clients don’t, either. We have laptops, whose power cables slither to the floor when we unplug them. My clients often have desks which don’t face the wall, so the unsightly tangle or pile of cords that might otherwise be somewhat hidden down the back is instead in clear view. And since most desk designs ignore the cable issue, we’re left to deal with it through various aftermarket products.

A number of those products are designed to ensure that cables not currently in use don’t slip to the floor. The one above is the MOS—the Magnetic Organization System. The magnets in the MOS will hold most cables in place, but there are also magnetic cable ties for any cables which need some help.

The MOS itself is held in place by a layer of non-sticky micro-suction padding. If you’re designing (or using) a cable organizer, this might sound like the ideal way to affix your product to the desk—and in many cases, it is. Sewell even sells its AirStick tape, used in the MOS, as a separate product for other mounting uses. However, the MOS needs a clean, flat surface for that suction to work, and it won’t work on something like unfinished wood, which is porous and doesn’t allow the suction to form.

Also, think about the other materials you’re using, not just the connection method. For example, the aluminum MOS looks fantastic—until it gets scratched up by metal connections at the end of a power cord. (The MOS also comes in plastic.)

The Bluelounge Cable Drops each hold a single cable. These attach to the desk with an adhesive, which means the drops cannot be repositioned—end-users will need to carefully consider where they want to attach them. Although Bluelounge provides instructions for removing the adhesive, people might still be hesitant about using this on an expensive desk or an antique one. And one more design consideration: These come in a variety of colors, including white—darker colors might be a better choice for a finish which can absorb dirt.

Sumo, also from Bluelounge, is described as a paperweight for your cables. Like the MOS, it uses micro-suction pads to stay in place and can be repositioned as needed. There are two grooves underneath to help keep the cables in place. This raises another design issue: How large of a cable should the device accommodate? Some people have said larger cables don’t fit in the Sumo very well—but a product designed to accommodate larger cables might not grip smaller ones firmly enough.

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Hooks are one of my favorite organizing products—and my clients love them, too. It’s just easier to throw a coat over a hook than it is to put it on a hanger—and easy is good, since it increases the chance that the coat (or whatever) isn’t going to just get tossed on the floor. So hooks are worth considering for your own work spaces, as well as for end-users who may find them handy.

When I say “hook,” you may think of classic hook designs, such as this double hook and robe hook—which are both perfectly good and useful, but there’s no need to stop there. The opportunities for innovation within this basic form are nearly endless.

For example, here’s the Kangaroo hook, cast of aluminum, designed for Cascando by Robert Bronwasser, in collaboration with Sander Brouwer.

Or consider this CNC router-cut wall hook from Grain, made from a block of ash.

Some hooks are designed for easy installation, without the need for sheetrock anchors, etc. (More on installation issues later.) Unihook from Pat Kim installs with a single nail—but due to its clever design, which spreads the load downwards along the wall from that one nail, it can hold an amazing 10 kilograms of weight (about 22 pounds).

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When I work with clients to organize their kitchens, knife storage is one of the issues we tackle. Everyone has different needs and constraints—but fortunately, designers have given us numerous options to help meet those needs.

The Toro Legno (Kitchen Bull) shown above is a fanciful item: a knife block with 10 slots, a book shelf and a cheese board. For those with the necessary countertop space, it could be a great way to keep multiple items close at hand—and that cheese board could perhaps serve as a cutting board, something most people are more likely to need quick access to. The Toro Legno is made from renewable plantation pine, which may appeal to end-users with ecological concerns.

But let’s back up a minute, and start with the basics. The slanted, slotted knife block, so commonly used, has numerous advantages: It can store a lot of knives, it makes them easy to grab, and it will usually fit under the upper cabinets. Such blocks also tend to be heavy enough, with a low enough center of gravity, that they are unlikely to fall over. One disadvantage is the slots may not match the knives the end-user has, unless the knives were bought from the same manufacturer. Looking at knife blocks from some top name brands, you’ll see some variations. The 25-slot knife block from Wüsthof has rubberized feet to help keep it in position. The one from Henckels, on the right, uses horizontal rather than vertical slots for the steak knives, in order to allow the handles on all the company’s cutlery to fit.

You can take the same basic design and give it a very different look, as Wüsthof does with this knife block.

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