If anyone knows me, they know there are certain things that I love.  The top of the list are crates, jars, baskets, cutting boards, dishes, and aprons.  Whenever my daughter and I are looking around in stores with any of these items, she knows me.  I have to take a look.  I stand there and look at all the wonderful neutral colors.  Not only do I love seeing them in stores, but I love to decorate with them.  When it comes to storage, crates are at the top of the list for me.  They add a natural look and feel to the home, and can dress up any room.  Today, I am going to be discussing different things that you can do with crates.  Maybe you would like to adopt some ideas, or it might spark some interest as to what you can do with your own.

 Crates can be painted, or left plain, so that the natural pine makes a statement.

When we were living at our last residence, I bought my daughter four crates to help organize the belongings in her room.  I decided to paint them a mustard yellow to make the room pop.  When we moved here, she decided that she didn’t want them.  I painted one crate “Ponytail”, and I painted the other three crates black.  Ponytail is somewhere in the beige to tan family of colors.

Crates can be used to house magazines.

I was so happy when I thought about this idea.  However, it meant going through all the magazines that I had collected over the past couple of years, and thrown in piles on the floor all over the house.  I gave some away and I recycled some.  I made myself pair down to about 10 magazines, and decided that this was a sufficient amount to keep inside a medium sized crate.

Crates are great for displaying vases and candle holders.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran into my neighbor outside, and she told me that she was rearranging her cabinet, and that I could pick out some things that I wanted.  This was such a blessing!  The candle holders added just the pop of green that I needed for the living room.

Crates can be used for sewing supplies.

I have a small hallway upstairs on the second floor.  In one corner, I keep a bag of pieces of material for upcycling, and then a crate filled with sewing and manicure supplies.  The safety pins are housed in clear jars.  Sewing needles and thread are housed in open plastic containers.  The picture on the right reminds me of my grandmother, because she loved sewing and wearing scarves on her head.

Last, but not least, crates can be used as storage for laundry.

You can use a couple of crates for the clean clothes, and a couple of crates for the dirty clothes.  I have a system of using one large crate for the towels, and then either dumping the dirty clothes into the washing machine, or in another crate or basket.

Feel free to share your many uses for crates down below.

Blessings,

Katina

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Isaiah 46:4