I used to go out and buy plastic storage bins when I got inspired to reach higher levels of organization. This unfortunately requires virgin materials, not necessarily fitting with my green living goals, nor is it styley, artistic or attractive. However, getting organized and reducing clutter is such an appealing way to reduce stress, save time, and even save resources. It can boost our productivity and creativity, freeing up time to do what is most important in our lives. Follow these genius DIY storage solutions with upcycled materials to get some inspiring ideas.
Upcycled Jewelry Holders
Do your necklaces and earrings tend to get tangled? These two DIY solutions create beautiful displays of your jewelry, while keeping items tidy.
Necklace Organizer
Materials:
Use a piece of driftwood or repurposed wood, old cabinet or dresser knobs, a tape measure, and a power drill.
- Start out by finding a piece of attractive wood and old knobs.
- Measure the spaces between the nobs and drill holes to attach them.
- Attach the nobs and then mount the necklace holder on the wall.
- Hang your necklaces and enjoy this beautiful display.
Earring Holder
Materials:
Use an old kitchen grater (like the one pictured to the right), and optional paint, brass hooks or beads.
- Find an old, potentially dull kitchen grater.
- Add decorations to it, such as beads or hooks for feet
- Store matching sets of earrings together through the holes
Organize Those Wires
Do you have a box or drawer full of wires sitting around your home? Wires have a way of getting twisted up, creating a giant jumble. If you are in this situation, we have a simple solution with easy to acquire supplies.
Materials:
Save up your paper rolls from toilet paper and/or paper towels to get started and have a pair of scissors and your wires handy.
- Untangle your wires and cords, and roll each cord into a neat bundle. You want each bundle to be small enough to each fit into the paper roll opening, but large enough that it is a snug fit.
- Cut down the rolls for smaller cords, allowing for a snug fit.
- Slide the cord inside the roll, with the ends sticking out.
Door Knob Key Storage Solution
Do you go through a key crisis when you are walking out the door, because you have misplaced them again? A door knob key rack is a DIY storage solution, that uses repurposed materials. It is also handy for hanging up bags, scarves, and coats.
Materials:
Old door knobs, dead bolt locks, a scrap of wood, wood stain (optional), a tape measure, an electric drill, a woodworking router, and keys for the locks.
- Find a piece of wood, ideally a large unneeded scrap from another project and stain it if desired.
- Find some doorknobs and deadbolt locks (either laying around the house or from a thrift store).
- Measure out where you want the knobs and locks located.
- To allow the knobs and locks to sit flush on the wood, make a groove into the wood using a router (a woodworking tool).
- Drill holes and attach the knobs and locks.
- If you have the keys for the doorknobs and dead bolt locks, attach them to your key ring. If not, get blanks from the hardware store and attach them to your key ring. Each key ring has its own storage spot, corresponding to a given lock. Simply hang up key rings by inserting the appropriate key into the lock on the doorknob or deadbolt.
Art Supply Holder That Inspires
Rarely are the words knife and crayon uttered together. However we’ll make an exception this time with this crafty holder that repurposes an old wooden knife block into a colorful crayon holder. If you don’t have one lying around and looking for a face lift, visit your local thrift store. Another variation on this theme is to take a block of wood instead of a knife block and follow the same directions for drilling holes and decorating it.
Materials:
You will need a power drill with a properly sized drill bit to make the right sized hole for what you want to store. If you wish to decorate the art supply holder, you could use milk paint, washi tape, glue on fabric, or follow any inspiring ideas you can think of. Two-hole straps are also helpful for adding additional accessories to the holder, such as scissors or paint brushes.
- Paint the knife holder with milk paint or keep the natural unpainted wood look.
- Measure and mark where you want the holes to be located, avoiding the knife slits if possible.
- Drill holes that are the appropriate size for what you want to store by using a power drill. If you have crayons, a 3/8 inch hole, 2 inches deep should do the trick. Adjust the size of the drill bit depending on the diameter of the storage items in question. Use tape on the drill bit as a stop marker to ensure the holes are of a uniform depth.
- Use washi tape or pieces of fabric to decorate the around the holes, covering up the knife slits or any imperfections that may arise while drilling the holes.
- Drill and then screw in a few metal two-hole straps onto the sides or back of the knife holder for additional accessory storage, such as scissors or paint brushes.
- Then add in your craft supplies, such as crayons, markers, knitting needles, colored pencils, paint brushes, etc. and enjoy your new supply holder.
Under-the-Bed Storage
If your house is like mine, I enjoy finding new low-clutter storage spaces to utilize. This project helps create more usable space under the bed, using mostly repurposed items, by adding wheels to the bottoms of old dresser drawers. This saves money and is more eco-friendly than buying pre-made bins for this purpose.
Materials:
You will need old dresser drawers, casters, and a power drill.
- Find an old dresser with some usable drawers.
- Attach casters to the bottom of all four corners of the drawer.
- Fill your bins and use the dresser handles to move them in and out from under the bed.
Feature image credit: Tuff Shed