My closet needs an overhaul!!

We just moved back home on the last day of Oct 2012 and we didn’t really build anything in the closet until mid November. Less than a week after Nick hung his shirts in the closet he was on the road to Indiana to be with his family when his step father had a massive stroke.  I bragged on the closet and loved the fact we could hang items in there. I thanked him over and over again. Recently though, we have been storing many things in that small space and it has become unmanageable.

I wanted a closet organizer badly, but was budget conscience and did not mention it. These boxes cost an average of $20.00 each (or more) for the small size 10″ X 8″ if you buy them in a retail store!! I knew I would need several boxes and several sizes, costing over $100.00. Yesterday, after reading through many DIY projects on Pinterest, I decided I could make one. After all, once upon a blue moon, I use to be crafty!

Here is what I came up with – home-made jute twine boxes! I love them!! I knew that I didn’t have any wire I could use, but I did have  a lot of boxes! I thought it over and weighed my options. The wire would be costly for as many boxes as I wanted to make, so this is what I came up with:

Decorative Jute Organization Boxes 🙂

If you want to try this, you’ll need:

• Hot Glue – Cost: $4.99 for 20 sticks 4″ ( I only used 5 sticks on this project.)
• Hot Glue gun  (I used the high heat gun) – Cost: $6.99
• Jute twine (buy the largest roll you can find. Trust me, you’ll find a thousand uses for it!) – Cost $18.99
• A box (sturdy reinforced construction) – Cost: FREE! Just use boxes that everyday items are packaged in!

Total project cost per box – Glue $1.25, Twine (roughly) $4.00 = $5.25 per box!!!
Time: 1 hour

1st step- find a suitable box that’s sturdy with reinforced sides & bottom. I chose a Ramen Noodle box measuring 10 1/2″ X 8″ X 4 1/2″ deep.

2nd set – set up



3rd step – begin by gluing the twine to a corner of the box. After it dried 10 seconds later, I laid a thin line of glue along the bottom of the box and pressed the twine into the glue. Basicly, I wrapped the twine around the box one side at a time (gluing it as I went).

For the project to be a success, each row of twine deserves a row of glue – no skimping. Keep wrapping the box until there’s about a half inch lip left at the top.

4th step – choose a fabric. Since I couldn’t sew if I had to, don’t have a sewing machine, nor knowledge of sewing – I used an old t-shirt to upcycle.

5th step – I cut the t-shirt piece so that I had a long skinny piece of fabric and laid it in the box to eye measure.

6th step was to trim the excess off.
7th step – I began gluing the fabric to the 1/2″ lip I left at the top of the box.

I glued both long sides first.

8th step was to access the damage… I mean, progress!

9th step was to fashion the remaining two short sides to the box.

All in all, I’m pleased with my little decorative box for organization.
After I complete more of these, I’ll post a before/after picture of the closet 🙂

Here’s the second larger box measuring 16″ X 12″ X 8″ deep.
This one required 12 1/2 glue sticks & a lot more twine. (I’m not crafty enough to determine how many yards.)

Not knowing how to sew is the hardest part 🙂

Here are before/after pics of the closet: