Open Canvas Bins

Posted on March 5, 2009
Filed Under Fall in Love | 8 Comments

A PLACE FOR MY HIJABS

Last week, one of my readers asked me to give a few pointers about how I keep my hijabs organized.
If it weren’t for these canvas bins from The Container Store, I’m sure they would be scattered all over the house in an unruly fashion like high school kids on skateboards outside of a 7-Eleven.

They retail for between $8 and $12 depending on the size, and the one’s pictured above are each 17″ x 14″ x 10″ h.

About five years ago, I started to down-size my life. I started to mentally, emotionally, and physically declutter everything around me, and my closet was one of the biggest projects I needed to tackle.

I’m a huge fan of Nate Berkus, and a long time ago, during one of Oprah’s shows about cleaning up your living space, Nate said that a rule of thumb when buying clothes is: Every time you purchase a new item, you give one away.

I’d been following that rule for a while, but when I started covering my hair, I sort of made buying new hijabs the one exception to the rule. I felt like I needed 1,600 head scarves in order to properly adhere to my religion.
And no one needs 1,600 of anything. Trust me. Unless it’s dollars. I could totally use 1,600 of those right now.

Needless to say, this photo of My Life Organized is a testament to the way I live now. (And where I keep all my scarves.)

My hijabs are separated into three categories — Cool: blue, green or violet, Warm: the stuff of fire and sunlight — red, yellow and orange, and Neutrals: shades of black, white and brown.
And the trick to keeping it all organized is simple: If they don’t fit in these bins, I DON’T NEED THEM.

Comments

8 Responses to “Open Canvas Bins”

Jen on March 5th, 2009 3:35 pm

They sell these at Lowe’s too for about the same price.
They are great for undergarments and socks, as well. I labeled mine “Butt”, “Boobs” and “Feet” so there’s no confusion. I love your idea of separating the tones according to the color palette. What a time-saver! Thanks for the ideas!
Xey on March 5th, 2009 4:26 pm

LOL @ Jen! Those labels definitely minimise confusion. This is a good idea. I had never thought of categorizing head scarves in that way, but it makes sense. I just keep mine in one large Rubbermaid container. Organising life is probably not as difficult as I think it is.
Humaira on March 5th, 2009 5:41 pm

Hee hee! That’s awesome you categorise them according to palette.

I have a hard time getting rid of clothes, but hijabs are so much harder! They’re all so pretty and I keep thinking one will match an outfit eventually.

I keep mine on hangers according to colour as sometimes I have tons of the same colour but in different patterns etc. But maybe its time to clean them out as well.
Udd on March 5th, 2009 7:17 pm

How do you prevent them from getting wrinkled? That is my biggest annoyance. Alot of times you don’t have time to iron them out! i use this product
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70108912
and I still have a problem with wrinkles!!
Ameena on March 6th, 2009 12:06 pm

I like the idea of putting the hijabs in open canvases. I have all my hijabs hung in my cupboard on childrens hangers, but i need to hang them according to color now cause it takes a some time to find the one i am looking for usually, i have too many! I seriously need to de-clutter my wardrobe.
Iman on March 6th, 2009 4:06 pm

I love the idea of sorting by color! I have my hijabs in one of those clear plastic shoe organizers posted on my closet door. The only downside to that is only one hojab fits in each pocket. Plus, how do you get rid of excess hijabs? There are definitely a few that I am willing to part with.
Jamerican Muslimah on March 7th, 2009 1:21 am

ASA,

I use over-the-door shoe organizers. I have the ones I wear the least in a drawer. I think it’s time to give some away though…
Sheza on April 15th, 2009 4:03 pm

i use the shoe organizers for mine as well… just the clear plastic see through oens from the dollar store. i hung them in my closet and sort them by colour pallete as well.