October 12, 2009

Letter Sorter Therapy

What a sad-looking little letter organizer. Dull brown finish. Labeled a meager $1.99. Empty of all manner of junk mail or office supplies. Simply unable to fulfill its organizational destiny. (Can you hear the violin music?)

I was at the thrift store a few months ago and spotted this gem lying at the end of a checkout aisle. It was ugly, but that day happened to be Labor Day, which means everything is half price! So I purchased it and toted it home where it continued to exist in its depressed state until yesterday when I finally made it purty.

First, I spray painted it a nice off-white, neutral shade:

Yep, that's a glossy finish. This thing's going to sit on my kitchen counter, so it needs to be easy to clean.

Not so sad-looking anymore, but not necessarily chipper, wouldn't you agree? I decided it needed a little color, so I dug out some botanical print scrapbook paper and Mod Podged the backs of the slots:

Now that's an improvement! I added a few label holders and this little letter sorter looked like it was practically smiling at me! But it still wasn't fulfilling its organizational destiny, so...

I stuffed it full of all the items lying on the hot mess that is my countertop. Ah, no more sad little letter sorter. And no more messy landing pad. Now I just have to train the husband to use it!

I'm linking up to DIY Day at Kimba's A Soft Place to Land. Go check out oodles of creative projects!

13 comments:

cindy@cottageinstincts said...

Love. it. I totally need to do something like this for my family. Great transformation :o)

Shannon said...

oh I love it! The inside is perfect. Great job!

Brook said...

You are so creative! What a wonderful project!

K@The Thrifty Teacher said...

What a great idea :) Hopefully I can find something like that for a thrifty price too.

Julie said...

Love it! I just added a desk to my kitchen for my hubby. I may just steal your great idea to help that desk stay more organized and much prettier :-)

Randi~Dukes and Duchesses said...

You did a great job with that transformation! It looks so good.

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

Looks great - I love that you put scrapbooking paper inside - that really makes it beautiful!

Mandy said...

It's so pretty now! Love it :)

Kristy said...

What a great transformation! I bought something similar several months ago, and its been sitting in my storage room, waiting for inspiration and its turn at the top of my list. You've inspired me to get started!

One question - where did you find the label holders? Are the nailed into the front, or just stuck there?

Ashlee said...

How cute! Very Efficient Storage! Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the sweet comment!

Annikke said...

That is so cute. I love the paper you chose!

Annette said...

What a wonderful transformation! It looks terrific. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Sue said...

Hi Jill, This organizer certainly turned out cute! Amazing what a little paint and paper will do to transform something, isn't it?

I am trying for the first or second week of Nov. for getting us Buckyeye bloggers together. How is your schedule looking? So far there are at least 8 or 9 of us interested in doing this. Columbus, Cincy, and Dayton areas- so I want to try and find someplace where we can all agree to meet. All but one of the central OH girls is willing to drive to the Dayton area. I was thinking Waynesville/Lebanon or possibly even Tipp City, north of here. Let me know what you think.
:-) Sue