Essential knitting accessory

I keep my current projects in plastic buckets I bought for $3.99 at a local crafts store (Creative Crafts and Frames). I was looking for something that could hold a ball of yarn, my knitting accessories bag, and whatever pattern I was working onl whether it was in a book or magazine or just a sheet of paper. Since I don't always knit in the same location, and I'm never sure what I'll be in the mood to knit at any given time, it needed be portable. These buckets are perfect! Lots of room, stable, wide opening. I started with 1 (orange because I work at Oregon State University and our school colors are orange and black), but within a week I'd picked up 2 more. I now have 5, each a different color (if they'd had more colors, I'd have bought more). And, yes, I do match the color of the bucket with the color of the yarn.

My friend Tammy laughed at them until she started knitting. She bought one for herself, one for her mother, and one for the friend who's teaching her to knit. Hah!