Inspired Trend: Easy Organization Is Arranging Housewares Opportunity

This is the first in a series of product trend reports based on introductions at The Inspired Home Show 2024.

Consumers have been doing more in their homes than ever before, both on the professional and leisure side of the day, which makes keeping things organized a challenge.

However, both retailers and suppliers have been doing their best to keep up. Initiatives have emerged at a number of major retailers, including Target, which has a “Storage and Organization Ideas” page heading on its website that gives way to products such as vertical toy storage, which offers multiple compartments for doing more in a small space while reducing the child’s urge to toss everything on the floor while looking for a particular plaything. For its part, The Container Store continues to innovate by, among other things, promoting baskets that feature natural materials and soothing patterns for both sustainability and calm, something that a neat and organized home can promote.

The Inspired Home Show was full of examples of how suppliers are helping consumers get organized, sometimes in ways they might never have thought they would need but now do.

Health Help

After the COVID-19 pandemic, more consumers wanted to support their health through better eating. However, preserving fresh food can be a challenge. Oggi designed the Adjustable Date Dial Produce Keepers (pictured above) with multiple features to help consumers manage their fruits and vegetables with a system intended to keep food fresh and minimize waste, which is good for health, finances, and, ultimately, the environment. Rather than plastic bags and overwhelmed crispers that allow spoiling ethylene buildup and damp rotting, the keeper’s cage allows a consistent airflow. The removable basket elevates produce away from the container’s bottom and sides to minimize contact with moisture buildup and provide easy access. An adjustable vent on the lid optimizes humidity control, catering to the specific needs of various fruits and vegetables. Finally, as an added aid to organization, the lid-top dial tracks storage times so produce can be consumed in good time and not wasted due to spoilage.

Even if you know they’re under the sink somewhere, finding the box of garbage bags to make a trash can change can be an annoying daily hassle. YouCopia designed the DoorStash Garbage Bag Dispenser to make storing and changing garbage bags easier. It houses 13-gallon kitchen garbage bags and dispenses them through a large front opening. The removable lid makes loading quick, and the sturdy steel bracket fits over standard cabinet doors up to 0.75 inches thick using soft, non-slip padding to set up and use conveniently.

For the bedroom, Umbra created The Ferris Jewelry Organizer, a circular design that stores and displays jewelry over 360 vertical degrees. Crafted sustainably from solid ashwood, Umbra’s jewelry organizer protects rings and earrings with 33 velvet-padded pillows. It can accommodate rings up to 1 inch in diameter and a half-inch wide. The sculptural form compliments just about any room environment.

Living in the Living Room

Keeping the living room organized can be a losing struggle, but the Copco Couch Caddy is a two-layer storage box that keeps items separated and easy to find. It can hold anything from snacks, drinks, bottles, mugs and cups to phones, remotes, tablets, headphones, chargers, glasses, books and other personal items in the open top for easy access. The top features multiple compartments, a convenient drawer for storing small items, and a removable snack cup for keeping chips, candy, popcorn, and canned drinks easily accessible. Then, the drawer beneath can hold items that need to be more secure. Unlike hanging sofa organizers, it’s solid and portable, so it can be used in a variety of circumstances and secured on not only the couch but also a coffee table, ottoman, or end table. It’s portable, so users can take it to the bedroom, kitchen, and home office and keep items used daily, such as glasses and even lip balm, in reach.

Kitchen Flattering

Honey Can Do has three products that can organize the kitchen to make some simple but consistent challenges easier to handle. The company’s Bamboo Kitchen Storage incorporates aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or parchment paper in a simple framed organizer that can sit on a counter or slide into a drawer. The Plastic Bag Organizer does much the same for the often hard-to-find box of plastic bags, and the Water Bottle Organizer addresses a modern problem, which is keeping frequently used hydration bottles and thermal tumblers neat, orderly and still convenient for any grab-and-go lifestyle. 

Kitchen storage is becoming more imperative, so Chef’n introduced a line of gadgets that figure saving space into the design. For example, the Chef’n Slicester apple corer & slicer easily removes the center of the fruit, and, with a little pressure provided, cuts 16 thin, even slices ready for baking, snacking or serving. The nesting storage style is also a feature of the Chef’n QuickCore, which can handle bell and jalapeno peppers, and the Slice’n Cube, which makes square and round melon treats.

An emerging trend within the larger storage trend is cookware with handles that fold away for storage. Joseph Joseph caught on to the growing trends and developed Space, a professional cookware collection featuring SwingLock technology, which the company describes as a fail-safe mechanism that allows the pan’s ergonomically designed stainless-steel handles to fold in so they don’t waste space in cabinets.