Vintage Box turned Mail Center ~ DIY Friday

If you've been even a part-time reader I'm sure you have heard me declare my love for all things Mason.  Jar that is.  But another object I kinda have a thing for is old vintage wooden boxes.  I even have several boxes that I store and display my Mason Jars in.  So when I was in need of some counter top organization I decided to grab one said box and separate my two loves to create a unique Mail Center.   

Oh my.  I just counted and I have 14 of these vintage boxes throughout several rooms in my home.  But most are center stage in my kitchen.  Like this elbow macaroni box on top of my cabinets.

I also have this amazing box that spans over my kitchen window from one cabinet to the other.  It's really long and narrow and I love taking it down to create festive table centerpieces on special occasions. 

Then there is this really cool yellow Coca-Cola box I keep a few cookbooks in.  I had never seen a yellow one before and picked it up for $20 at a garage sale!  It also serves to keep the phone and modem nicely hidden from view.

I don't think this old military box was meant to hold anything but gun powder canisters but it fits perfectly on the end-cap of the kitchen island.  

Now in terms of the box for the Mail Center I was needing I knew of the perfect one.  And shocking, I know, I kept a few Mason Jars in it. 

You see this past week I have been de-cluttering my kitchen thanks to the DeClutter Challenge I'm taking part in.  As much as I've tried I cannot keep the island counter top from being a hot-spot for paper clutter.   So I pulled this divided box down to re-purpose it and put it to better use as my Mail Center. 

It was really simple too.  If you've been shopping for counter tops recently (and grabbed a few Formica samples) you could whip up a quick batch of these almost free chalk board tags.  I already had these Martha Stewart Chalk Board Tags I picked up a Staples a while back that I ironically rediscovered while cleaning off my counter.  So I quickly wrote down my clutter categories and pinned the tags to the box.

The first slot will hold the mail that my son brings in after getting off the bus instead of just being thrown on the counter.  What else gets put up there after being emptied out of pockets?  Pens and change.  I added a few of the lonely Mason Jars back to the second slot to contain them.  

I used some cotton rope to tie around the neck of the jars.  I also attached a bit of scrap copper wire to the rope to use as a handle for the jars but it didn't show up that great in the picture.  Sorry!  I have a 'Bills' section to put the bills in that I separate out of the junk mail.  The last section I labeled 'Don't forget!' for important school papers, coupons and other things I need to keep close or I will, you guessed it, forget!

Now I have a designated landing place to help keep my counter clutter-free.  My goal is to move the Mail Center over to the built-in desk located in the kitchen.  That way nothing is on the counter!  But first I want to de-clutter that space during Office Week in the DeClutter Challenge so I'm holding off.  =) 

You can follow me on my 91 day de-clutter journey if you wish.  Or better yet join me if you're in need of some organization with less stuff cluttering up your home!  Every week I post my (yikes!) before & after pictures along with the scheduled daily tasks on (not-so) SuperMom Monday!  See Week 1 here!

Do you have any collections you like to decorate with?  I'd love to hear what you collect =)