As Little Bear has grown, I've noticed (and my mother has repeatedly pointed out) that my house has gotten messier and messier.  His stuff is everywhere and, because he's taking shorter naps, I have less time to clean up around the house.  It's not that my house is dirty... it's just that there is just stuff everywhere.  I've been working on trying to organize, but have found that there are times when I just don't have a place to put something, which drives me nuts! I'm a "place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place" kind of girl at heart... if not in reality.

Easy and Free Storage Idea

Recently, my "nap task" (basically the one thing I have time to do while Little Bear is asleep) was to organize my scarves... of which I have a ton. They had been hanging out in a drawer in my closet but, because I had no system to organize them, I would end up just pulling from the 4 or 5 on top and wearing the same ones over and over again.  If I ever did want a specific one, I had to dump the whole drawer on to the carpet and search.  Not a great system, especially when I'm trying to dress quickly.

I wanted to come up with a storage system that would let me see them all at once, but I also wanted to avoid spending a ton of money to accomplish this.  I was thinking about baskets when my eyes alighted on one of the (way too many) Amazon boxes waiting to be recycled and I decided to try them out.  I eventually devised a way to make a nine-section storage box that works great for my scarves and a ton of other things!  I hope that you find this to be a simple and cost-effective solution to your storage needs as well!

Tools Needed:
1) Cardboard Box (sized to your needs)
2) Box Cutter
3) Decorative paper or fabric, optional.

The first step is to cut off all four flaps at the fold.

Next, lay the two similarly sized flaps on top of each other (so you have two stacks of two) and cut halfway across in two places, each cut should be about a third way in from the side.  Your cut should go HALF the width of the cardboard.  Repeat for other pair of flaps.

Next, wedge the pieces together at the slits, so that they fit flush (will look like a pound, sharp, or hashtag symbol).  If you cut went less than halfway, the peices won't fit flush; just pull them apart and cut a little more.  This will become your internal dividers!

Finally, fit linked dividers into the box.  Because you're using the flaps from the box, they will fit exactly into the shape.

And that's it! You now have a storage and organization box with nine internal sections!  Fill it with whatever you like!

Here is my final scarf storage solution! It ended up taking TWO boxes... I told you I had a lot of scarves!  But this even gives me room for more!  That means I can go shopping, right?!?

As an option, you can decorate the outside of the box if it will be seen.  Here I used a fitted sheet, wrapping it around the box before I put the divider in.  You could also use wrapping paper, normal fabric, contact paper, or anything else you can think of!  You could even change up the decoration with the seasons if you want, the possibilities are endless!

Another option: if you have already have a box or basket that you like but need to better organize the contents of, you can put can still use this method!  Just measure your box and cut the cardboard to the length you need!  I've done this in some of Little Bear's drawers and love that it lets me organize his stuff so much better!  Here I only used two pieces, to make 4 sections, so use your imagination and judgment to adapt the method to tour own needs! 

I hope that you liked this idea for simple and mostly free organization and storage!  If you try this out, I'd love to hear in the comments below about how it works for you!  Or if you have any other simple and almost free organization ideas I'd love to hear about them too! I still have a ton of things to organize, so I'd really love to hear your suggestions and put them to the test! I might even feature some of them on another post!