From inexpensive glassware to pretty desk accessory

22 March 2018

I took a stroll through IKEA the other day, just looking for inspiration and ideas for organizing. I love their home organizing department. But I also love using items intended for other purposes to organize my stuff.

Case in point: I have an extensive collection of pens and markers. My excuse is that I like to color, but the truth is that my coloring markers are upstairs and I still have a hefty supply in my office. I had been storing them in mason jar, along with a bamboo-and-cloth desktop organizer I’d picked up somewhere along the way. It was working fine.

But then, on my stroll through IKEA, I came across GODIS drinking glasses. The shorter, eight-ounce ones seemed perfect for pens. (I pulled a Sharpie out of my purse to check.) So I bought six of them for only $2.99. (That’s the IKEA Family price.) As soon as I got home, I put to them use housing markers and pens. Here’s a photo of how the pens used to be stored and how they look now.

I love that they’re tapered a little so the pens sort of fan out. I like that they’re nearly invisible so all I see are the lovely markers. It feels like a big improvement.

This is a great example of the joy of repurposing an item to help with organizing. Do you have favorite things you like to use for organizing that weren’t originally intended that purpose?

Tagged with: ikea, office supplies, repurposing