wire egg baskets – piddlin'

It’s amazing to me how many wonderful uses there are for antique wire egg baskets, which makes it another essentially great piddlin’ find!

Originally used as the best way to collect eggs from the chicken coop, these baskets are often still used today for the same purpose. It does seem that smaller, more modern baskets, as sold at Williams Sonoma for example, have taken the place of these rather large carriers.

Many vintage baskets I have seen are typically made of coated wire that gingerly support the eggs while keeping them from rolling around + breaking. One of our baskets has an inverted bottom to further discourage eggs from taking a spin around an empty basket.

We currently use ours to corral shoes by our entryway which is excellent for teaching our two-year-old that shoes, like her toys, have a place where they belong. She often can be seen visiting the basket multiple times in a day to “change shoes”. Other uses around our home include toting diapers + wipes on road trips + providing a spot on our stairs for items to be toted up + put away.

Take a look at a few more of my favorite creative functions for these baskets below + see more inspiring ideas on my piddlin’ wish list (here).

I particularly love the idea below of using one for apples or perhaps potatoes in a pantry like this one below. Wouldn’t it be idyllic to have one kept by the back door for collecting freshly picked apples often from your own backyard orchard or something even more simple like chopped firewood? Life seems full of such visions!