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Good Questions: Storing Cleaning Tools?

shaker110508.jpgAnn sent us an email: Do you have any good ideas about where to store a broom, mop, vacuum cleaner when you don't have a hall closet? Any brooms/mops that look good hanging out in the open?

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Where do you store your cleaning tools? Know of any that are good looking enough to store out in the open? Please let Ann (and the rest of us) know in the comments below....

Photo: from Shaker Brooms: Really High and Low

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Comments (12)

I don't have a hall closet either. :( I keep my broom in the water heater closet, my mop in the laundry room and my vacum in the guest bedroom closet. Once at someone's house I saw a vacum in the living room with a cover on it that was made to look like a rag doll wearing a long dress. I thought it looked tacky, especially considering it was in a guy's house and it didn't match the decor.

posted by mlpdaisy on November 5th 2008 at 1:03pm
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any chance she could fit the vaccuum under the bed? I've seen this done before.

posted by JulesDC on November 5th 2008 at 1:42pm
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Here is a good looking, fair trade broom!

http://www.wedgeworldwide.coop/product_info.php?cPath=26_27&products_id=310

posted by loop on November 5th 2008 at 3:04pm
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this broom and dustpan combo that i ran across at the hardware store the other day is gorgeous: http://www.vacshack.com/detail.aspx?ID=633 i love the attention paid to the visuals of it. you could almost store that in plain view as modular sculpture!

i am considering getting a set for myself in blue. (i have two 17x31 inch closets in my entire apartment; i feel your pain!)

posted by curvatura on November 5th 2008 at 3:14pm
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I don't have a closet for cleaning tools either. I hang my broom and mop in the garage (we have hooks on a drywall), and the vacuum cleaner gets to sit on a small rug (our garage floor is plain old cement and I'm quite anal about keeping the wheels clean!).

posted by Snowiye on November 5th 2008 at 3:49pm
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shaker style brooms from berea college are beautiful and hand made here in the US. I wouldn't mind leaving one of those out in the open.

posted by splim on November 5th 2008 at 3:55pm
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Vacuum's in the bedroom closet and broom, mop, dust pan are in between fridge and wall, along with a step stool. I think there are some sort of hooks that would work in that narrow space, but that project hasn't moved high up on my priority list, since the stuff is out of sight and I don't use it that much, preferring to vac usually.

posted by Pixie on November 5th 2008 at 4:16pm
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This is my dream dustpan/broom set. Shipping from the UK couldn't be that bad...could it?

http://www.toast.co.uk/product/household/68DTB/long handle dustpan and brush.htm?categoryref=%2fcategory2.aspx%3fcategoryid%3dhousehold%26seoterm%3dhousehold

posted by KBinBC on November 5th 2008 at 10:02pm
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OK, maybe this link will work:
http://tinyurl.com/6ro5x5

posted by KBinBC on November 5th 2008 at 10:03pm
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What about one of those thin pull outs that fit between the fridge and the wall? (I can't seem to find a link but maybe someone else knows what I'm taking about?) As for the vaccum, maybe in the bathroom or office or, if it folds flat enough, under the bed?

posted by Enamorada on November 6th 2008 at 3:26am
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Slightly off topic, I love the fair trade brooms. Very pretty, but I'd be curious to know what regulates claims of "fair trade". When I was in Thailand you could buy these at any market for less than a dollar. After working there and getting to know the people, I am mildly suspicious that they're not getting much of that $40.

posted by pxlchk1 on November 6th 2008 at 5:26am
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i don't have a pull-out but i keep my broom and mop between the fridge and the wall

posted by saltyc on November 6th 2008 at 10:51am
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