I am probably not the only person in the world who has what I lovingly call ‘the junk drawer’. It is filled with everything from elastic bands and loose paper clips to nail files and electrical outlet covers. My children are teenagers and I still have those plastic covers that go over electrical sockets. Yeah, I would say it is way past time to clean out the junk drawer, right? Looking for eco-friendly drawer organizing ideas? Tackle the junk drawer easily and frugally by upcycling old cereal boxes into draw-organizing bins.
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Sustainable organizing made easy!
Now, I must say that the most important part of cleaning out a junk drawer is throwing away the junk you don’t actually need.
Some junk I just like to keep….empty prescription bottles come in handy every once in a while and you never know when your kids might decide to play with the silly putty again! But, spend some time sorting out your drawer before tackling any organizing ideas.
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My cereal box dividers are not beautiful, however, they get the job done. If you want to take them up a notch, invest in some pretty scrapbook paper. I had a nice selection of patterned duct tape which I think makes these upcycled organizing bins very, very sturdy.
So, here are a few easy steps to follow if you want to add these cereal box dividers to your own list of organizing ideas.
How to Reuse Cereal Boxes as Drawer Organizers
First, start with an empty box of cereal. You may have to start saving them for a while until you have enough to actually fill your drawer. We go through several boxes of cereal a week. For smaller drawer organizers just use empty boxes of crackers or granola bars depending on the shape and size you need.
I found it easiest to flatten the box before cutting. Make sure you measure how high your drawer is so you can still close it once your new drawer organizers are in place. You can use both the top and bottom of the box.
Now, just refold the cereal box so it is no longer flat and start covering it with duct tape. If you are really ambitious you can duct tape the inside of the box as well but honestly, I am not going for pretty here. I just want something sturdy that can keep the pens and pencils where I can find them.
Once your drawer organizers are finished, just put them back into your drawer and start putting your stuff into them. Voila! No more complaining when you can’t find the scissors and now I have a place to store those stray erasers, pushpins, and paperclips I always seem to lose.
Now, if I can just KEEP the drawer looking like this for a while I will be happy! Are you tackling any organizing ideas this week?
More Upcycling Tips
Looking for more ways to upcycle your home? Check out my post about creative uses for tin cans or my ways to reuse old calendars instead of just recycling them.
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
OMG what a fabulous idea!!!
thanks…it was a very CHEAP idea which is always helpful!
How awesome is this. I would never think to repurpose cereal boxes but now I know just what I’m going to do to organize our miscellaneous draws. I so hate when my husband just swirls and toss things around when he is looking for things in junk drawer that I know are right in the front. It drives me bananas, by doing this it with save us all 🙂
hope it helps! Now, if I could just find the screwdriver that used to live in that drawer we would be all set!
WHY did I not think of that?? Too good, and it’s FREE!
yup! Free is good!
oh. duct tape. another awesome use. and i have eleventy billion rolls of it around hte house from other projects
hey those look like my kitchen drawers! I think it’s safe to say they are officially junk drawers that everything with no home gets thrown into. I never thought to recycle old boxes and make little organized holders. Great idea and it doesn’t cost a thing!
Ok, you are clearly a very clever person. I never would have thought of any of that stuff & trust me, my junk drawer is a complete MESS.
mine isn’t as pretty as the original poster’s but since no one (I hope!) is looking in my junk drawer I went the easy route!
We have a nice full junk drawer in the kitchen – my husband was actually trying to go through it over the weekend. I recently saved some cereal boxes so I think I know what I’m going to do with them now!
Such great ideas! I love my junk drawer and don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it, but I love reusing the cereal boxes for drawer organizers.
That is a GREAT idea. You can use boxes for so many things around the house and this is one of the best ways I have seen someone reuse cereal boxes.
My junk drawer looks pretty much like yours did. I don’t know why I never thought of using cereal boxes! We go through them like crazy.
so do we! I need to find more creative ways to reuse them!
My junk drawer is a mess. This is a great way to organize!
This is such a wonderful idea. I love reusing items to make something new and creative.
Wow, this is brilliant! I am going to have to do this in my kitchen.
What a great idea! I just started cleaning out my junk drawer and found catalogs from six months ago.
You just made me feel guilty about our junk drawer. LOL. Seriously though I feel like every month I’m having to clean it up just to close it. Love that you reused cardboard boxes.
my husband gets so annoyed whenever he has to go in there!
Cereal boxes is such a smart idea!! Those organizing drawer kits are expensive for what they are, like $10-20!
i did this with my cosmetics. i made them really pretty with scrapbook paper and shiny modpodge. figure if i have to look at it, it should be pretty
thats a great idea! I should try another batch and use scrapbook paper…I have plenty of makeup to organize too!
What a clever idea. I need to do this with one of my kitchen drawers. We have some cool duck tape too!
I use cereal boxes to organize a ton of things. They work so great.
I LOVE reusing my cereal boxes for different things. One of my favorite uses for cereal boxes is to cut them diagonal and use them to hold magazines. You can then cover with printed duct tape, wrapping paper, or scrap booking paper to make them cuter 🙂
I had my daughter make a cereal box scrap book last year that turned out really cute!
I Love this re-purposing idea, and so need to do this with like EVERY drawer in my home! They have almost all turned into junk drawers.
Anytime we can recycle or repurpose things we do. I really need to do this to our junk drawer.
What a great idea! I’m totally doing this for my boy’s homeschool classroom and shelves!
Incredible idea!! I love to be able to use things I already have instead of having to buy more stuff!!!
Wow super easy and a great idea. We have more than one “junk drawer” in my house.
Why have I not thought about this great idea! We go through a ton of cereal and simply recycle the boxes. No more messy junk drawer for us this year. I am doing this!
I can always use more organization tips! Thanks for sharing!
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