Eco Friendly Drawer Organizing Ideas

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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Messy junk draw and upcycled organizer with text overlay 'Upcycled Cereal Box Drawer Organizers'

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.

messy junk drawer needing to be organized

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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.

empty cereal box on table to be upcycled

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.

cereal box cut in half and scissors on table

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.

upcycled organizer made from an empty cereal box on table with text overlay 'duct table drawer organizers'

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.

upcycled cereal box drawer organizers in a kitchen drawer

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.

36 thoughts on “Eco Friendly Drawer Organizing Ideas”

  1. 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 🙂

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  2. 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!

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  3. 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.

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    • 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!

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  4. 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!

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  5. 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.

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  6. 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.

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  7. 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 🙂

    Reply
  8. 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.

    Reply

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