An Innovative Craft Closet

Office necessities, arts and crafts supplies, wrapping paper, and ribbons gather in a closet where busy life gets organized. And who says closet walls have to be wimpy white? Paint alcoves an eye-popping hue. This closet makes use of everyday objects in a new way.

Kitchen towels are inexpensive and come in a wide variety of fun colors and patterns.

See the next slide for their new purpose.

Kitchen towels embellished with strategic stitching and some well-placed grommets become wall-mounted tool organizers. Plan the pockets' sizes to hold the tools you use most often, such as scissors.

Metal racks like these are usually intended as a place for home-baked cookies to cool.

See the next slide for their new purpose.

Metal racks hanging on the wall keep blank cards and notes where they're easy to grab. Because they're at eye level, they're also more likely to get sent. Forget digging in drawers for writing supplies. Store pens, pencils, and markers in wall-hung metal cans directly below.

Self-laminating luggage tags are a must when traveling.

See the next slide for their new purpose.

Luggage tags can help your craft supplies stay organized. Use paint chips, fabric, wallpaper swatches, and scrapbooking paper to color-code plastic bins with the personalized tags.

Plate holders are usually hung on a wall to showcase favorite, decorative china.

See the next slide for their new purpose.

Instead, use decorative plate holders as replacements for sprawling in-boxes. Hang the racks on the wall or a closet door, and stock them with folders for sorting bills, mail, and receipts.