Wait, Don't Throw Out Your Old Shoeboxes—5 Smart Ways to Reuse Them Around Your House

Key Points

• Use shoeboxes to sort socks, jewelry, or makeup; lids can act as dividers to sort items by category.
• Shoeboxes are great for storing crafts, photos, and cards; label and decorate them for easy and aesthetic use.
• Use shoeboxes in any room—even kitchens—for affordable, effective storage.

Professional organizers are experts at finding clever ways to reuse common household items, and when it comes to empty shoeboxes, they have many ideas. Don’t toss them into the recycling bin because they can serve multiple useful purposes around the home, experts say.

Here, three organizers share five creative and practical ways to reuse shoeboxes to enhance your home's storage capabilities. You might be surprised by the impact a shoebox can have in almost any room of your home.

Use Shoeboxes As Drawer Organizers

There's no need to spend money on drawer organizers when shoeboxes can be just as effective. If you have deep drawers, shoeboxes can make ideal organizers for sorting items by category, explains Catie Kelly, the founder of Sistamatic Organizing.

For instance, if you're organizing a dresser drawer, you could use one shoebox to hold everyday gym socks, another for taller socks, and another for tights. In a desk drawer, you could fill one shoebox with electronic chargers and another with everyday office supplies like small notepads, pens, and pencils.

If you prefer, you can even cut up the shoebox lids to create dividers inside each box, Kelly adds. This solution is especially helpful for sorting smaller items like jewelry or makeup by color or purpose.

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Use Shoeboxes to Store Craft Supplies

If someone in your household enjoys arts and crafts, shoeboxes make it easy to store all kinds of craft supplies, says Dana Reder. She suggests using them for markers, glitter, glue, and paints.

Just affix labels to the outside of each box so you'll easily know what's inside, adds the founder of Winnow & Bloom.

"This makes it easy to grab a box or two to tackle any project or activity that might come up on a rainy day," says Reder.

This system also simplifies cleanup; you'll always know where each type of supply belongs.

Use Shoeboxes As Memory Boxes

Rather than purchasing decorative boxes, which can be pricey, consider repurposing shoeboxes to hold items on your shelves. They can be extremely useful for organizing things you would put into any other type of memory box, like letters from loved ones or printed photos.

"Printed photos are rare these days, but if they are piling up and you don't have time to put them in an album, a shoebox is a great idea to keep them safe," Reder says.

For extra protection, she suggests placing your filled shoebox within a larger, waterproof bin.

If you want to make your shoeboxes look more aesthetically pleasing, Kelly suggests covering them in gift wrap or contact paper. You could even use leftover fabric or wallpaper from a past project!

Use Shoeboxes to Store Stationery

Similarly, you can use shoeboxes to house other paper goods, such as an extensive stationery collection.

Caroline Dockery, the founder of Categorically Caroline, recommends adding sticky notes inside the shoebox to help you divide your greeting cards by type (e.g., wedding cards, birthday cards). This system makes it easy to keep track of how many cards of each type you have on hand.

Use Shoeboxes in the Kitchen

Shoeboxes in the kitchen? Absolutely, says Dockery. She explains that shoeboxes can be great for storing food container lids, as long as they're fully dry. No more wondering where you've placed that Tupperware lid!