Simple Solutions to Paper Clutter

I've been irritated lately.  Do you ever get to a point where you've looked at a space for a long time and you know it's disorganized and messy, but you'll get to it...someday.   If you're like me, you can handle it for a while, but then there comes a point where not another minute can go by until you've "fixed" it.  In that moment, you will find a solution- any solution.  That was me this week.  This was my solution to a messy space.

A cereal box came to my rescue and cut the paper clutter! 

So here's the messy space that just got to me.  It's my pantry, but I use a shelf on one side to hold some home school papers and whatever materials we need in school that week.  

Yes, I have legos in my pantry.  It's a school project.  The big blue folder holds my coupons and I have a box of multiplication and division cards there....you know, the typical things you find in a home school family's pantry.  We school at the kitchen table just across the way, so the school stuff in the pantry seems quite practical to me.  It may be weird, but it's practical. 

The stack of booklets about to crumble is really what drove me crazy.  I need some organization here.  My goal is to always  find solutions without spending any money first.  I could have a lovely, organized home in no time if I was willing to spend the money, but like I always say, we choose to spend our money on other luxury items-  like food and shelter.

So I took a large size cereal box and measured away.  Hold your papers or books against the box to make sure you don't cut it to short or leave it to tall for an enclosed shelving unit like I'm using.

 Mark your box using a ruler for those straight line.  Measure 5 inches from the bottom on one side of your cereal box.  This will be your "grab" side.

 Cut along your lines.  So far very simple right.  

 I had a piece of scrap material sitting around that I hadn't used and didn't have any plans for, so I decided to use it to cover my box.  Wrapping paper and scrap book paper would work just as well.  Whatever you have on hand works best I think.

I glued it with Mod Podge of course.  Don't you just love Mod Podge?  Me too!

That was it!  I cut here and there around the edges but my material was long enough to cover the whole thing.  I added white ribbon I had on hand because I think ribbon make everything prettier.  I think it completes it, don't you?

And the space looks so much better now too.  I had this black and white lunch bag sitting empty in my pantry so I'm using that for the legos and math cards.  So much better.  I need to make a few more of these for the coupons and "other stuff".  We all have "other stuff", don't we?

So keep those big cereal boxes around. (Small boxes of cereal are to small and not wide enough to hold paper).   I've also used cereal boxes to make art here, and now they'll help me get a little more organized.  

These magazine holders can cost up to $10 each, and they're not even close to being as nice.  Reinforce them with thick cardboard on the inside to keep them around for a while.  Home made versions are always better.  You never know how your every day store products that come in "containers"/ "boxes"/ "jars" can become your next organizing tool.

Blessings,

Lisa
 I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs.  To visit them, go to the {Link Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home} bar.
Also linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations 
Miss Mustard See
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm 
Restore Interiors
Tip  Junkie