If you’re like me and need a little help getting organized, then I think you’ll love this post. You see, I’m on an organizational kick lately. Today I’m sharing how to make an easy DIY mail organizer out of a box. yes, a box. a box of cookies, actually. We’ll talk more about that in a minute.
first, if you want a little more organizing inspiration, check out another organizing idea: my easy to make labels, click here in case you missed them.
something I like about the new year is that it’s a fresh start, a good time to look at the “systems” you’re using (or not, as the case may be). I’m usually so busy in daily life that I often don’t take the time to stop and consider what works and what needs a little improvement.
My pantry is in progress and doing very well thanks to the labels I made. however, another area that needed an overhaul was my mail. walk in and just throw it on the counter or table or wherever it didn’t really work… needed a delivery area where I could throw it and then come back to it. and finally found an idea that works, and it’s pretty too!
supplies to make your own DIY mail organizer
contains my affiliate links:
- cardboard box (cereal box, cookie, or other item)
- secret rose garden printables (available in my free resource library)
- paper machine cricut cut (or other cutting machine)
- cricut design space (if using a cutting machine)
- scissors
- sharpie
- duct tape
- spray adhesive
- glue stick
- glue dots
how to make your own mail organizer out of a box
[dropcaps]1[/dropcaps] gather your supplies
Most of us have piles of boxes like these lying around cluttering our pantries and garbage cans. while organizing my pantry i generated a bunch of these and realized there had to be some projects i could do with them.
and wow, I came up with some ideas. stay tuned for more! Today I’m sharing the first with this how to make an easy DIY mail organizer from a box project.
[dropcaps]2[/dropcaps] download the floral files
In addition to the boxes, you also need the Secret Rose Garden Printables that I designed especially for this project. you can get the free resource library archive from my blog.
When you sign up for my email newsletter, a password to access the library is automatically sent to you. You’ll also receive my weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes details, notes from me, and links to the latest happenings on my blog.
log in to my library of free resources, navigate to the file called secret rose garden diy mailbox organizer, and click to download. this is a compressed file. unzip it and open it.
print 3 copies of the secret rose garden floral pdf. if you want to line the inside of the box, you will need to print more copies.
[dropcaps]3[/dropcaps] upload to cricut design space
The remaining files in the download folder are png files that you need to upload to the cricut design space software. If you’re not familiar with how to do this, watch this video to see me download and upload files to design space.
you need to upload 3 files: the label, the floral accent, and the scalloped corner border.
Once you upload those three files, add them to your canvas in the cricut design space. then you will need to resize them.
These are the sizes I used:
tag: is 5″ wide
floral accent: 4″ wide
Scalloped Corner Trim: 9″ high; make sure you copy this so you have 4 of them on your canvas.
To make assembly easier, I added a score line down the center of each scalloped corner trim piece. if you do, be sure to join a scored line and a piece of scalloped trim to each other.
you can see my canvas here:
once you have correctly placed the pieces on the canvas, click the do it button in the upper right corner.
set your settings and print then cut the pieces. I printed mine on cardstock.
Note: You will need a scoring pen if you choose to mark the crop within the software. make sure your tools are loaded and ready to go. once they’re ready, load your machine and you’re good to go!
second note: when you print the file, you won’t see the scalloped edge on the sheet, but trust me, it’s there. 🙂
this is what you will get in the end:
once you have cut the decorative papers, you are ready to prepare your box.
[dropcaps]4[/dropcaps] prepare the box
For my project, I used a box from cheezit. I liked its dimensions, but any box you have on hand will likely work.
- cut one end of the box.
- determine how tall you want your box to be. I wanted mine to be 8.75″. cut your box to the length you want.
- then cut a notch in the front of the box. this will make it easier for you to access.
- add some tape to the bottom of the box and around the edge of the top; this will give the box additional support.
- measure and cut out the floral paper pieces to cover the box.
- you will need one piece for the front, one for the back, and one piece for both sides.
- do all your trimming and trimming “dry”.
- with the front piece, you’ll have little wings. try to cut as much of the extra paper as you can to make everything fit easier and keep everything tidy. In the photo above you can see how I was able to cut out a nice piece of paper on the right that would otherwise hang and get in the way on the left side.
Once you’ve measured and cut out your pieces, you’re ready to put them together.
[dropcaps]5[/dropcaps] cover the box
note: For this next step, you need a well-ventilated area.
Spray adhesive on one side of the box and stick the paper. you can also sprinkle some on the paper. just be careful not to get the surface too wet.
fix all the blue floral pieces of your base with the spray adhesive.
Now you are ready to add the decorative pieces. i used a glue stick to attach mine. I used a paper towel as a base to keep my work surface clean.
The last step is to paste the tag.
I didn’t have dimensional points, so I made a ball with some flat points to give it some height.
First, I place the dots on the back of the flower accent, and then attach it to the tag.
then add dots to the back of the label and stick it to the box.
da-da! and there you have it!
a beautiful and functional way to store mail and have a more organized life. hooray!!
what sweet details, don’t you think?! I hope you’ll join my newsletter list and get more ideas and designs like these!
Are there more projects you’d like to see me create? please leave me a comment, i really want to hear from you.
hope you like this file and please if you make a version of it share a picture with me on facebook. I would love to see your creations.
Happy celebration!