Don’t throw away those cereal boxes – you can do a lot with them! Here are 20 Genius Ways to Organize with Cereal Boxes – some of these are mind blowing!

Welcome to the first post of the Recycling Series!

Incidentally, this is also the first post of this blog’s first every Blogchatter Half Marathon, which doubles the pleasure. And when it’s a post about reusing and recycling something you would otherwise toss in the trash, it’s even better!

Yes, today we’re talking about cereal boxes, something nearly every home has, especially if you have kids. These cereal boxes are made of thin cardboard, which is perfect for making all sorts of crafts, and you’ll find many that kids will enjoy making.

However, this also makes cereal boxes a versatile material when it comes to home organization, and you can use it in multiple ways. You can either just cut off a side of the box or completely transform it with patterned paper or fabric – the opportunities to use this humble box are just endless!

If you regularly buy cereal at your home and often end up throwing the boxes in the trash – stop! Here are some clever ways to organize your home using cereal boxes, and some basic craft supplies. You’ll be surprised at how many ways there are, from the bedroom to the study to the kitchen!

20 Genius Ways to Organize with Cereal Boxes

1. Cereal Box Drawer Dividers

Are your drawers a complete mess of pens, cables, bits of paper and other sundry items? Keep it all corralled and organized with these cereal box drawer dividers from I Heart Organizing. These make use of the base of the boxes, so once you have a few boxes collected, you can simply place the whole box in the drawer to see how they fit and then cut out the bases of the ones you need.

2. DIY Desk Organizer

It’s hard to believe that this desk organizer is made from cereal boxes, isn’t it? Well, that’s because Mod Podge Rocks has given it a complete transformation with patterned paper and of course, Mod Podge! This project uses cardboard tubes along with cereal boxes, but you can make it just as well with only boxes. Use a sturdy base and you have a durable organizer for cheap!

3. Inspiration Board Organizer

How awesome is this inspiration board organizer from The Cwafty Blog? If you’re in a creative field or are constantly in the middle of some project or the other, this board is a great way to organize your thoughts and ideas – and your stuff! I think this organizer would also work perfectly for a family command center.

4. Pen and Pencil Box

You wouldn’t think of giving someone a cereal box as a gift, but when it’s been transformed to a pencil case as gorgeous as this, anyone would love to receive it! Vikalpah has the really genius idea of turning the cardboard of a cereal box into a simple but elegant looking pencil case that’s perfect to keep your endless supply contained. Yes, I know of your secret stash!

5. DIY Decorative Box

If you’ve seen decorative boxes like this at IKEA or other home stores, you may have wondered how to get your hands on them, considering they aren’t that easily available. However, Patent Pending Projects solves this problem for us by showing us how to make our own box out of a cereal box! Cover it with the right material and you’ll have a classy box that doesn’t look DIYed at all.

6. Homework Caddy

With online classes and virtual learning still going strong, your kids have probably setup their own study corner in your home. However, if you still find their supplies floating all over the place, you can keep them under control with this cheerful and bright caddy from Aunt Peaches. Love the use of tape to connect the boxes and add a splash of color!

7. Cereal Box Woven Baskets

If you’ve got some time on your hands and want something more durable, try out this woven basket from Cucicucicoo. The tutorial is very detailed with step by step instructions, so you won’t go wrong even if you’re a crafting beginner. These boxes are quite sturdy and can hold a lot, as you can see in the picture.

8. Ribbon Organizer

Do you have rolls of ribbon or washi tape and are going nuts at the thought of organizing them? Do you keep buying more because you don’t know what you already have? Then this organizer from Wings of Whimsy will solve all your problems when it comes to storage and organizing. At a glance, you can see everything you have, your supplies won’t get damaged and it makes for a pretty display!

9. Upcycled Magazine Holder

This is probably the easiest way to use cereal boxes to organize things! Simply cut of one side of the box at an angle, wrap in pretty paper of your choice, and voila! Your magazine holder is ready! This project from Everyday Dishes also works great to store kids books, which can be thin and lightweight.

10. Magnetic Paper Bin

If you are always finding bills, receipts, pamphlets, memos and other bits and pieces of paper floating around the place, Sohosonnet shows you how to give them a home – with a cereal box! The best part – it’s magnetic! So you can make the box, stick it on your fridge or other magnetic surface, and you have a place to collect all the paper bits till you’re ready to sort them. This is also perfect for keeping takeaway menus in one place.

11. Cupcake Carrier

Cupcakes are fun to bake, and are the perfect treat for a crowd, since you don’t need to bother with cutting or dividing the pieces. However, transporting cupcakes from your home to the venue can be a hassle, but with this project from One Good Thing, this problem can be solved. Try to get a larger cereal box for this, and you can easily have yourself a simple cupcake carrier.

12. Magnetic Hanging Homework Holder

Here’s another addition to help your kids keep their papers and school work organized, now that they’re learning from home. This homework caddy from Artsy Momma is magnetic, and can stick to a steel cupboard or the fridge or a magnetic whiteboard. It also comes with an inbuilt pen holder, so no more losing stationery!

13. Cabinet Door Organizer

Cereal boxes are kept in the kitchen, and now they can also help organize your kitchen stuff! Samantha Kamilos makes good use of the size of the cereal box by fixing it on command hooks inside her cabinet door so it can hold rolls of foil, baking paper or cling wrap. Of course, you can make it prettier by using patterned paper or painting on it.

14. Paper Holder

If you or your kids are avid crafters, you’re bound to have lots of patterned and plain craft paper. As you probably know by now, your collection can easily get out of hand if you’re not careful! There’s also the annoying feeling of not finding the right paper when you’re in the middle of a project. This paper holder from Kix Cereal can solve all these products and more, and is super, super easy to make!

15. Vintage Style Organizer

If you love all things vintage or are into the farmhouse style these days, I’d recommend this lovely organizer from Easy Peasy Creative. Be sure to use paper to match your theme, along with twine and dried flowers. Love how they’ve used the rope as a makeshift pen holder too!

16. Tupperware Lid Organizer

Okay, this is my favorite hack of this list! The Kitchn solves the age-old problem of how to organize your Tupperware lids – with a single cereal box! You can go no-fuss by simply cutting the box as shown in this picture, or you can take it up a notch by wrapping with pretty paper and mod podging it.

17. Tiered Spice Rack

There are many tiered shelf organizers and shelf risers available both online and offline, but I love this one from Vikalpah for two reasons. One, it costs next to nothing, and secondly, you can customize it to fit your needs exactly. I wonder why anyone would buy a shelf riser when you can make it so easily yourself!

18. Cereal Box Mail Organizer

Still getting paper mail that’s driving you nuts? Keep it all in one place till you’re ready to sort it out, with this mail box from Everyday Dishes. You can also use it as a family mail service, where you can send each other little notes in the box. Imagine how much fun that would be!

19. Vanity Basket

I can think of so many uses for this gorgeous vanity basket from Craft a Doodle Doo! It’s hard to believe it’s made from a cereal box, isn’t it? You can keep it in your entry way, to hold your masks, keys and sanitizer. Or you can keep it on your night stand, to hold your night time skincare products. It’s also a fun place to keep your ‘in use’ supplies when you’re in the middle of a DIY project.

20. Multi Use Organizer

Sometimes you need an organizer that has no specific purpose but can be used for any purpose. This cereal box organizer from Craftsy Hacks is exactly what I’m talking about. You can use it for mail, stationery, craft papers, remotes, recipes, magazines – anything at all! Once you have it out on your desk, you’ll be surprised by how much use you get out of it!

You can check out other posts in the Recycling Series here.

This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon.