This $19 Kitchen Organizer Is the Key to a Neater Home

In my adult life, I have lived in six different apartments. I try not to buy things specifically for each place because, well, that’d be expensive and wasteful. For example, I use the same shelf riser every time even though it’s now a little too short for its current cabinet. Our wall-mounted pot rack follows us around every time we move. And we have a silverware drawer organizer just like the one above, even though our last two apartments didn’t have drawers wide enough to accommodate it. We didn’t get rid of it, though. Instead, we found a different way to put it to use — just in case we moved again and wanted it, which we did!

To call this wooden box a “silverware drawer organizer” would be selling it short. Because it’s really good for organizing so much more than that. If you find yourself with an extra one or just feel like getting creative, there are loads of ways to repurpose this little guy. Here are some ideas (a few of which I’ve personally done in previous apartments).

Fill a drawer organizer with tea bags and all the necessary accouterment and leave it out next to your kettle and a few of your favorite mugs. It creates an instant cozy spot on your counter and a portable tray so you can present guests with their various options.

Use the cubbies for markers, colored pencils, paint brushes, chalk, and other art supplies you (or your kids) happen to have.

No matter how carefully you open a package of batteries, before you know it they’ve spilled out into whatever basket you have them in. Conveniently, most batteries line up perfectly in single cubby of a silverware tray. If you want to be extra organized, make one cubby for uncharged batteries and one for freshly charged reusables.

Bobby pins, clips, hair ties, ribbons, combs, etc! Separate like with like using a drawer organizer. (You can also use a drawer organizer to restore order to all your nail polish colors and manicure supplies.)

Got table by your front door that’s just piled up with, well, whatever was in your pockets the day before? Use an organizer to make it look a little less messy. You can even paint it to make it match the rest of the space.

Keep the organizer on the coffee table and use it to hold your various remotes, pens, coasters, matches, and other odds and ends.

If you’re willing to do a bit more to your drawer organizer, it can become a jewelry holder. Add picture hooks to the back so that you can mount it on a wall. Then, add some small screw-in cup hooks to the tops of some cubbies and you’ll have a place to hang necklaces and bracelets.