Rubbermaid and Me

(Click on a photo to view a larger image.)

Some weeks ago I received an email from Rubbermaid introducing a new line of organization and storage boxes called Bento, inspired by the Japanese lunchbox of the same name. The email also announced a contest called "What would you Bento?" wherein entrants would submit a short essay explaining what they would organize if they had a set of Bento boxes. That was a no brainer. I'm an artist + I have a workshop = I have a mess. So I entered the contest, promptly forgot about it and moved on. Imagine my surprise when I received an email from Rubbermaid last week telling me I was one of 50 finalists in Phase I and my prize was a brand new set of Bento boxes. All I had to do was agree to participate in Phase II of the contest in which I actually had to organize an area of my home, photograph it and upload the photo to the contest website. The first prize winner gets $500 and is chosen by a professional organizer. The second and third place winners are chosen by popular vote.

Above right you can see what just a small section of my work area looks like. These shelves, located immediately next to my work table, contain many of the items I use on a constant basis so I'm always reaching for them, hence the topsy turvy look of it all. Below that you'll see a photo of the Bento boxes when they arrived at my home a few days after I received the email. As you can see, they are very pretty and contain flexible dividers inside to allow for some customization to suit specific storage needs. They also have reversible tops that can be used as lids or as storage trays. Now all I have to do is bring the boxes to the mountain of 'stuff' I've got and see if it will make a dent in taming the clutter. (FYI,  it does look messy but everything is in its place and I know where everything is. It's just such a motley assortment of different storage items that it looks a lot worse than it really is.)

I've already begun moving things around in an attempt to corral the chaos and it has really been a very good thing. In the process I have been able to jettison a lot of stuff that I no longer had any use for, thus freeing up some space. These Bento boxes will not be enough to hold everything I have in these shelves, to say nothing of the rest of the basement. (Yes, Virginia, I use up nearly an entire basement...both a blessing and a curse.) In any event, they will no doubt help make the place look somewhat more pulled together aesthetically. I'll post more photos once I've completed the reorganization and I'll be soliciting votes in an attempt to win a cash prize so stay tuned. Thanks.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva