Recycled Storage Solutions

I've learned to follow my own personal shopping rule when I spot something I like in the store: if you really love it, buy it -- even if you don't know how you're going to use it. I know the experts say that's a no-no, but I've found that I almost always find a use for that object sooner or later.

Fortunately, I didn't need to justify my rule when I spotted this vintage style soda crate at Michael's, because I knew exactly what I wanted to put inside it: the gorgeous stack of Confetti Cotton solids that Riley Blake sent me last week. I actually own several authentic soda crates from the last century which I inherited from my grandmother, but I'd be worried about storing fabric in them with all the accumulated grime inside that's hard to remove with cleaning products yet would undoubtedly rub off on my precious fat quarters. So instead I stack those boxes on the shelf above my teacher desk where I can look at the great typography on the outside. This reproduction crate, however, works perfectly because a) there's nothing on the inside that could come off on my fabric and b) the sections inside are exactly the right width for my folded fabric pieces.

It's always important to keep this sort of thing in mind when you're recycling truly old things to hold new ones. I love using containers of all sorts for corralling sewing notions, home office supplies, or any number of little things around the house, and antique items have so much personality. Depending on what you want to put inside them, though, you might want to consider whether vintage or vintage inspired pieces will work better for the situation.

I'll be sharing some of my favorite repurposed organizational containers with you over the next few months so that you can see how I use them in my sewing room and other parts of the house. Once you start looking for ways to work fun objects into your storage solutions, it's hard to stop!