7 Cheap Storage Hacks from the Dollar Store

It's that time of year where you want to get organized, it's a New Year, fresh start, time to lick that craft supply spot into shape! We pulled this blog post out from the archives to give you guys some inspiration, and with the dollar stores still OPEN it's the perfect time to give your crafting supplies a happy home!

We’ve all got ‘the mess’. In one corner of your home, there’s a ‘crafting cabinet’ that’s grown and grown beyond said cabinet into the corner of the adjacent wall. Your handcrafting business is growing and you LOVE having all those supplies at your fingertips, but your fingertips don’t even know where to go to find that little bag of blue biscay 12mm silicone beads you have somewhere. It’s here. Somewhere. Someplace.

So after a sideways comment from your partner 'on the mess in THAT corner’, you think to yourself, “I need to go to the craft store and get some better storage. Functional but pretty storage!” The only problem is that the pretty storage options cost a pretty penny, soooooo maybe the mess will do.

FEAR NOT. We’ve been there, done that, and have figured out some budget-friendly storage hacks. The best part? It’s all. at. THE DOLLAR STORE. (Full disclosure: each Dollar Store will stock their own versions of the ideas below, but they’ll almost definitely have something similar that will point you in the right direction.)

Beautiful and functional storage doesn’t have to cost you a mint. You’ll find those blue biscay 12mm silicone beads before you know it.

1. Ice Cube Trays

Yep. You read it right. Ice cube trays. They’re the perfect size for your crafting drawer, sorting is easier, finding colours is faster. We found that the extra-large ice cube trays worked best for us, but any size will do depending on the bead size you’re hoping to store.

2. Jars & Vases

The Dollar Store is the best for stocking tons of jars, vases and other glassware. There’s always plenty to pick from, enough to make matching sets, and they’re some of the most cost-effective items in stock. Wins all around.

3. Plastic basket string & ribbon holder

Begone tangled mess of string and ribbon! We’ve found an easy way to make grabbing string or ribbon for your next project a breeze. Check out the instructions below and tag us if you make one for yourself! We’d love to see how it turned out! #createdwithcarasupply

Supplies Needed: Plastic Storage Basket with holes, wooden dowels, ribbon or string on spools & two rubber bands.

1. Wrap a rubber band around the end of a wooden dowel and insert it into the side of your plastic basket.

2. Slide your spools of string and ribbon on to the dowel while inserted in the plastic basket and push the dowel through to the other side of the basket.

3. Wrap the end with the second rubber band to secure it in place.

4. Pull your strings through the holes, and voila! Your spools have never felt so organized.

4. Yarn Holder

Have a ball of yarn that won’t work in your new Plastic Basket Holder? No problem. Grab a travel cup with lid and straw. Pull the plastic straw out of the cup (and save to use! No need to throw that out!) and pop your bundle of yarn in there. Feed the yarn through the straw hole and you’re done! The weight of the travel cup will help hold your yarn ball steady as you work on your project!

5. Tea bag box

We’ve all got them - a million adorable accent beads that need to be kept in a clean organized place, preferably so you can also see them as well. Enter the Tea Bag Box! It’s already got compartments ready for you, a lid to keep your beads dust free, and glass so you can see all your bead babies. Yep, we love them that much too.

6. Soup mug tool catch all

Why a soup mug and not a normal mug? Here’s why: Soup mugs are MUCH heavier than a normal mug, with a WAY wider mouth. We both know that beading tools can be awkward sizes. A soup mug is big enough to hold them, and if not, heavy enough to hang tools on as well. Practical, cute & useful.

7. Plastic organizer

At first glance you might look at this and think, ‘Of course a plastic organizer! I did think of that, y’know.’ But wait a sec--if you go into the craft section of the Dollar Store, more likely than not, the plastic containers have set sizes to their compartments. They assume your crafting needs are a certain size, and we both know that one size does NOT fit all. But wander down a couple aisles to the home hardware section of the dollar store and you’ll find an oddly similar looking plastic organizer. Similar to the craft organizers, the ‘tool’ organizers usually have rounded bottoms (hellooo rolling beads!) and plastic sections that you can customize to your size needs. Pendants, beads, clips - they can all live happily in this one box together.

We hope you’ve found a couple ideas that you love! Comment below on which ones you like and if you have any other ideas! We’d love to hear them!

Happy crafting from the Cara & Co team!