If you know me at all, you know I have a slight IKEA obsession. And this blog post with my favourite IKEA home essentials has been a long time coming.

The majority of their products are such great quality, and carry ridiculously cheap prices. Yes, even for us in Malta, where we have to add 25-30% on top of the price you see, the prices are still cheap. They have great Scandi style look great, and are durable overall.

It was hard to pin down a few favourite IKEA home essentials. If you enjoy this roundup, I’m sure I’ll be back with more. Here are the best IKEA products in my(humble) opinion, well, a handful of them really…

1. IKEA ISTAD resealable bags

I have these bags in every size in my kitchen, at hand, at the topmost and most accessible drawer underneath the breakfast bar (which is where I do all my cooking prep). I mainly use them for freezing my batch cooked meals, and I reuse them to death. It’s easy, all I do is wash them, dry them, pack them back in the box, and reuse when needed. However, they’re also great for other things like meal prep, packing snacks, packing little toys with little pieces, crafts, and to pack individual outfits for travel (amongst a lot of other uses).
They come in 7 different sizes, starting from 300mL up till 6 litres. Recently, a smaller size was added to the range (300mL). Up till a few weeks ago, these bags came in little boxes which carried 2 sizes in each box, but you can now buy a few of the sizes for an individual size.

See the range here.

2. IKEA SKUBB laundry bag with stand

Not only does this laundry basket hold a whopping 80 litres, but it’s shaped in a rectangular manner so you can really maximise on the space you have for your laundry baskets. I have three of time, so I can separate loads at source and save time whilst I’m at it! They’re available in black, or white, but take my word for it, and get the black. We’ve had the white before, and they’re a bit of a pain to keep pristine (considering you’re shoving dirty clothes in there everyday!).

Have a look at them here.

3. IKEA SKUBB storage space for wrapping paper

Call me an organisation junky, but this product just makes my heart sing! It’s large enough to hold all the items I have to package gifts, along with greeting cards (I like to bulk buy :-D), and accessories: pens, scissors, tape, gift bags and boxes and so on! Bonus: it also serves for a great place to hide gifts from prying eyes, AKA: the kids 😁

This is it!

4. IKEA KNALLA bag

I have a couple of these stashed away in our utility room, because they’re just so practical! They pack flat, and when opened hold a whopping 47 litres! They’re huge too, 40x25x47 cms, and close off with a zip. Personally, I use them for packing pillows and blankets in when we go camping, transporting lots of smaller bags in when we go for errands (returns, snacks, things to drop off at relatives, bag with some toys etc), packing picnic stuff in, filling with stuff for days on the boat, and as an extra bag when we travel. It may also be used for groceries – I use other bags for that but it’s definitely ideal for that too.
Oh, and did I mention it’s pretty? Definitely much better than the branded grocery bags I see everywhere, which are nowhere near as functional, too!

See it here.

5. IKEA KORKEN glass bottle with stopper

We’ve had 4 of these since 2014 – and they’re as good as new! We filter water through a jug, and then fill these babies for a stylish, eco-friendly solution. I won’t lie, I used to use them way before we started started filtering tap water. I always hated the sight of plastic water bottles, and used to empty the water into these just because they looked better in my kitchen!
Besides water, we’ve also used these bottles for cold tea, cold brew coffee, and fruit juices.

See it here.

6. IKEA FRASERA whiskey glass

We’re not whiskey drinkers at home, but we bought these glasses as our everyday tumblers simply because they look gorgeous! They’re also a little on the heavy side, which is something we always look our for when we’re looking for glassware. A larger sized glass used to be available, but it seems like it’s been discontinued. Hey, these glasses do not get enough credit from me! We’ve had them since 2014 too, and I don’t think we’ve ever broken one (oh boy – I hope I don’t jinx it!) 😆

See them here.

7. IKEA SINNERLIG pendant lamp

I searched high and low for a pendant bamboo lamp which didn’t break the bank. After seeing way too many figures which were more than what I was hoping to pay, I remembered I hadn’t checked in to IKEA. And thank goodness I did. This lamp is stunning, well made, and looks like a million bucks. It’s one of my favourite IKEA products!

See it here.

8. IKEA TROFAST storage combination

This system is what we use to store and organise Nina’s toys, and have ever since she was a baby. It’s great for a number of reasons, but most of all: it’s super functional. When she was a toddler, it was ideal because we could take out one bin, take it to the living room, and she could play without making a mess of all of her toys. She learnt to tidy up quite early on, as this system meant it was never an overwhelming task. They’re available in wood or white, with colourful (or white) bins to match. If there ever was one item that should go on a list of IKEA home essentials for parents, this would be it.

See them here.

9. IKEA VORDA knives

The thought behind purchasing these knives was: ‘Until I decide I feel like spending a pretty penny on professional knives, these will have to do.’ …but they’re actually quite good – especially for the price you pay! I have a pet peeve for buying knife sets – so I only have 4 of these (cook’s, paring, bread and filleting), but I never feel like I need any more. They’re nice and sturdy, look great, and have a lovely finish and feel to them.

See them here.

10. IKEA FEJKA artifical plants

If you’ve not got green fingers, fret no more! The IKEA FEJKA plants are as real as it gets. I’ve had my mother attempt to water them, they look so real 😆 There’s no shame in buying artificial plants; they really do give any space an instant refreshed look! I have a few here and there – most of all I think they’re a wicked idea for those hard to reach spaces like upper open shelves.

See them here.

It’s been so much fun putting together this blog post of IKEA home essentials for you! If you enjoyed it, and want to see more, I need you to let me know. Come say hi on Instagram and tell me, so I can work on a couple more 🙂

Love,

Nakita xxx