Ways to secure things on my bike basket?

Hi,
I recently bought a bike that came with a large rear basket.

However, the mesh is very tight/narrow on the basket, meaning it might not allow a cargo net to be secured on the basket itself. I'm wondering what the best way to secure things ontp the basket would be.

Maybe long bungee cords that wrap around the entire basket to the rack? Or maybe I should cut holes in the mesh for the hooks (or would that ruin the structural integrity of the basket)?

What about if I had a smaller object that needed to be secured on the base? Would I want to cut holes on the bottom of the basket??? I'm just at a loss. This basket seems sort of badly designed due to the lack of larger openings. I'm considering getting panniers instead maybe.