missceliespants

Why Shopping Frustrates Me, Reason #134

Because I have been looking for a pale pink filing/ dairy crate for a month and have turned up bupkiss. Have been to Joanns, Stables, Wal Mart, Target, Container Store and PB Kids. Grrr.

I rode my bike to work today. It’s taken me well over a month to work my nerve up.  It was a harrowing 3.5 miles on Baltimore city streets but rewarding. Oh, and I was totally winded and plan to take the bus home because getting to work is downhill and I know my limitations. But, the entire time, the aesthetic was thrown off by this lime green milk crate.

Pale pink. I saw them EVERYWHERE last year. This year, according to the Wal Mart manager, all the new stuff is in brights. Bright lime, hot pink and orange. I couldn’t even find black or white when I went to my three different Wal Marts.

Sigh. See how difficult my life is? LOL. Seriously though, this is why I like to sew. I can make exactly what I want when I want it.

40 comments

  1. Wow! I see what you mean! Why not go to WalMart or Home Depot, and pick up some Krylon Fusion For Plastic paint, and spray-paint that sucker. It comes in lots of colors, but specifically, it comes in a color called Fairytale Pink.

    http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/

    We used that on some of our plastic lawn furniture, and two years later, we still have no peeling or flaking; that paint is bonded right to the plastic.

    • I did buy some spray paint. But, I didn’t know there was one for plastic! Thank you for the tip.

  2. If you are going to insist on the pink crate why are you not fretting about the orange water bottle? Re the crate, if you don’t want to paint it, I’d go for the hot pink and call it a look.

    • I *had* a pink and black bottle. But, I left it at the store on a grocery run. Because, I’m forgetful 🙂

  3. I have been lusting after these lacy bicycle baskets for a couple of years now: http://fjorn.com/dh13660100.html. Way too pricey for me, but I thought I would share. (Some day form and function will be affordable.)

    Why not try a wooden crate? It’s a little different, but you could stain or paint it any color that you wish. http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat2624&PRODID=xprd74816

    To me, I see your bicycle set up, and it looks like you actually ride your bike and have found items that work with your lifestyle. Yay for biking to work!!

  4. Usually, the things that are “last season” can be found at “Dollar Tree” and similar places.

  5. What about covering the crate in fabulous pink fabric? Say, a crate cozy?

    I’d go for the Krylon Fusion, tho. My green plastic Adirondack chair is now RED, but it took multiple coats and two cans.

  6. Ummmm, can you take the bike on the bus? Cause otherwise how are you gonna get it home? I’m just sayin’

    • YES! The city busses have bike racks in the front. Of course, I’ve never used one and worry that people will yell at me when it takes me 10 minutes to get it loaded.

  7. Here’s another vote for the Krylon Fusion paint. I’ve been using it on some old blue tops for plastic bins to turn them white instead of buying new and it works great. No peeling at all. Just have patience and apply in light coats building it up gradually.

  8. Perhaps you can try the Home Store, Marshalls, or Office Depot. I’ll keep my eye out for one, too.

  10. Did you bring your bike home on the bus? And how did Nigel feel about being left in the garage? Only kidding, congrats on being so ambitious!

  12. I loathe shopping and that’s probably the main reason I sew. If I were independently wealthy I would have someone do my grocery shopping. Your bike is very, very cute and if I didn’t have to drive 35km to work I would get one just like it. I’m very impressed that you rode to work. Do you have decent cycle lanes?

    • I was looking at a job that’s a 45 minute drive away and I mentall can’t commit to it! And, we have horrible bike lanes. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to bike. The more people who do, the more we’ll get. I was totally in awe of what I saw in Montreal.

  14. How frustrating! I know how it feels to look for something and can’t find it anywhere. Good luck with the paint if you decide to use it.

  15. I would sew a cover for that basket. Perhaps like a bag that you could then gather at the top and tote your stuff into your home with you…

  16. Oh I love the bag idea suggested by Debbie. That would be cool in a cute funky print. What type of bike do you have. I’m bike shopping now. Did you try Bed, Bath, and Beyond – they do a whole college dorm theme.

    • I forgot about BBB. It was the helpful ladies at PR who even tipped me off to back to school shopping (it hadn’t even crossed my mind). I like Debbie’s idea of making some ‘wrappers’ that I can pull out. I use the bike on weekends at the farmer’s market and to get groceries. So, they would be great.

    • Yes. Can you imagine? I want to bike to work twice a week in good weather. And, I’m tentatively planning a bike trip to the Netherlands next Spring. I have *got* to work myself up to it and this seemed a good way to incorporate it. Especially since it’s seven miles roundtrip. I also told myself if it’s two miles or less a way, I bike. I want it to become a normal / natural thing to do.

      • I vote for seeing the paint for plastic comes in pink.
        My bil and a cousin and her partner biked through Ireland and had a fabulous time. I would imagine that biking in the Netherlands where so many people bike would be lovely. My dd has been trying to get back into shape by running, something she always hated, but she’s tired of being out of shape for the first time in her life. What happened to all the swimming you were doing?
        Anyway, biking in bad traffic makes me cringe, so kudos to you for doing it.

        • My *new* pool (which is the City rec center and $10 for the summer) is only twice a week for 45 minutes. Banker’s hours. So, I needed to add something else. I detest running. And, yoga is a little pricey at $15 a visit. So, biking it is!

  18. I’ve had nothing but bad luck spray painting plastic – it scratches right off, even the special kind for plastic. But I ride my bike everywhere and am a bit of a bike accessory nut. At one point I went to Marshalls and bought a big assortment of rectangular wicker baskets (they’re light and take paint perfectly), brought home a huge stack to try each one until I found the right fit and returned the rest. I spray painted that one (mine had to be black at the time) and attached it with zip ties. Sweet.

    • I did check wicker baskets at Target and deemed them too pricey compared to a $3 plastic bin. But, I will definitely hit marshalls and see what they have. I would totally rock a huge wicker basket on the bag. Thanks!

  19. Painting plastic isn’t likely to last.. However there is a good chance that you’ll be able to find a pink basket in a garage sale, if they’re so ‘last year’.

    And besides, you can too make them:
    http://www.upcraft.it/archives/339
    You knew they’re called panniers, right? Sometimes the right terminology gives the correct google results.

    Here, you even have several pink options in cordura here: http://www.denverfabrics.com/search/search.aspx?keywords=cordura Don’t try this at home with anything less than cordura! It’s the only thing that’ll hold up to real use.

    You knew we wouldn’t let you get away with this wishing, didn’t you :-)? I’m sure you can also buy a few pink bottles somewhere, you need several anyway.

    That said, I also did the one-way thing when I started biking to work. I was tired enough with one way per day, not to mention wrung out from the traffic. But it gets better, very quickly, you’ll be surprised. Good for you!

    • I have considered making them. My concern was the internal structure of panniers. I love some of the the retail ones I’ve seen, but read many complaints on Amazon, etc about the Basil’s being too big. I also thought of the collapsible metal panniers, but it’s a touch too ‘newspaper’ boy for me. I did google pannier patterns (and thought there might even be a market for selling them). But, somehow this one did not come up! Thanks for the link. I’ve also thought about using… blanking on the fabric name. Oilcloth I think?

    • LOL. Decidedly *not* an AKA. I’m an SGRho. But, I still love pink for accessories. I waffled between this green and a royal blue and went with the green. I thought it would ‘go’ better. LOL.

    • Thank you! This is brilliant. I have considered buying panniers, but the reviews are kind of mixed. I like that these have internal structure. I’ll keep my eye out for them. I think I really only need one since I’m semi work dressed when I’ll be biking.

  23. OMG I’m so impressed. I have plans on Saturday for which bike transportation would be very convenient, but it is too damn hot. So hot. Seriously. I think we are all going to die.

    • Well, remember. I didn’t bike back home. Yet. I’m thinking now I can take the bus half way and ride the rest. Slowly building myself up. And, I got to work by 8:00 to avoid heat and traffic.

  24. Urg, makes me mad, too.
    And when you finally find the crate/dress/thingy you’ve been looking for for ages, its identical twins mysteriously appear everywhere.

  25. Ahh, *pale* pink. I was in Joann’s and Walmart earlier this evening and they have a fuschia/magenta pink. They started stocking all the college dorm merchandise (so did Target, but I didn’t see any crates there, but I wasn’t looking for crates, so I may have missed them).

    If you are exploring panniers, you may want to look at Queen Bee creations from Portland, OR. They have nice panniers that look different from the usual stuff.

    http://www.queenbee-creations.com/categories/93/items

    I wish you luck with your search.

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