IKEA Favorites: Montessori-Friendly Bins, Baskets, and Trays
I love IKEA. Love love love.
I could spend an entire day browsing the store, much to the chagrin of my husband of course.
I also love baskets and bins, especially those made from natural materials such as rope, bamboo, fabric, and wood.
Since we’ll be near an IKEA when we visit family over Labor Day weekend, I am compiling a list of some of the things our home needs – and we are desperately in need of some new containers. What Montessori home isn’t, right? 😉
Here are a few of my current favorite bins, baskets, and trays from IKEA:
ONE // Made with seagrass, the FRYKEN Boxes can nest together when not in use. We have an older set of nesting baskets from IKEA, and our daughter enjoyed playing with them for more than a year and a half before we eventually moved them into the bathroom to serve as small storage containers for her hair accessories and nail polish. She loved when we would hide small objects inside the baskets for her to find. The baskets also challenged her to match the correct lid with the same-sized basket.
TWO // At $5.99, the FAVREN Shower basket would make an excellent storage caddy. Place several small washcloths, a spray bottle, a dust brush, and a window squeegee and you have a great cleaning kit for your little one. Alternatively, you could place the basket on a low shelf in your bathroom and include washcloths, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and undies for a self-care station. It would also make a wonderful caddy for art supplies.
THREE // I love both the color and the knitting on these NORDRANA baskets. Hang them at child-height by the door to store your child’s cold weather accessories, in a child’s bedroom to store underwear and socks, or in the bathroom to store self-care products.
FOUR // The DOKUMENT letter tray would make a great addition to a child’s art station since it provides three trays to store different types of paper (copy paper, construction paper, watercolor paper, etc.).
FIVE // I have a soft spot for acacia wood, so it will be hard to resist purchasing this SAKLIG bowl. Wouldn’t it be a beautiful addition to a child’s nature table, filled with coveted treasures such as rocks, gemstones, pinecones, flowers, nuts, and leaves that have all been collected by your little one on her nature excursions?
SIX // The KLACK tray would easily fit right into any Montessori home. The wood-and-white two-tone is particularly appealing to me because materials will really “pop” against the plain white background.
SEVEN // At only $4.99, the KNAGGLIG Box is an easily affordable storage container for any home. Place it on a low shelf in your pantry to store self-serve snacks for your children or put it on a low shelf in your linen closet to keep small towels, washcloths, or diapers/underwear for your child to easily access.
EIGHT // With its aesthetically pleasing design, I would love to use the FLADIS Basket to store our work rugs once we begin transitioning to Primary-level materials in February. I’ll have to check to see how sturdy it is when we’re at the store since the basket’s maximum height is 4 inches smaller than the traditional rug holder typically found in Montessori classrooms.
NINE // Made from acacia, the SKOGSTA Box with handle would be a conveniently portable art or kitchen caddy for children. It would also make a very attractive small plant caddy as well, especially if your house is anything like ours and we actually have to move plants to different windows throughout the house on certain days.
TEN // Oh, bamboo, how I adore thee! The RIMFORSA basket can either be placed on a flat surface area or hung from a wall to save space. I think it would make a wonderful container for a small indoor herb garden for children or look beautiful displayed on a child’s table filled with an assortment of fruits readily available for snacking throughout the day.
ELEVEN // The KNATTING Baskets could easily be used to store small toys (puzzle pieces, language objects, Schleich animals, etc.) on a Montessori child’s shelf.
TWELVE // The VIKTIGT Basket with handles is on my Christmas wish list. Isn’t it beautiful? Since we’ll be cloth diapering a newborn again come December, there will be lots of laundry and lots of folding so this is definitely near the top of my “wants” this year. Our daughter loves to help with the laundry, and the handles on this basket will help enable her to be able to move it around the house. Plus, doesn’t it look like a great basket for imaginary play? For the children of course…
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