Just in case you missed this DIY article on making file boxes from cereal boxes the first time we shared it a couple of years ago, we are republishing it. After we published this blog originally, we got an awesome response. This is one of the PYP Best Blogs!

My kids love, love, love anything that has to do with art, coloring, drawing, etc. We have tons of coloring books, how-to-draw books, workbooks…you name it! But I get frustrated with the mess it can create…books all over the place! This isn’t even all of them!

As you can see in the photo, I have a couple of plastic file boxes. I love organizers of any kind! I am working on organizing all these books, and I want more file boxes. But I am too thrifty to just go spend $7+ dollars on several more organizers….so I am making my own! We all have empty cereal boxes around the house. Here is one way to use them.

Supplies you will need:

a large cereal box (large enough to fit the books inside)
modge podge
brush
scissors
scrapbook paper to cover the cereal box

You can see on the cereal box I took a permanent marker and drew the lines where I wanted to cut the box. I just used my current file boxes as a template. You can eyeball it with a ruler too.

Then cut your box on the lines you drew. Here is what mine looked like after I cut it:

Then you will want to take your scrapbook paper and trace to cut.

At first I was going to use a couple of different kinds of paper on the box, but then I changed my mind. Here are all the paper pieces, ready to be put on the box.

Take your modge podge and paintbrush and cover one side at a time. Line up the paper pieces that fit on that side and press firmly. Get out all the air bubbles and smooth out.

When you are all done with each side here is what it looks like. Pretty cute, huh!

After it dries for a bit, take your paintbrush and paint modge podge over the edges and corners to reinforce durability.

Now you have a cute file box! I put it in the cupboard…and it looks great! Now I need to make a few more. I will also label them with the book contents to make it easier for the kids to put things back where they belong.

I already had all my supplies on hand for this project, so I didn’t have to spend any extra money to start organizing my kids workbooks. Next time you need to do some organizing, think thrifty and pinch your pennies!