Works for Me Wednesday: Repurposing Boxes

Welcome to another "Works for Me Wednesday"! Since I was on vacation last week (and without internet access), I was unable to post the second part in our series on "Repurposing." Today, we'll pick up where we left off, and talk about boxes. Everyone has a box around...a shipping box, a shoe box, an under-the-bed box. So how can we reuse and recycle our boxes?

Shoeboxes

You can use shoeboxes for so many things!

• Gift boxes: Cover shoeboxes with wrapping paper, and you can use them as gift boxes. Make special themed giftboxes according to the recipient (a survival kit for the first year college student, a care package for a soldier, a travel box filled with games and snacks to keep the kids occupied).
• Operation Christmas Child: It's never too early to start thinking about Operation Christmas Child. Use some of your freebies to help stock these boxes for the world's children! Encourage your kids to help. Happy Meal toys make great small toys to go in here! I think every member of our family will be doing one this year!
• Plastic Shoeboxes for Storage: I use plastic shoeboxes or everything! I try to use the see-through kind so I can see what's in there. I keep vitamins in one, store cross-stitch kits in one, another holds craft supplies.

Under-the-Bed Boxes

• Out of season items: I use under-the-bed boxes to store out of season items such as purses, hats and gloves.
• Sewing material: Right now, I have my sewing material in three under-the-bed boxes because I don't have anywhere else to store it
• Barbie houses?: That's right...give your daughter a cardboard under-the-bed box to make into a Barbie house or apartment. You can design it together! When I was younger, I had a "Maxie" doll that lived in an apartment under my bed.

Miscellany Boxes

• Sam's Club: Sam's Club, Costco, and BJ's are all great sources of boxes. When I go to Sam's club, I try to pick up a couple of small boxes, especially ones that had cans in them. You know the type, they hold 12 or so cans, basically a cardboard tray of sorts. You can take these home, repaint them (or have your kids repaint them), or use scrap wallpaper or contac paper on them. They make great larger size drawer organizers! I use one to hold disposable gloves in a drawer; another larger box holds cleaning rags in a closet.
• Toolboxes and tackle boxes: Toolboxes and tackle boxes make great portable carrying cases for all sorts of items! I use a small tackle box to hold manicure and pedicure supplies...that way I can tote it anywhere in the house to do my nails (if I ever have time...haha!). A toolbox or locking cash box makes a great place to store medications; the lock helps keep small children from thinking cough drops are candy. A larger plastic toolbox holds and organizes my watercolor supplies.
• Craft boxes: I love the craft boxes that have movable dividers in them. You can buy them in the craft section or in sporting goods with tackle boxes. I use a large on in my dresser to store earrings. It helps me sort them by color! I have three or four in my closet organizing cross-stitch floss by color. Yet another organizes small scrapbooking embellishments, and there's one at my sewing table holding all those extra buttons that come with new clothes. The possibilities are limitless!

How do you repurpose boxes in your home? Be sure to leave a comment and share your great ideas with us!

I hope some of these ideas help you organize your world! Just like the bags we talked about a couple of weeks ago, boxes can be reused in so many ways to help organize our "stuff." Join us next week as we continue our "Repurposing" series and talk about baskets!