DIY Drawer Storage Containers

There is something about being organized that has always tickled my fancy.  This doesn't just mean being on time, keep my planner up to date, and having clean clothes.  It boils down to every single drawer in the apartment.

I've used acrylic holders from The Container Store in the past to organize various drawers but I usually had trouble with them not quite fitting or leaving just enough room around the edges that it would otherwise be usable.  I recently purchased an IKEA Malm desk/dressing table which has one GIANT drawer.  How the heck is anything not suppose to roll around in there??? After a bit of thinking I decided to make my own containers to put into the drawer.

These boxes are quite easy to make and they don't require a lot of materials - but I will warn you that you'll need to make sure to cut them out straight, make all the folds at 90 degree angles, and your fingers will get sticky. Really sticky.

To make these you will need:
Poster Board (you can use any thick paper), Ruler, Pencil, Erasers (I have both block and a needing), glue, and scissors.

Step 01: Measure out the size you'd like the box to be (ex: 15cm x 20cm)

Step 02: Add 6cm to those measurements to make 3cm sides (ex 21cm x 26cm)

If you'd like taller flaps than 3cm each, add more onto each side and follow the rest of the process with your new dimensions.

Step 03: Draw out the new measurements on the poster board making a dot at 3cm in from all sides.

Step 04: Connect the outside dots to create your rectangle. 

Step 05: Connect more dots - draw lines connecting the 3cm dots to make a a grid like effect.

Step 06: Cut along the outside line to release your box from the rest of the paper.

Step 07: Cut in a diagonal line from each corner to the 3cm x 3cm dot point making it look like 2 right triangles.

Step 08: Fold each of the triangles back making sure that the outside edges line up evenly.

Step 09: Fold down each of the 3cm lines.  I suggest using a ruler to help make the lines straight - especially with the larger boxes.  I use it by placing the ruler inside the box and folding down over it to create a straight crease.

Step 10: Erase all the lines.

Step 11: Glue! Put a dab of glue on the triangle and stick it to either the inside or outside of the adjoining side. I tend to glue both triangles at once.  tip: Being a little bit of a neat freak, I made sure that the inside triangles all lined up.  So two down, two up.  You could make all the triangles go to the left or whatever pattern you'd like.  I also made sure that each box was the same.  So all of my boxes have their inside tabs on the top and bottom sides.

Step 12: Hold it there.  It'll depend on what type of glue you use but it will take several seconds to dry to the point where you feel you can let it go. Repeat 11 and 12 for all corners.

You're done!  Now just do it again however many times you'd like until you have the amount of boxes you'd like!

I hope this helps you in your organizational madness.  I'm sure that I'll probably be making these in various drawers as the need comes.

If you want to see how I put these boxes into action I have both a blog post and a video about how I used them in my IKEA Malm desk/dressing table.