Recycling Recepticals

We'd been hanging bags on the basement door knob to collect plastic shopping bags and empty deposit cans and bottles. It was unsightly, clumsy, and it wasn't particularly good for the door knob.  Well, I finally did something about it!  The solution was cheap and easy: two inexpensive hooks from Walmart ($3 for the package), screwed into the wall, holding two amply sized baskets.

This wicker basket was previously one of the clothes hampers in our bedroom before we painted it.  Hanging it this way still leaves plenty of room to walk around it and open/close the basement door.  While I almost always employ re-usable bags, there are plenty of situations where either that isn't feasible or I don't have the bags with me. TBG doesn't keep a set in his car... no matter how hard I try to make this the case.  That's not too big of a deal, since we do use them to pick up poop, so it doesn't hurt to have some on hand.

 The plastic basket was just a buck from Dollar Tree. It was important to have something that could contain any liquid that might drip out of the cans or bottles. We always rinse them first.  The plastic can be easily cleaned too.  I anticipate it will get sticky and need to be rinsed/wiped/cleaned regularly.

The hooks were no big deal.  They stick out enough to grab the handles without being too obtrusive.  We do not have enough cabinets to store anything out of sight, so this was really the best solution.  Once the containers are full, the goal is to take them out to be recycled, but more likely, they'll end up in the basement -- so it makes sense to have the receptacles next to the basement door.

This solution cost less than five bucks but we'll get a lot of use out of it.  In our house, function usually outranks form.  It might not be too pretty, but at least it works!