Looking at Things in a New Light

When we think about getting organized, for many of us, our thoughts immediately drift to containers. Boxes, bins, totes, and folders to store paper, collectibles, photographs, and other memorabilia. However, many of the items in our homes that are sitting around unused can be easily repurposed, saving us money as well as a trip to the store.

Here's an example from my own home. I needed a way to store my earrings, the kind that are on the wires (not the posts). In a box or drawer, they always seemed to get quite tangled. I saw some nice earring organizing products in catalogs and online, but did not want to spend the money. I considered a plastic fishing tackle box, which was affordable, but I'm not a big fan of bringing a lot of plastic storage into my home, except in outdoor spaces. I wanted something more natural.

While going thru some decorative items I had not used in a while, I came across a wrought iron candle holder. It had a heavy iron base, with round iron loops around a central post. A glass votive cup sat in each of these circular areas. One of the glass holders was cracked, enough that I would not use the piece again. As I was removing the glass cups and wrapping them up to take the Goodwill, I realized the remaining metal piece would make a wonderful storage and display unit for my earrings.

By looking at this item in a new way, I solved the organizing issue with my earrings without spending a dime. The broken glass was recycled, the good glass was donated to be reused by someone else, and the iron piece was repurposed. No landfills or wallets were harmed by this organizing project!