DIY Construction Paper Organizer...

I'm a sucker for just about anything at Costco. 5lb bag of chips. Of course. 30 pairs of socks...you can never have too many. And who can't use a sharpie in every color of the rainbow? Like I said, I'm a sucker. At the beginning of the school year I was perusing the isles when I came across the largest pack of construction paper I had ever seen. My kids love crafts and we go through card stock like there's no tomorrow so this was right up our alley.

Immediately after my purchase I had buyers remorse. We didn't really need that much paper and I came to the realization that it was going to be scattered through the house. It sat on my laundry room counter for months while I went back and forth. Ultimately, Hunter had a school project that required several sheets of paper and we busted the package open and he chose his colors. I was trying to keep it neat and tidy, so it stayed on the counter. Then Hallie needed some paper and pulled out a few and before long the nice tidy stack found its way to the game/crafts closet. It didn't take long for my nice stack to turn on it's side and start to create chaos. See it there:


And no matter how many times I straightened it I couldn't get it to stay clean. In my annual beginning of the year purging and cleaning of the house I resolved to find a solution. I bought several bins and boxes and nothing worked like I needed it to. So I turned to the garage and my never ending piles of scrap wood and pulled out the table saw.

I cut two sides and a back piece of wood and cut 9 sets of grooves in each (using the table saw) and cut a top and bottom

I glued, clamped and nailed the sides to the back and attached the tops and bottoms as well.

Once dry, I was able to slide in each shelf - which is adjustable, shelves can be removed for larger stacks of paper.

I returned the stack of beautifully organized paper back to the closet. Yes, it looks like it belongs in a 1st grade classroom. But what home couldn't benefit from a little paper organization? It makes me happy. It makes me even happier to know that my kids have pulled out papers every day and it still looks like this!

The best part is I didn't even paint or stain it. I like the natural wood and it wasn't worth pulling a paintbrush out!