How to tidy the drawers in your drawers using tissue (Kleenex) boxes or small paper tote bags

 

I was thinking that what I really needed for my birthday was not more clothes but more drawer organizers. 

Commercial Drawer Dividers

I used to have drawer organizers which I bought in the USA. They were in the top drawer of my bedside cabinet. They consisted of strips of thick card, with half height slits at intervals. You interlaced the verticals and horizontals to make a checkerboard grid. This had two problems. The spaces were small, suitable for hair clips but not larger items. I did not think of using only every other slat, and then having larger compartments and enough dividers for two drawers.

Because there was no base, small items kept sliding underneath. As a result, the dividing strips bent out of shape. Eventually they became a nuisance. I threw them away. I rescued them, folded them flat, and pushed them under the bed. I don't know where they are now.

Meanwhile, what can I do to copy the idea of dividing up drawers with thick card? I was thinking, a shoe box would be better. More rigid cardboard would be less likely to go out of shape.

Tissue Box Dividers - Success

But shoe boxes are needed for my shoes. Also too high, maybe too big. 

I glanced at an empty tissue box. My husband had suggested that I threw away empty tissue boxes. At least i could start by throwing out the boxes. Wait a minute. They were the right height and width. What if I cut off the tops?

I cut diagonally from the middle central oval slit. Instead of cutting off the four flaps, I folded them inside. Just to get them out of the way for a moment. But that created a neater edge. A firmer edge.

I tried one of the tissue (Kleenex) boxes in my top drawer. First I emptied everything out. Then I put the box in. Perfect. I had three boxes. They fitted side by side. Next was to fold items upright instead of flat, as shown in videos by Marie Kondo.

I ran out of tissue boxes. I looked around. 

I spent all evening folding my underwear neatly into small squares and oblongs to fit in the shoe boxes. A small space alongside the shoe box could be used as another compartment.

After successfully sorting three drawers, I wanted to do more. But I had no more tissue boxes. What could I do? I looked around.

Tote Bags Challenges

Eventually I spied some paper tote bags. Most were too tall. Also too wide.

One of the smallest was the right width. I grabbed my scissors. I put it in the drawer. It was too tall. Cut it down. Measure it? Just fold it. Almost half way. Why not just fold it in half!

But, wait a minute - if the two halves were the same height, I could re-use the top half. 

Removing Handles

The top half had string-y handles. They got in the way. I cut them off.

Another bag had silky rope handles. They could have been left on, so that I could lift the divider out of the drawer to select the socks or underwear or vests. However, I thought they looked wrong. I decided to remove the handles.

Removing most silk rope spiralling handles is easy. Mostly there is just one knot. You pull gently until it comes undone. You do not need to untie both ends. Once you have untied one knot, the cord pulls through.

DIY Dividers From Tote Bag

I remembered the problem with my original dividers. No base. What I needed at the bottom of my dividers was a base. It did not need to be attached. It simply had to keep the contents clean - and keep the container in shape. 

I took a piece of white paper from the printer. I turned the bag upside down to get the outline of the base. I folded the white paper. So long as it came up an inch or two on two or three sides of the inside of the box that was good enough. 

I am very pleased with the results. I should do this for a living. Hire myself out to tidy bedrooms.