We love bins and baskets. We can throw - or advise smaller versions of ourselves to throw - toys and books into them for quick room cleaning.

Here’s a round-up of some of the more attractive bins and baskets on the market right now. You may want to order some as gifts for your home. The new toys are coming.

Woven felt baskets in red, blue, or green (pictured above), on sale at Pottery Barn Kids for $19.99 are one of the most attractive storage options I’ve seen. They are manage to look both handcrafted and high-design at. They’d fit into almost any décor. And at 12 inches square, they also fit into the cubby-style furniture that so many families favor.


Colorful woven nylon baskets from the Container Store are on sale for about $15. Their squared shape makes them useful for storing books or toys. The handles are great for moving them from room to room.


The cutest of our round-up, these totes from Clutter Free Kids include outside pockets, perfect for tucking away a special toy that merits more loving storage. The sturdy nylon totes come in a variety of patterns, and are generously sized at 16"x13".


This 13"x15" fuzzy storage bin is a steal at $13. I like the whimsy of the design - something practical, but cuddly.


These collapsible cotton canvas cubes - sold in a set of three, in sizes from 12" to 16" square - are affordable, attractive, and unobtrusive. $30 for a set of three at Space Savers.


Kangaroom's 30"x15"x16"Collapsible Toy Chest, available in pink or blue, gets consistently high marks from consumers. It is made of sturdy nylon panels and can be folded flat for storage when it isn't needed. $45 from Amazon.com.

Is your linen closet a precarious tower of leaning linen, peppered with mismatched towels? Organizing it will take half an hour, and will lead to all sorts of good things: More frequent sheet changes, matching towels, a full rag-bag, and that sense of deep domestic pride that warms when you know that even the hidden spaces are neat and tidy. Here’s what I did during nap-time Saturday.

1. Separate out the old linen. Pull out the stained sheets, the bottom sheets with dead elastic, the raggedy towels, and the orphaned pillowcases. (You really only need two sets of sheets per bed. Maybe three if you keep a special set for guests in reserve.) Consider your orphans before you toss. Some could coordinate together to make a set. Sewing the same ribbon trim on mismatched towels can help them coordinate. But if its time for the orphans to leave Daddy Warbucks’s, take a deep breath, say goodbye, and set them aside to use for other things. Cut off any trim or sturdy fabric for sewing projects and cut the rest into squares to fill your rag-bag. (You have a rag-bag, right? It’s essential for stylishly sashaying through Depression II. Just talking about your rag-bag gives you eco-cred.)


2. Fold. Fold the sheets and stack them as sets. Store pillowcases with their matching sheets, or, if you’re not a pillowcase ironer, fold the sheets and store them in the pillowcase. Stack the sets of the same size together (queens together, doubles, twins). Having trouble folding the fitted sheet? When you fold it in half, tuck one set of corners into the other, then finishing folding it. And don’t forget the old retail trick of folding linen: If you fold in thirds, no raw edges ever show.


3. Refresh. You could buy beautiful sachets of lavender to tuck into your linen closet, or you could buy some lavender in bulk and scoop it into some of those perfectly useless shoe bags you got with those fancy loafers. I save all those not-so-attractive fabric bags for closet sachets. Scoop a cup or two of lavender in, but not too much - you want them to lie flat, like long flat balloons. You can also buy muslin bags for pennies. Lay one or two on each shelf, before you put your folded linen in. No one will ever see them, but every time you open the door, the faint scent will lift your spirits, and keep moths away. Try folding your sweaters around one of these sachets, too. Lavender is inexpensive in bulk, and every closet benefits from it.


4. Arrange. Move infrequently used or off-season items to the higher shelves, with extra blankets and pillows stored at the very top. Make small stacks instead of tall towers. You may want to install an extra shelf or two to break up the space.


5. Stick with it. Put freshly laundered linens at the bottom of the stack so your linens are used equally. And when you buy new linens, move some of the worn ones out. Think of the children’s tents, the possible costumes, and the hungry rag-bag.

Have you noticed that despite the fact that there are 24 hours in each day, the mantra of our society seems to be “I don’t have enough time!” How often do you find yourself thinking that very thought or saying those words?

Let’s face it: as parents, we are very busy. We not only work, maintain our home lives, keep up with family and social connections and meet our own daily survival needs, we also take care of all the needs of little -- often demanding -- people!

How can you make better use of your own 24 hours?

Get organized! So much time lost is actually time wasted from not being efficient.

• Cook meals that will leave leftovers for another dinner or for lunches. Have a “stock” grocery and household staples list you always need to purchase and plan meals for the week before your shop.

• Arrange your work schedule so you don’t drive in traffic every day. If you do drive in traffic, listen to books on tape, learn a language or listen to relaxing music.

• Stagger your work schedule with your partner’s work schedule a couple of days a week so that you have some self-time after or before work.

• Efficiently plan errands. No more driving all over town for just one errand!

• Schedule your week on a family calendar with each family member’s activities for ease of planning. We have a big dry-erase board in our kitchen.

• Keep two to-do lists: one master list for bigger goals and one weekly list for more urgent to-dos.

• Go over and revise your priority list every week. Eliminate what you can and be very clear about what is most important so you can focus.

• Keep a list of holidays/birthdays. Shop ahead and store gifts, already wrapped. This saves both money and time. If you go to lots of kid’s birthday parties, choose a couple of really meaningful items and buy several at a time. A well-written storybook or art activity makes a great gift for most kids.

Track your time to better understand how you are using it. For one week, track your time and notice in particular the time traps, activities that take more time than you realize or intend. For example, you might not realize you spend three hours per week on Facebook, two hours per week driving for errands or one hour per week on the phone with a friend you don’t even enjoy talking to that much. By getting clear about where your time is going, you can make more conscious decisions about how you really want to invest your precious time.

Eliminate some 'have-to's': You do them because you feel you should but often end up feeling irritated or resentful. We all have chores in our lives that we don’t enjoy, but sometimes we are doing things out of obligation that are not even necessary. For example: volunteering at your kid’s school at every event, scrubbing the toilet every week (other people live in your house too - they can take a turn!), or spending time with a friend that you have out-grown or who brings you down. All these activities can be draining! Be willing to say no more often, let go of what you can and ask for help.

It is important to realize that no matter how busy you are, you do have choices. Sometimes, in the hardest of circumstances, the only choice you may have is your attitude, but even that can be time saving. Have you ever noticed how much faster a chore goes when you are happily singing along to the radio instead of complaining and dragging your feet?