Here are May’s must-haves, comin’ in hot…

1. Art Bins Storage satchel

(See also: Super satchel removable divider box & Super satchel double deep)

I know I have mentioned these in a past favorites, except then it was to acknowledge this product for its ability to properly contain art supplies. But as we all know by now, a good bin is a good bin is a good bin.

Something you might not know about me is that I am very into skincare. I am a Sephora VIB which, for the unitiated, is the highest echelon of their retail society. As such, I am given many samples of products, of which I keep a thoroughly edited supply that I can (and actually do!) use for travel and for backstock purposes.

I’ve been on the lookout for the right container to organize this modest assemblage of cosmetics. With all those little packets and tubes and vials, and each for a different region of one’s face, you need a measure of distinguishing–skincare from mascara, face masks from hair care. Thankfully, I remembered this container exists. Insertable, removable dividers; optimal height for travel-sized cosmetics; optimal depth for the shelf; ding, ding, ding!

Used in this or any other application, the art bin range gets a big seal of approval.

2. Shelf dividers

I can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned these in a favorites post before (?), but regardless, they are that.

There are cases when, despite your best efforts to keep things neat, the items you’re attempting to control won’t play by the rules. Bulky sweaters are one example. Clutch bags are an even better one. You might try to stack such things neatly on a shelf, but they continue to tilt, flip, and flop every which way.

Shelf dividers are like picket fences between neighbors. They keep everyone in their own yard. If you don’t think that’s important, well, maybe you’ve never had neighbors. Anyhow, it’s the metaphor I’ve chosen so let’s all just go with it.

(Now that I think about it, painted lanes in a parking lot would have been a much more fitting comparison.)

3. Lotion saver

These are precisely the sort of thing I would never normally recommend, seeing as how they have “potential clutter” written all over them.

They’re small, they (regrettably) don’t come with any sort of case, both of which factors leads to the high likelihood that they’ll end up junking up some drawer in your house. HOWEVER, they are so darn ingenious that I’m mentioning them in spite of all that! (The risk!)

For as long as I can remember, my dad has been precariously positioning identical bottles together as a means of transferring the remaining drops of one bottle into the new bottle. It’s as common to find mirror-image bottles of dish soap, shampoo, and other such products sitting out on a countertop, a window ledge, a bathroom counter in my home as it is to find a salt shaker in another.

This balancing method is effective enough, until you deign to breathe in the vicinity, at which point the top bottle comes toppling down, interrupting the arduously perfected drainage path, causing the product to begin streaming down the sides of both bottles and the counter, and ultimately, causing you to lose all the product you were hoping to have saved.

There are moments in life where we’re hyper aware of our resemblance to our parents, and no act (besides forgetting about bottles of seltzer I’ve meant to flash chill in the freezer until the following day–that’s another habit we inexplicably share) makes me feel so like my dad than when I try to balance an olive oil jar on top of another. I stand back, look at the sight, and go, “Ah gawd, It’s for sure. I’m my dad. Yup.”

Not because I hope to shed that resemblance in the slightest, but because I hope to find a better solution for both our sakes, I decided this month that life is too short to squander precious seconds attempting to balance and match the necks of dish soap bottles.

Heads up dad, lotion saver to the rescue.

4. Ashcraft Bins

There are a couple of reasons why these baskets impressed me.

1. The height. Baskets are obviously a great way to conceal items, but most are lacking in the height department. This not only limits the storage capacity of the basket, but also means that whatever is towards the top is as visible as if there were no basket at all (organizer woes and such).

This guy, on the other hand, is gloriously tall. I used these in living room built-ins for a mom who wanted some playthings within her twin girl’s reach, but who also wanted to her living room to stop feeling like a playroom–that old delicate balance again. The height on these meant that a handful of toys, board games, and even children’s books barely poked their head out from their new basket home.

2. Unlike baskets made of natural fibers which tend to break down very rapidly or shed, these are made of a synthetic material (not that you can tell easily by looking at them!), which means longer lifespan and increased durability.

Win and win.

5. Postal scale

I don’t want to give away too much of my business secret sauce here, so suffice it to say I, like most people, mail things. The only trouble is, if you’re mailing anything thicker and heavier than your standard security-seal envelope with a couple sheets of paper, you’re left reaching in the dark when it comes to proper postage required.

Eventually, (it seems) I got tired of tepidly lifting the mailing up and down in my hand, pretending I was weighing it, pretending I knew how to use the information of weight to inform postage needs. Also, I got tired of running into the post office just to confirm how many stamps something needs. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

So I wizened up and bought a postal scale and, wouldn’t you know it, applying the proper postage every time has become a seamless process ever since (the things they make these days!).

6. CB2 Filing Cabinet

I have talked about this dang filing cabinet ad nauseam (can’t ever spell any variation of that word). You’re probably quite ready for me to never mention the thing again. Bad luck! Here comes more!

I think this is the best, most attractive filing cabinet for household needs on the market for the price. I’ve ordered dozens of these for various clients. It’s a solution that’s become automatic–oh, you need a filing cabinet, great; we’re getting you this one.

Now I’m rehashing the rehashed because: CB2 done won me over by way of customer service.

The cabinet I most recently ordered for my client arrived dented. They pack those babies very securely, but, what can you do, things happen, ETC.

So I called CB2 all, “Hi, Laura, listen: I’m trying to get my client as excited as I possibly can about this new filing gig we’re teaching her, and the dent in her brand new cabinet is putting a damper on that. Can you help me out?”

To which Laura responded,”Oh, but of course! And I’m so sorry to hear that happened. And we’ll get that new cabinet shipped right out to you. Do you need it quickly? Alright then, I can overnight it, not a problem. Then, I’ll just have you put the dented cabinet back in its box and leave it–oh, you destroyed the first one’s box? Not a problem! I’ll just have you put the dented cabinet in the new cabinet’s box when it arrives, leave it outside, and it’ll be picked up from the front door. Was there anything else I can help you with today?”

The help all happened so sweetly and expediently I hardly knew what had happened.

Ba-BOOM.