Camouflage Company - Foldaway Wipe Clean Shop Box

This is another great idea, staying on the Camouflage Company's "Glamour up clutter, make mess look less!" theme. Used for storage, it can hold just as much as the standard rigid plastic crates but looks a whole lot funkier, especially as you can choose from several "natural camouflage" designs to bring a bit of the outdoors indoors if you want !

This weekend, we had to move all of Sophie's toys and clothes up into her new room in the loft. This box was a Godsend because we had to keep squeezing between the washing machine (which hasn't been replumbed in in its new location) and the bottom of the bannisters to get up the stairs. The solid plastic crate we usually use would have got stuck and made it really awkward but with the flexible sides of this box, we could just squish it until it fitted through the gap. It was also much more comfortable to hold than the solid plastic crate which really digs into your hands as soon as you put any weight into it.

I have to admit, one thing that was a bit of a pain was that it kept folding up when we didn't want it to. If you stand it up empty, it automatically springs back into the folded up mode, so we needed two pairs of hands to hold it open and fill it up. However, you can also buy a matching foldaway tray in the online boutique, which is designed as a lid or firm base for the large shop box. I would think that solves the problem so I highly recommend buying that to use with the box. (UPDATE - The lovely Louise from the Camouflage Company has been in contact to say they are aware of this problem and it will be resolved in the new improved model with extra plastic inserted in the sides so they stand up better.)

Once the bottom layer is full, it stays open perfectly though and is great for transporting papers and cardboard to the recycling bin. It looks funky enough to be a permanent fixture in the living room or next to the computer so that people use it all the time and aren't tempted to fling paper straight in the normal rubbish because they can't be bothered to make a special trip to the recycling bin ! As it's waterproof and wipe clean, it could also be used for transporting the glass and tins to be recycled, which often leave more of a mess. It's much sturdier and prettier than cardboard boxes and will avoid the inevitable accidents when you overload the box and end up with the bottom falling out of the box - how many times have I done that ?!

The shop boxes com in two sizes but both are designed to fit inside shopping trolleys so they would be a handy way of carrying your groceries from the shop to the car and into the house. I already use eco-friendly bags-for-life or jute shopping bags but the box-shape is so much easier to carry and stash in the car, especially if you're buying boxes or bottles that are awkward to carry.


Sophie has already got it earmarked as funky storage in her new room, because it's easy to squish into the awkward-shaped space under the sloping walls !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £12