Clear test tubes for crafting! OMG this is exciting.
Wrapped in Love
Cover your valentine’s favorite chocolate bar for a sweet gift in just minutes. Add ribbon, buttons, stamps, or cutouts to make it even more person (via Make-Your-Own Valentine’s Day Gifts)
Scrap Zone: Easy Covered Cans Paper-covered soup cans hold markers, pencils, and brushes. Punch a hole in the back of the can to hang.
(via From Spare Room to Everyday Hobby Room)
Drop Zone Keep a small desktop clutter-free. Stack simple trays on top for items you want in sight and in mind, such as bills to pay and outgoing mail. Use a file box to hold items you need to access regularly such as receipts and contact information. Attach an inexpensive toothbrush-and-tumbler holder to the side of the desk to stash pens, pencils, and scissors. Hang S hooks for keys.
(via Home Office Storage Solutions)
Bookcases + Door = Desk
Doors make great desktops: They’re inexpensive, roomy, and readily available in a variety of sizes. For the legs, you could use sawhorses, but low-rise bookcases offer the added benefit of extra storage. Thirty-inch square bookcases are the ideal height for a desk and are the same width as a standard-size door. Prime and paint the bookcases and door in the same color. To give the desk a finished, cohesive look, add a few details: Line the back of the shelves with marbled paper (secured with double-sided tape) and hot-glue a ribbon around the edge of the desktop.
(via Organizing: Closet, Storage, and Office Organizers - Martha Stewart)
Expiration-Date Reminders
Putting warranty expiration dates on appliance boxes lets you know when it’s safe to throw those cartons away. To store the receipt and warranty slips, place them in a cellophane bag. Write or type the expiration date on a self-adhesive label, and affix it to the bag. Attach the bag to the box with double-sided tape.
(via Organizing: Closet, Storage, and Office Organizers - Martha Stewart)
Stationery System Stash everything you need to accomplish a task in one designated area. Perfect for storing small items, this letter holder adds a burst of style to the desktop and keeps colorful stationery on hand for jotting a quick note.
(via Organize Your Important Papers, Bills, Receipts & More)
For Safekeeping
To contain tiny treasures, fashion a keepsake box from discarded or damaged books. Apply crafts glue to the inside back cover and close the book. When dry, apply glue to the book’s edges and let dry. (Place waxed paper between the first page and the front cover to keep them from adhering together.) Mark a rectangle on the first page about 1 inch from all sides. Use a crafts knife to cut along the mark and through several pages. Remove cut pages and continue cutting and removing pages to desired depth. Seal the cut pages with glue. (via Storage-Packed Bedroom From Scratch — Better Homes and Gardens — BHG.com)
Mudroom: Organization Domination
According to Lori Leistico, organization expert and designer for KraftMaid, the key to conquering clutter is to give everything a place. The most common problem she sees is finding spots for mail, financial records, electronic gadgets, shoes, recycling, and kids’ stuff. Leistico conquered these trouble areas by organizing this mudroom into zones. (via Do-It-All Entryways)
Send a Note Add a little color to your envelopes with brightly hued address labels and return labels. If you’re looking for a fun, personalized gift, fill in a friend’s address in the return label template and print out. Place the label sheets in a pretty stationary box and wrap with a ribbon. Editor’s Tip: The address labels are design to be printed on Avery 2x4-inch adhesive mailing labels (#5163), and the return labels are designed to be printed on Avery 1x2-5/8-inch adhesive folder labels (#8160), both available at office supply stores.
(via Free Printable Storage Labels)
