Back to School Recycled Cereal Box Organizer

Back to school recycled cereal box organizer. Thanks to Martha, you may have already seen this craft… although I remember making these when I was a kid - looong before Martha was doing her thing.

I even helped the kids make a couple of these for Father’s Day a couple of years ago. We covered them in fake leather that we made from paper bags.

Anyway now that the kids are a bit older and we’re doing the homeschool thing, we are in dire need of organization… so the recycled cereal box is coming back out at our house! Here’s how to make it…

What You’ll Need:

A clean, empty cereal box (or something similar in shape)
Construction paper, wrapping paper, shelf liner, fabric, etc.
Fun foam sheets with adhesive backing
Glue
Scissors
Any stickers, foamies, or decorations you choose

What to Do:

Cut the top flaps from your cereal box.
Measure about an inch from the left corner of the box and make a mark. Measure two and a half inches from the right bottom of the box and make a mark. Use your ruler to draw a straight line between your two marks. Do this on both sides of the box. I know this part is a bit confusing, so look at the picture for clarification if it doesn’t make sense.
Cut on the lines that you’ve made to reveal the basic shape of the organizer. It should look like one of those magazine holders that you can buy.
(Optional) Cover the inside of your box with paper, shelf liner, fabric, etc. and glue in place. You can use the discarded pieces of the box as a template for part of this. This makes the organizer look more finished, but it’s not necessary.
Use fun foam to cover all the outsides of the box. I highly suggest that you use the fun foam that comes in sheets and has a self adhesive backing. The way we measured for each side was to simply hold it up to the side you want to cover and use a pencil to trace it onto the paper backing. Then cut it out, remove the backing, and stick it on.
Decorate the organizer anyway you want. My kids liked using self adhesive foam shapes because they stick very well and look great… plus it’s a lot easier for me, especially with my younger kids.

Once you get this basic organizer done, you can use it to put extra papers, small books, magazines, etc. in it… but don’t expect it to hold up to anything too heavy. Cereal boxes just aren’t that strong.

If you need something more heavy-duty, you can try to fit one cereal box inside of another or use a heavier box altogether. I’ve also seen people glue three boxes together in a row to make a triple back to school recycled cereal box organizer that looks like it would be more sturdy.

By the way… if you’re doing this project with your kids or a class, don’t expect them to look nearly as neat and tidy as the ones in the picture above. Those were clearly done by a “Martha Professional.” I just used the picture so that you could see what it was supposed to look like.

August 19, 2008 · Filed Under Archive, Crafts, Recycling