Disclosure: This post and giveaway are sponsored by JCPenney. All opinions and ideas remain my own.Is there a parent who doesn’t both love and loathe reusable water bottles? They’ve saved me more times than I can count—no more forcing kids to sip from public drinking fountains—but they also create relentless clutter. Each person in our family has at least two bottles: one in use and one clean and waiting. I keep an extra for workouts, and still the bottles multiply and end up everywhere.
They’ve fallen off the top of the refrigerator (not a great storage spot), rolled down the stairs, and suffered when storage baskets tipped over during roughhousing. I used to leave lids off wet bottles to dry because I won’t put a damp lid on a sealed bottle and risk bacteria growth. And too many bottles have been retired because a weird, proprietary lid disappeared into the kitchen catch-all drawer.
I tried every organizing trick I could imagine: wine racks, shoe holders, laundry baskets and even hanging grocery bags inside the basement door. Everything failed for the same reason—there was never a visible, convenient spot for mismatched lids and straws. Then I found the Michael Graves Design Over-the-Door Basket Organizer from JCPenney, and it solved the problem.
- The mesh pocket at the top keeps loose lids, tops and straws visible and accessible, so nothing gets lost in a dark drawer.
- The baskets themselves hold everything from small one-cup bottles to large canteens, including 1-liter SodaStream bottles, with the top basket accommodating the biggest pieces.
This organizer has made a noticeable difference. It’s sturdy, simple to use, and keeps bottles and parts separated and easy to find. I’ve recommended it to friends who are drowning in water bottles and need a straightforward solution.
A huge bonus: kids can grab their own bottles and lids before heading to the backyard, park, picnic or bike ride. It keeps summer routines smoother and reduces the morning scramble to find matching sets.
Giveaway
JCPenney has generously offered a $100 JCPenney gift card to one Foodie with Family reader. You could use it to buy an over-the-door basket organizer and still have funds left for summer supplies. Entering is easy: tell us your favorite lifehack in the comments—what tricks make your everyday life a little easier?
Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive up to two entries by selecting from the entry methods below:
- Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
- Tweet (public message) about this promotion including the exact term “#SweepstakesEntry” and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
- Blog about this promotion, include a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
- For those without Twitter or a blog, read the official rules for an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents age 18 or older. Winners will be chosen by random draw and notified by e-mail from BlogHer (sweeps@blogher). Winners must respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available on the BlogHer site. This sweepstakes ran from 5/19–6/13/2014.
Be sure to visit the JCPenney brand page on BlogHer to read other bloggers’ posts and ideas for summer organization and lifehacks.