Saying Goodbye to Messy Closets and Desks

Throughout this third week, it has been all about research for my genius hour. I have been researching different DIY project ideas to create that only contain recycled materials. Parts have been challenging as the more upscale projects contain more expensive materials. In addition, I found many projects that were decorations rather than storage solutions which posed some difficulties as well. However, I finally had some success and found some possible DIY project contenders mainly to provide closet and desk storage. Many ideas were found on Pinterest which I found to be extremely helpful.

Closet storage projects include shoe organizers and belt hangers. These projects are made from cardboard which can be easily accessed from the recycling bin and decorated with any materials from around the house. These storage solutions will be handy as they also act as organizers for the closet.

Many desk projects were found that helped store desk items such as writing utensils and stationary items, and paper or files. Writing utensils and stationary items can be stored by using either cardboard, tin cans, or plastic bottles to act as a holder. Paper and file storage can be made from using cardboard where it can make stackable slots to store these items. Both of these storage projects are created by using recycled products which fulfils my genius hour requirements.
Here is a project that helped get my creativity flowing for possible DIY ideas for desk storage.

From this point, I have decided to attempt to create both a closet and desk storage solution. To help decide what project I will actually create, I looked at what my needs are. For example, a lot of my shoes are scattered in my closet as I have no place to put them but the floor. Therefore, I need a storage item to place my shoes in and keep organized. Furthermore, I see my desk area is in dire need of more storage for my stationary items as I have many pens and pencils on my desk as well as scissors and paper clips since I have no place to put them. The photos to the right visually explain my storage issues that I need to fix.

My task for the upcoming week is to gather as many recycled materials as I can that I think will be useful in creating these DIY projects. I will also come up with a general idea of what I would like my projects to look like based off the recycled materials I find. Time to go digging in my recycling bin!