last weekend, DaddyHall moved out. it was about time!
don't panic. what i mean is, he moved out of my office and into his own. BigGirl and i now have the downstairs office all to our pretty little selves to do whatever we please. {which is mostly Saxon math and Explode the Code.} but it's all ours nonetheless.
when DaddyHall moved out i thought he would take the mountain of paperwork stacked on top of my desk. turns out it was all mine. oops, and YUCK.
after some sorting, filing, and purging, i was left with a smaller mountain of paperwork and the realization that small mountains can quickly become big mountains. and the solution? stack papers vertically.
i shopped but couldn't find a vertical paper organizer that was the right size, shape, color, or price. and then one day while recycling empty cereal boxes it occurred to me "hey, i could make it myself!" {see? i told you i think that a lot.}
a mess + a need + a dash of self-confidence + a pair of scissors = a DIY project.
step 1: gather empty cereal and or cracker boxes. the sturdier the cardboard the better. i used 3 because i wanted 3 compartments in my organizer. you can use as many as you like or just 1. whatever suits your paper organizing needs. you also will need good scissors, clear packing tape (not small tape like shown), and a Sharpie to mark where you'll cut.
step 2: draw an even line across one box at about the half-way point. mark each box the same way, so that the line is even. this is your cutting guide- you want each box to be cut to the same size. cut the boxes in half, and then cut the sides off of the boxes (nutrition panels), like shown:
step 3: turn all 3 boxes upside down and tape them together using really good clear packing tape. also tape the sides together so they don't gap.
step 4: cover the front and back boxes with scrapbook paper or newspaper or construction paper or your kids artwork or something to hide the TOTAL cereal box. use the clear packing tape to stick the paper to the cardboard, it also gives it a nice glossy shine.
step 5: stick all your papers in your new organizer and give yourself a pat on the back.here's my paper mountain before:
and after:
