Decluttering Vintage Style

     Winter is a great time to get organized.  Putting things in place, however, doesn't have to mean plastic totes or cardboard boxes.  You can sort clutter into vintage receptacles that will give your space a distinct and classy new look.  Here are some ideas for storing your stuff: 

      Pile old suitcases, trunks, or crates to form an end table with storage.  Suitcases can also be placed on top of a wardrobe or underneath a parlor table for designer storage.  I have two old homesteader boxes that I’ve piled on top of each other to make an end table in our living room.  They hide magazines, blueprints, notebooks, and other items that used to clutter my coffee table (an old factory cart).

       Place old hardware bins or cubbies on top of a desk to hold small essentials like paperclips, rubber bands, index cards, and erasers.  Large bins can look great as furniture that doubles as storage space.  Library file cabinets and apothecary drawers can serve the same function.  Crafters can use these multi-drawer pieces for beads and jewelry findings.

      Paint blackboard chalk on Mason jar lids, fill the jars with smalls from your junk drawer, and line the jars up in the drawer.  Write the contents on each lid to easily locate what you need.  You could use this idea in the garage with nails and screws or in the potting shed with seeds as well.

         Hatboxes make lovely storage receptacles for linens in the closet, bedroom, or bathroom.

       Metal lockers in the mudroom help hide boots, coats, scarves, and gloves.  In the craft room, lockers can hold supplies and cloth, and in a child’s room, brightly painted lockers become a fun storage area for toys.  Metal locker baskets make great storage boxes anywhere—on shelves in the kitchen, an office, the potting shed, or the laundry room.

        Place an old muffin tin in a drawer to hold small items from jewelry to beads to office supplies.

       If you have knick knacks but no shelving, turn an old crate sideways and attach its back to a wall to make an instant shadow box for smalls.

       Nail a metal time card rack on the wall to organize cards, bills, and mail.

       An old ladder (single side) in the bedroom becomes a decorative rack for jewelry and scarves.  A metal grate or old fence section could be used for the same function.  Turn the ladder on its side and affix to the top of cabinets or partial walls, and you have a ready-made shelf.

       A map drawer has lots of room for wrapping paper, bows, tissue, and over sized ephemera.

  

       If you have a four-tine rake without a handle, hang it on a wall, and it converts to a jewelry or wine glass holder.

       An armoire is a beautiful way to store blankets, pillows, or quilts.  One could also be used in a bathroom instead of a linen closet to store towels, tissue, and soaps.  In the family room, use an armoire to hold games, books, or movies.

     You are only limited by your imagination when repurposing old things into useful storage.  Getting organized is lots more fun when you are decorating your house at the same time!