apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

For my wedding we had tons of second-hand pressed glass relish dishes filled with white candles as part of the table decor. now i use them to hold paperclips, buttons, earrings, rubberbands, etc at home and at work.

I have a small collection of silver and silverplated objects that I use around the house. A creamer holds my pens on my desk, a small ash tray holds my husband's loose change, a very small sugar bowl holds paper clips, what looks like a small cake stand holds rocks in my bathroom, etc. I like the contrast of using something that is normally consider pretty formal for common objects.

My cologne comes from the store in little wooden boxes - I use them to collect loose coins and organize odds and ends in a drawer of my credenza.

I have an old mug and an old green glass relish dish that I use for pens & pencils.

I use an old gallon olive-oil tin that I cut the top off with a can opener and use for cooking utensils by the stove. I have another tin with a lid that held gourmet carmel corn on my countertop that I keep boxes of pasta in.

I have an old frosted glass wine bottle with a bar-spigot that I use for pouring olive oil when I cook.

I use little vintage ceramic ashtrays as soap dishes, a vintage ceramic cigarette box to keep collar stays and cufflinks in, and a vintage ceramic dish for watches, bracelets, etc.

I use my vintage canisters to hold what they were made to hold. The flour holds the flour, the sugar holds the sugar... etc.

But around the rest of the house I use a lot of hand made pottery that my dad made in the 70's to hold things like makeup brushes, and pens in the office.

I love that idea for the wedding centerpieces. So great!

My TV and DVD remotes live in an old carnival glass cookie jar. Another one holds the cat's toys.

I love repurposed things. I use an old crock my mom had for charger and cable storage, one my grandmother had for colored pencils. I have a couple of old really narrow drawers from singer sewing tables that I use to corral remotes.

I keep my laundry detergent in an enamel bucket. It holds one box (140 loads) perfectly and looks great on a shelf above the washer. Old glass jars have the lids removed and now have plants growing out of the top. They look pretty, you can see if they need water, and they were only 40 cents a piece.

I love the idea of old cannisters for cords. I use McCann's Irish steel cut oatmeal containers for my threads/embroidery supplies. I cover the top with fabric and sew in labels so I can ID from above.

We have many vintage containers around the house...the usual, a couple of colorful vintage canisters hold sugar substitutes and a ceramic blue stilton cheese container houses boyfriend's protein powder. An old oatmeal tin holds cooking utensils, vintage bottles contain oils in the kitchen and mouthwash and bubble bath in the bathroom.

My favorite re-uses are our general paper, pen, and do-dad organizers which is a vintage coca-cola bottle crate that has some of it's dividers missing...which makes it perfect for organizing items of different shapes and sizes. We also have an antique grape crate for paper and magazines, and an old picnic basket holds more magazines and remotes.

I found very old and tiny vintage sodium-bicarbonate tin. After holding on to it for a year with no purpose, it's now serving as the perfect "laundry quarter" container!

I also had a friend that collected clear glass bottles and jars to hold candles for her wedding. It was green, economical, and beautiful!!