Sat With Ree: My DIY Storage Box

Ever since I was a kid I really love doing DIY items. When I was in elementary I used to make a DIY album. It was made of a wrapping paper which was cut into equal size, then I will fold each one of them into half, put them altogether, and then staple it in the middle. Then bam—a DIY photo album. I probably inherit my love for DIYs from my father. He also loved to make DIYs when he was still alive. When he was still working as a seaman, he used to make a hammock made out of ropes then he brought it home. It's probably his past time in the ship. During his vacation, he also make DIY items in our house when he's got nothing to do. 

My love for doing arts and crafts blossomed when I was in high school. I loved it everytime we have a project that involved arts and crafts in TLE and in Arts. I really learned a lot about DIY from our TLE class that I can still use up until today, like making a box out of a plain cardboard. 

Since I have a lot of free time these days, creating DIY stuff has become my past time and also a hobby. My on-going project is a storage box for some of my stuff which doesn't fit already on my other storage box that I also made. Check it out here if you want to watch how I did my other storage box for my arts and crafts materials. 

I have a small box from my parcel. I don't know about you, but I love it when the items that I order online are pack in a box. I always keep the box. I don't know why, but I find it special. There's this one box that can't fit already in my closet because I already hoard a lot, so it's just there in my bed sitting for quite a while already. I don't want to throw it, yet, so I thought of putting it into a good use. 

If you also have old boxes at home that you can't think of anything to do with it, you might want to recycle it. Instead of buying a storage box, you can do it yourself. You can design it whatever you like and it's also economical.

Here are the things that you need to prepare:

• old box
• pair of scissors
• cutter
• pencil
• glue
• ruler
• old magazine/newspaper/scratch papers, or even your old books that you won't use anymore

Here are the steps:

1. Think of the items that you want to put in your storage box. From there you'll think of what your storage box would look like. Functionality is the first thing you want to consider, the design is just secondary. I want mine to have four separate compartments. On the top part I decided to use it as a storage for my notebooks, so it should be spacious. I'm going to put drawers on the lower part, one on the left and two small on the right. 
2. Once you decided on what your storage box would look like, you can now cut your old box. Make sure that you measure each piece precisely so that it will fit perfectly into one another once you assemble them. It's basically just like building your own puzzle.  Tip #1: If you will put a drawer on your storage remember that it will still get thick as you cover it with pieces of paper, so be mindful with the measurements. Tip#2: Cut only the box, not your fingers.
3. Assemble the "pieces of puzzle." I used a stronger adhesive in the assembly of my "puzzle pieces." I used a wood parquet flooring glue, so that the storage box will become more sturdy. 

   

   I didn't measure it accurately that's why it has a space, but it doesn't matter because it will be covered. 😁 But as much as possible, measure you should measure it precisely. 

   
   
4. Cut the old magazine/newspaper/scratch papers, or whatever it is that you're going to cover your box. I used my old module from when I was still in college. I didn't throw it, yet, so might as well recycle. I used the back part of each paper because it has no writing, so it would look neat. Tip: You don't have to cut your paper into equal sizes, but make sure that it's just the right size. The size of your cut out paper will determine the amount of time that you're going to invest in covering the entire box, so you don't want to cut it very small, and at the same time it shouldn't be that big. 
   
   
   Another Tip: If you've already decided on what your final design will be, make sure to consider choosing the right type of paper to cut. If you're going to paint it make sure to use the kind of paper that can be painted easily. 
5. Using your glue, you can now adhere each piece of paper in your box. Maybe during your elementary or in your high school, your teacher made you do a paper mache project, so that's basically what you're going to do. You should prepare a generous amount of glue because you're gonna need a lot of it, and when I say a lot I really mean it. If you are familiar with "gawgaw" or starch, you can also use it. It costs less and it will also make your storage box more durable. Make sure that every edge of each piece of paper that your going to stick should overlap one another and it should be stick on your box evenly. Also you have to make sure that the paper is properly glued on the box, so that you won't incorporate any air, and it won't bubble up. 
   
   
   If you're going to use magazines, one layer should be enough because its paper is different from a regular paper and is already thick enough. On the other hand, if you're using regular types of paper like bond paper, or an old book you can make it up to three layers (maximum) just as long as the box is already well covered. I made mine three layers to make it more sturdy. If you're just going to put light items on your storage box, two layers would be enough. 
   
    Tip #1: I use a paint brush to spread the glue on the box, and in papers to make it less messy. Tip #2: Patience is a virtue. 
   
6. Once you're done covering your entire box with pieces of paper, you have to pour some glue all over it especially in every corner. Because 1. to make sure that every piece of paper perfectly stick with another 2. to make it look glossy 3. so that it won't be easily damaged 4. it also adds to the durability of the box.
7. Then, it's now time to decide for your finishing touch. You can paint it, cover it with a wrapping paper, cover it with photo/photos of your favorite celebrity, (or your crush), or you can just opt for what it already looked like after covering it with your cut out pieces of paper. That's the beauty of do it yourself items, you can design it whatever you like. You can play with it. Unleash your inner creativity. Because I really love sayings or quotations, I decided to cover mine with some of the random quotations that I found online. I made a lettering of them into another paper, and then I stick it in my storage box.

   

   I told you this is still an on-going project, so I still need to cover the three drawers. 😊 

I'm also going to cover my DIY storage box with a plastic simply because I want it to last long. You know how paper works, once you accidentally spill some water or any liquid in it it's already damaged.

I am still working to finish my storage box. I just want to share with you what keeps me sane in these insane times. 

You might want to try it also. You can help save our Mother Nature by reducing waste. Make it a habit to recycle things that can still be put into a good use. 

I hope you had a great week and that you are safe. 

Ciao. 😊