Thursday, April 10, 2008

DIY organizing



I've had lots of visitors through my place this month and have been doing some spring cleaning to get things all organized-like. What better way to keep your favorite magazines in one place than with cereal boxes? Seriously, what better way?

Here's how you make your very own cereal box magazine holders - start with an empty cereal box and a pair of scissors. A pencil is optional. If you opt for the pencil, draw a line around the box where you'd like to cut. Cut away the top part of the box at an angle. Then stick your magazines inside. It's as simple as that. Large cereal boxes are great for standard-sized magazines like one of our faves - ReadyMade. And smaller boxes are great for smaller crafty goodness publications like Craft and Make. We like to keep recycling simple around here.

18 comments:

  1. I love this...
    but of course I don't eat cereal... *pouts*

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  2. best idea i've seen in a long time. think about how much we spend on "organizers" each year! i am definitely doing this, and i'll cover it with fabric from old clothes. thanks!

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  3. best idea i've seen in a long time. think about how much we spend on "organizers" each year! i am definitely doing this, and i'll cover it with fabric from old clothes. thanks!

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  4. Love this idea. Costco's or Sam's sell cereal in double-wide boxes and they are made of sturdier cardboard...perfect for sorting by year!

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  5. This project could work with more than just cereal boxes. It would just take a little more measuring and engineering.
    There's always scrap boxes laying on the street on recycling day. Perhaps they're just sitting there waiting to be re-used in other cities, too!

    Love the idea of covering with scrap fabric!

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  6. How is this strong enough to hold the weight of floppy magazines, much less the handling from moving the magazines around or pulling & pushing the box around on the shelf to get at the magazines?

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  7. Simply brilliant. :)
    I think I'd cover it with some decorative paper, or even go retro and modge podge it with old comics or crossword puzzles. Thanks for posting!

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  8. What a cool and innovative idea - I would've never thought of that!

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  9. bldrnrpdx, I tried this a couple of years back and didn't find it to be a lasting solution for magazines I accessed regularly. I guess if you eat enough cereal you can just make another when the other wears out?

    Instead, I cut cereal and soda carton boxes down into drawer dividers for my craft supplies and for cases for mixed CDs.

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  10. I have had one cereal box full of magazines for over a year and it's still intact. But if you're looking for something sturdier you could always try used Fed Ex and USPS boxes. Those are corrugated so would have more lasting power.

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  11. If 1 cereal box isn't sturdy enough, maybe put 1 inside another for double layers? Haven't tried it just yet...

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  12. I can't see a cereal box holding up that long. But maybe a cleverly cut gallon of milk would work.

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  13. maybe cover it with laminate/contact paper after you cut it? I'm going to try that (and then decorate the box)

    if i remember, will come back and update...planning on using it for magazines I don't access as often though, since I stupidly bought 'real' organizers years ago, before I got creative.

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  14. I guess the cereal I eat doesn't work. The boxes are too small. So I just have some smaller books stored in there for now, telling myself it takes up less room on the shelf while I try and figure out something else to do with it. (It's Nature's Path cereal)
    Any ideas on what I can do with a too small box that's already cut to be a 'magazine organizer?'

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  15. hey Nicole - you could always use it as a mail organizer.

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  16. this is genius!
    ive been wanting to orgnize my book shelf for so long, and now heres an inexpensive and effective was to do so

    THANX!

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