These organizational staples look good, stack neatly, and possess a remarkable sturdiness. Surprisingly, they were not sourced from exclusive showrooms or luxury trade-only vendors. They were acquired directly from IKEA’s "as-is" section—that familiar, often overlooked clearance area typically situated near the checkout lanes where the Swedish home furnishings giant offers ex-showroom displays, customer returns, and slightly imperfect items at heavily discounted prices. According to Ament, that bargain room functions as an absolute treasure trove for functional storage.
When perusing the selection at her local Red Hook warehouse in Brooklyn, the designer follows a specific methodology. She generally steers clear of larger, more prominent furniture pieces like chairs, dining tables, and coffee tables. More often than not, she notes, bulky items end up in the clearance section because they have sustained structural damage during transit or handling. Instead, her focus remains laser-focused on smaller, ubiquitous organizational goods that serve an immediate, practical purpose. That specific browsing strategy is precisely how she discovered her favorite storage boxes.
The strategy stems from financial realities that even professional interior designers face. As Ament candidly admits, interior designers rarely operate with bottomless client-level budgets for every single ancillary space in their own homes. When shopping for everyday living, she actively looks for pieces fabricated from hardy, honest materials like wood, wool, and metal that offer accessible, lasting, and modern design principles. Rather than chasing fleeting trends, her running list of targets within IKEA’s clearance department centers on utilitarian items that can withstand the rigors of a busy household with children.
Among her top priorities is the Knagglig box, a simple, slatted pine container that she describes as an essential building block for home organization. Available in multiple sizes, Ament insists that opting for the larger version—which measures 18 inches deep and nearly 10 inches tall—is an absolute no-brainer for busy households. In her own home, these rustic wooden crates are deployed to organize children’s toys, work-related binders, important envelopes, and large carpet and rug samples. While some shoppers might initially dismiss the boxes as being excessively simple or austere, Ament argues that this minimalist aesthetic is precisely where their true design value lies. In her view, they create a sense of visual continuity out of domestic chaos, which she considers the foundational first rule of organization.
Another staple on her regular scouting list is the Uppdatera box, a lighter bamboo storage container that she frequently acquires when looking to upgrade kitchen pantry organization or find a cohesive way to corral tile and fabric swatches for active design projects. While the Glam Studio founders primarily utilize these bamboo bins inside their pantry spaces, Ament points out that their clean, natural aesthetic makes them equally useful for bathroom drawers, linen closets, and entryway drop zones.
Beyond storage boxes, Ament keeps a sharp eye out for hardware and accessories that offer elevated quality well beyond their low price points. Regardless of whether she has recently purchased new clothing or added to her wardrobe, whenever she spots IKEA’s natural wood Bumerang hangers in the as-is section for just a few dollars, she immediately snags them. She maintains that the retailer produces exceptionally reliable wooden hangers that provide a uniform look while properly supporting heavy winter coats and delicate silk blouses alike.
Furniture pieces that serve multiple purposes also make the cut when spotted on the discount shelves. Items such as the Gladom tray table—a minimalist side table featuring a removable serving tray—offer incredible versatility for small-space living, allowing homeowners to shift drinks or accessories effortlessly from room to room. Similarly, a durable, functional stool remains a staple recommendation for any home. Stools can be repurposed in countless ways throughout a residence: they can act as impromptu side tables, hold stacks of design books, serve as extra seating during family gatherings, elevate a potted plant, or provide the necessary height to reach items stored in tall upper cupboards.
IKEA offers stools in a wide variety of shapes and materials, but Ament notes a particular fondness for designs like the Domsten stool, which elevates the concept of the basic pine Kyrre stool by pairing a warm pine wood top with colorful, powder-coated metal legs. It is an inexpensive piece of functional furniture that rarely incurs buyer’s remorse.
For long-term storage and seasonal transitions, Ament relies heavily on affordable soft goods and utility items. As a longtime New Yorker accustomed to navigating compact apartment footprints, she is well-versed in the annual ritual of rotating wardrobes and swapping out heavy bedding to match the changing seasons. The Parkla storage bags, manufactured from semi-transparent polypropylene in multiple dimensions, are frequently utilized for these exact logistics. Whether tucked under a mattress, slid onto high closet shelves, or deployed in a garage to store patio cushions during the freezing winter months, these bags offer practical utility. Ament even employs them as a long-term archiving solution for outgrown children’s clothing, systematically sorting garments by size categories for future use or safekeeping.
Laundry routine logistics also benefit from smart product choices found during her warehouse visits. As the primary person managing household laundry, Ament can personally attest to the everyday functionality of the Purrpingla laundry bag. Fabricated from a stiff, durable canvas material, the hamper is sturdy enough to stand upright on its own without collapsing, making it an attractive stationary laundry bin as well as a practical carrier for navigating flights of stairs or trips to a local wash-and-fold service. For lighter, highly portable needs, she turns to the Slibb flexible laundry basket. Positioned near her front door, these low-profile, flexible bins are frequently used to corral stray shoes or quickly sweep up children’s toys from high-traffic areas like the kitchen floor, noting that the low height allows even her eldest child to easily lift and carry them.
Beyond hard goods and storage containers, Ament has repeatedly found herself pleasantly surprised by the surprising quality of natural textiles available through the retailer. When sifting through clearance displays, she always checks for soft goods crafted from natural fibers such as pure cotton and wool. Among her standout discoveries is the Skogskovall bedspread, a 100 percent cotton textile that brought a high-end, designer-quality look to a bedroom without commanding a luxury price tag.
Ultimately, navigating the clearance aisles of a massive warehouse retailer requires patience and an open mind, as inventory fluctuates daily based on customer returns and floor displays. That unpredictability is precisely what transforms a routine errand into a worthwhile design excursion for professionals and home organizers alike.
