Friday Favorites: My Favorite Basket For Every Season

A favorite basket, a birthday gift from my son, that moved from holding fall hydrangeas to holding my favorite cookbooks. Tips for getting more use out of the pieces you already own, plus a few baskets worth adding to your home.

Happy Friday, friends! Today I’m starting something new here on the blog. On The Menu, my Friday recipe series, is retiring (you can still find all my seasonal OTM posts at the bottom of this section). I couldn’t imagine leaving Fridays without something special for you, so I’m kicking off a new weekly series called Friday Favorites.

Each Friday, I’ll share one thing I’m genuinely loving in my own home that week, along with a few tips to help you bring the same idea into yours. Sometimes it will be a decorating find, sometimes a simple swap that solved a problem, sometimes a small thing that just made the week a little better. My hope is that this becomes a spot you look forward to each week, a little easier and lighter than a full decorating post, but still full of ideas you can use.

If you’re one of my faithful OTM readers (THANK YOU), don’t worry, your fall recipes haven’t gone anywhere. You can find all my fall weekly menus anytime on my Fall Weekly Menus page on the blog, and I’ll also feature OTM for the week in my Friday newsletter.

This Week’s Favorite

This week I’m loving a basket that means more to me than most pieces in my home: a woven basket my son and his family gave me as a birthday gift a couple of years ago. Last fall it held a generous gathering of dried hydrangeas on my dining room table, soft and full and exactly the kind of bigger, simpler piece I always encourage in my own decorating advice. This year the same basket has taken on a new job, holding a stack of my favorite cookbooks and cooking magazines beside the sofa.

I love that one basket can do so much. It has shifted from a seasonal accent piece to an everyday storage solution without missing a beat, and it still looks just as good doing it. If you have a basket at home that only comes out for one season, consider giving it a second job. You might find it becomes one of the most useful pieces you own.

See the basket HERE.

🌿 TIP BOX: A well-made basket rarely has just one purpose. Before buying something new for storage, look at the baskets you already own and consider what else they could hold once their seasonal job is done.

A Few Tips For Trying This In Your Own Home

If you’d like to get more mileage out of the baskets you already own, here are a few things I’ve learned.

Choose baskets with a timeless shape. A simple woven basket, without trend-specific details, will move easily between seasons and rooms.

Think beyond its original purpose. A basket that held flowers in the fall can hold blankets in the winter or magazines in the spring.

Keep a few sizes on hand. A mix of large and small baskets gives you more flexibility to reuse them for whatever storage need comes up next.

Let sentimental pieces earn their keep. If a basket was a gift or has a story behind it, using it regularly in your home means you get to enjoy it all year, not just once a season.

Keep an eye out for sales. Baskets often go on sale at the end of a season, which is a great time to stock up for less.

Let yourself splurge occasionally. That once in a blue moon basket, the one that’s a bit more than you’d normally spend, is sometimes worth it. A well-made piece you truly love will earn its keep for years and in more than one room.

If you’re looking for more ways to bring baskets into your home, I’ve put together a full guide with ideas for every room in Decorating With Baskets: Beautiful And Practical Ideas For Every Room.

Baskets Worth Adding To Your Home

If you’re ready to add a basket or two of your own, here are a few I’m loving right now. Each one brings the natural texture and versatility that makes a basket work hard in almost any room.

Also Loving This Week

A Small Habit I’m Loving

I’ve been working on resetting my circadian rhythm, and it’s made a real difference in how well I sleep. Each morning I spend ten to twenty minutes outside tending my flower garden with my face toward the sun, no sunglasses, no sunscreen, just letting the natural light hit my skin. On rainy mornings, I still get my time in on the covered porch. It’s such a small habit, but it’s become one of my favorite ways to start the day, and I’ve noticed I fall asleep more easily at night because of it. Now, if I could just figure out how not to wake up at 3 am!

An Item I’m Loving

This little ceramic partridge has been adding so much charm to my fall centerpiece this week. She sits right at the base of the arrangement, and it’s a good reminder that a small decor accent tucked into a bigger piece keeps it from standing alone. You can find her here.

Something I’m Listening To

My daughter insisted I check out the novellas The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, and I’m so glad she did. They are a delightful piece of historical fiction set in the 1880s, and I’d recommend listening rather than reading. I just finished the 3rd journal. The narrator brings the story to life in a way that makes it captivating. You can get it for free with an audiobook membership.

A Personal Note

We’re in the beginning stages of an unexpected renovation, gutting our basement to add a large living space, a full bathroom, a bunk room, and a storage area for all my decor. This was not part of our downsizing plan, but our son, who lived near us, recently took a new job and moved his family to Orlando. So, when our whole family gathers together, we need more space. We haven’t renovated anything in over 25 years, and I’d forgotten how much I love making decisions and planning the details of a new build. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing more about this in the months ahead.

Before You Go

Starting next week, I’ll be featuring a Countdown To Christmas here on Fridays. Let’s start now, doing a little at a time, so we can stay organized and truly enjoy the season instead of getting caught up in the rush and crunch that so easily steals our Christmas joy. See you back here next Friday.

Have a beautiful weekend, friends…