My current number one beef with the dollar stores might also be shared with a bunch of Pinterest and assorted website promoters: those neat little plastic organizers (containers, baskets, etc.) look good for about a year, and then they... disintegrate!  They have a much shorter life than the shopping bags we get from the grocery stores!

Maybe they are made of corn starch or rice starch or ??  In any case, perhaps we should be putting them in our compost bins?? (I'm joking)

I guess you do get what you pay for?  Who knew?

I have begun to replace the plastic storage/organizational containers with wire baskets, also from the dollar stores.  I also use large pretty dishes and trays in our main bathroom (yes, made from glass, pottery, ceramics) that I purchased at my favourite thrift store ("Too Good To Be Threw" in Courtenay, BC-- the prices are reasonable and the profits go to support programs for women and children escaping abuse). 

The work to bring down the clutter is still in progress.  Today we are going to go through a few falling-apart baskets upstairs that have accumulated rubble of various descriptions.  I want my husband in on this since he is the Dollarama maven in this house. 

This plastic basket fell apart bit by bit when I picked it up (with a jumble of small items in it, of course).

So, have you run across this problem with plastic containers meant to organize your spaces in a pretty way?  Suggestions for replacing these kinds of containers? Your comments (below) are much appareciated!

You might also be interested in:
Sentimental Journey: What To Keep, What To Pass Along When You Declutter
Organic Granny Declutters-Simplifies-Minimizes