Confession - I am a toiletries junkie.
I am also forgetful and a little bit messy. (I’m also a Virgo, which is weird, because I thought that would make me neater.)
Anyway, being a forgetful and messy toiletries junkie hasn’t being very good for my pocketbook (or the state of my room).
To illustrate this, I feel a story coming on.
Just last month I was in the grocery store, and I spotted the toothpaste brand that I like on sale.
I think to myself, “Self, the tube in our bathroom is getting a little skinny and we don’t want to run out. We like having clean teeth and fresh breath.”
So myself and I happily added one tube of toothpaste to our my grocery basket.
Fast forward a few weeks later.
I’m rummaging through my worldly possessions that are scattered haphazardly around my room and… I suddenly unearth not one, or two, but three tubes of toothpaste!
Apparently I had forgotten that I already bought them months ago. And I’ve done this repeat-unnecessary-buying-madness on all my essentials many times - shampoo, conditioner, bath soap, you name it, I bought it (again and again).
I realised that my problem stemmed from being too disorganized.
If I couldn’t see the things I already owned, of course I’m going to forget that I have them. And just keep buying more.
So to fix this disorganization conundrum, I was scheming to buy one of those large rectangular plastic bins that I could throw in all my extra toiletries.
This way I’d have all my excess toiletries in one place and I can take inventory easily.
But before I could run out and buy a China-made plastic marvel, a better solution came along.
My sister had dropped off a bunch of packages at my place the other day (she needed to store some stuff) and there was one empty box left over. She had meant to take it back with her but changed her mind.
So there it sat.
<– See the box before.
I thought to myself, “Self, this would make a perfectly good storage space.
It’s the right size and all.
Plus we would be recycling and being environmentally-responsible. No adding to the landfills, this cardboard box could have a second life.”
But apparently logic has no place… when what I really wanted was something pretty.
That’s when I got the idea to wrap the box, thereby covering it in prettiness.
So I pulled out some leftover wrapping paper I had (for presents and such). But alas, the paper was pink and had cartoon kittens on them.
Uhhh… so no.
So what did I end up using?
Jessica Biel.
Or rather, women’s magazines. I had a bunch of old ones that were just gathering dust.
I love women’s mags. Because fashion is inspiring.
I hated women’s mags. Because they make me feel ugly and unworthy.
They also make very pretty paper.
Pages and pages of pretty colors.
Just what I needed.
So I sat on the floor, and took my scissors to the pages.
Got some UHU glue and my tape dispenser.
I cut and tore.
I pasted the paper and taped the edges.
The whole thing took me about an hour.
<–See the box after.
Its filled with all my excess toiletries.
Woot!
Pretty, pretty box.
[P.S: I also cut the two side flaps so it can close and open without fuss. I kept the cardboard flaps and used them as dividers inside the box. Since they came from the box itself, it was a perfect fit.]
I hope I’ve given you some ideas of your own. You can make a pretty box to hold just about anything - from makeup, to costume jewellery and hair accessories.
Boxes of any size will do. I might repeat this project with a shoebox next! 