Monday, July 19, 2010

Craft Supply Storage

I love to modify and enhance packaging to reuse it.  I haven't shared many of my construction mods here, but trust me, I'm a whiz with thin cardboard, invisible tape, and binder clips.  But the absolute best is when you can reuse packaging without any mods at all.

These bulk salad containers are one of those things.  They are boxy, spacious, see-through, and stackable.  Perfect for stash storage!

I keep things that I access a lot, like crafting tools, in more sturdy boxes (the ones on the left with the clamp-on lids), but for yarn I'm hoarding, these salad boxes (on the right) are great.

They are also good for holding the supplies I'm using for a project.   I recently worked on a super-colorful project that involved lots of skiens of yarn.  I tucked them all in one box.  It made it easy to move around the apartment with me AND kept all the yarn tangle-free.

I'm also thinking of using the boxes for my WIPs instead of the gallon ziplocs I used to use.  The ziplocs just become a dog pile of "why aren't you working on me."  Maybe the salad boxes will seem more like a smorgasbord of orderly crafting choices.
13 Comments leave a comment


Strawberry said ...
I love it I think this is an awesome idea, and seeing how I am eating more of the spring mix that comes in these type containers I for see me having bunches of them. Thanks.
7/19/2010 8:20 PM

SofiAlgarvia said ...
Wonderful idea! This way I can see my fabric stash instead of keeping them in bags, as I usually do. I will eat a lot of veggies now, I will be healthier and much more organized :) Two in one! You're The Future Girl!!!
7/20/2010 3:53 AM

Laura said ...
Oh goodness I love this idea! I reuse packaging all the time when I ship out goodies, but I honestly never really thought about reusing it for my craft supplies and it looking so good! I've reused falling apart cardboard boxes in a zillion different sizes while I wait to have enough money for "real storage". But I adore your aesthetically-pleasing reuse of packaging. I'm definitely going to hoard all our empty containers now!
7/20/2010 8:08 AM

Emily said ...
This is a great idea! I am headed out to the garage right now to rescue my salad containers from the recycling bin! I have some of those same locking containers containing things in my craft closet.
7/20/2010 8:30 AM

Amy Maxwell said ...
what a great idea! I'm in desperate need of some organization... my stash is getting out of control. I do the ziplock thing to keep everything from getting tangled but I still feel like I have an unorganized pile of random yarn... well, several piles really ^_^
7/20/2010 8:31 AM

futuregirl replied ...
Amy Maxwell ... You gotta start worrying when the "several piles" combine and create one big mekapile ... the gozilla of yarn piles! ;)
8/1/2010 2:51 PM

Curupisa said ...
I use some food containers we got some time ago, when we used to order chinese food. They are smaller and not so sturdy, but they are totally functional when it comes to stashing supplies for my jewelry.
On a totally different subject, my heart goes to you, poor orphan ziplocs...
7/20/2010 8:43 AM

futuregirl replied ...
Curupisa ... Don't cry for the ziplocs. :) I still use them to carry my projects around in my bag. I think when I pull them out in public people think I'm having a snack, and then I pull out yarn. Ha!
8/1/2010 2:52 PM

Great minds, Alice! I recently moved my small WIPs into a stack of clear boxes instead of zip-lock bags, although I had to buy mine - love that you can get yours for free.

I really like it so far - the array of boxes on display is much more appealing than a jumble of bags in a drawer, and it's easier (and more satisfying, in some weird way) to select a project to work on. The only annoyance is when the WIP grows too large to fit into the box - I'm still working on a solution for that one... :)
7/21/2010 6:37 AM

Jennifer said ...
I love this idea! I can't believe I just toss potentially good storage containers in the garbage. For the past several years I've been hoarding jars, which are great for storing buttons and beads, and also look pretty displayed on a shelf.
7/21/2010 3:28 PM

pam said ...
Those plastic salad/veggie containers really are fabulous for crafty supplies. I am not in favor of buying the extra packaging, but in this case, the container becomes nearly permanent storage so in reality we are simply buying craft storage containers!
7/25/2010 10:31 PM

engunneer said ...
I actually use those salad containers to store electronics and cables (audio in one box, video in another, etc.) and they don't like to be full of heavy things. other than that, it's a great source of containers, particularly for keeping parts of an active project together.
7/27/2010 9:23 AM
 
Malea said ...
Oh! The salad bins are such a good idea! I can't believe I haven't thought of that! So glad I stumbled upon your blog!
7/31/2010 8:34 PM

YOUR FIRST COMMENT MUST BE MANUALLY APPROVED


Leave A Commentprivacy policy 

Name


Email won't be displayed publicly


Website must start with http://


remember my info for next time

Comment html tags not allowed


Robot FoilerEnter the text from the image into the box.
get new image