Welcome to Frugal Living Friday! Each week I will feature a tip that can help us stretch our budget and live more frugally! If you have a tip that you want shared on Frugal Living Friday, let me know and you could become a guest blogger for a day.
I swore up and down growing up that I would not do certain things my parents did. But alas...I was doomed from the start. I am a cheapskate through-and-through. Sigh...yes...I even use empty shoe boxes for many things...organizing, crafts, storage.....should I be embarrassed? I'm not! I am also a firm believer that kids don't need the newest fad or every new toy to have fun. I do buy toys for my kids, but I think it is also good to let them use their imagination. Shoe boxes are perfect for this!
I try every way I can to make something extra or leftover work for a need that I have. My parents used old shoe boxes for organizing, and so do I. Here are a few ideas I have used empty shoe boxes for:
- organizing socks, undies, etc in dresser drawers. This works especially well with the kids,and when they help put their clothes away, each item has "a home" to go to.
- boxes for older receipts in envelopes (I organize these by year)
- decoupage the box with scrapbook paper and use it for pretty storage
- each of the kids decorate their own box for their "secret box" where they put special items. I like to use contact paper and stickers for this.
- organizing small toys, books, and other travel items in the car
- organizing various supplies in the garage
- baby doll bed
- storage for art supplies
How to make a fairy house from two shoe boxes
A Guitar from a shoe box
Valentine Box
Bean Bag Toys House
Puppet Theatre
Using extra shoe boxes for all these things is also a great way to reuse and recycle! What have you used empty shoe boxes for?
