apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

During a recent move, my Coca-Cola coin bank http://www.coca-colastore.com/coke/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/b2cm514200_400000003320_L.jpg) which I've had for about 10 years got smashed open. As I was looking for a replacement, I realized I'm 10 years old and probably shouldn't have a giant Coca-Cola bottle holding my change. Is there a grown-up solution for my change storage...that is, if I don't want to go to Coinstar yet?

My husband and I bought one of these (the tallest one) to hold all of our loose change - http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74062&PRODID=63234

I have the pink piggy from Container Store. Urban Outfitters has these huge owls. Really cute, but also quite large. They can hold at least $100, I'm sure.

Someone just sent me this. It must be the ultimate in pricey yet smart ideas for small space living:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/cave-bookcase-saves-space-for-those-who-dont-need-it-250702.php

calypso home carries some shiny metallic piggy bank options that are nice decorative pieces as well - do not scream piggy bank. not all pigs.

I use a mason jar for change (mine is a spaghetti sauce jar with the label removed), and it, too, holds about $100. It usually takes me 4-6 months to fill, and I like the simple look; mine lives in a little nook on my bookshelf, but could also fit inside a drawer. It's the perfect size, IMO; coins get pretty heavy in large quantities, and much more than this would be hard to carry around when it's time to cash in.

http://www.silvergallery.com/babybanks/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=perm&gclid=COG3_OPztYsCFQI2ZQoduXIY2Q

A silver pig. Very big boy and rather nice.

Good suggestions, but I the coke bottle was about 7 inches in diameter and had about a height of 3 feet...with 2 feet filled with quarters, so I don't think these options will work for me. Don't ask why I haven't cashed them in... I guess I don't need the money badly enough, and was saving it for when I really need it.

we've got FOUR different places around the apartment for loose change! jeez...i have a great piece of pottery in the living room that i chuck coins into randomly. then there's a small trash can for my brother who usually tosses them on any flat surface, grr. then there's a cowboy boot full to the brim with pennies that was found in the back of my brother's closet...which is very odd. then there's a glass container in my room for my sacred laundry quarters.

i think it's time i cashed in, eh? so, where does one go to cash in coins? i am so not rolling pennies, never again.....especially a cowboy bootfull!

kdkaboom,

I believe you can go to a Commerce bank to cash in your change even if you don't have an account with them.

denim, why not find a reallly big'n'tall glass floor vase or urn? those are usually 2-3 feet high and nice looking, though a little pricey. cash in the coinage and buy something nice for all your future coinage :)

Kdkaboom -

Commerce Bank. Each branch has this squat, red computerized change counter that customers and non-customers alike can use for free. It's does have a teeth-grindingly annoying interface, but it's free. Free!

awesome, there's a commerce very close to me, too! now...what happens if a paper clip or canadian coin gets in there? does the machine blow up? god knows what's mixed up with that bootfull of coins...

Heh. In my experience, the aforementioned interface - a cartoon girl named Penny (natch) - will lecture you impishly to make sure you retrieve your non-coin items.

Am I such a curmedgeon that a cartoon little girl annoys me? ...Yes. Sadly.

I got rid of my Shabby Chic style sofa this weekend (actually, a Crate and Barrel potomac love seat). I was so done with it. The slip cover - in theory a good idea- was a dust collecting skirt and the sofa felt heavy and massive in my apartment.

There's a giveaway spot in my apt building basement but I realized when I got the sofa out into the hall, that I wasn't going to get it downstairs on my own.

Just as I was standing there trying to figure out what to do, the elevator door opened and a young guy came out so I asked him if he wanted the sofa. He said yes so we pushed it into his apartment on my same floor.

What a great ending! It felt great. He had nothing nothing nothing in his apt and now I have clean open space (although no place to sit!)

I have an old silver tea set, and that is where my change goes. It does hold about $100, and is out of sight.

i got a free dishwasher that is a built in, but the land lord doesn't want to replace the counter top in order to extend it over the dishwasher. the dishwasher will be right in between the counter/cabinets and the washing machine (most galley kitchen you've ever seen!) and i can't figure out what to put on top of the dishwasher. i was thinking a piece of butcher block but how to attach it? any ideas?

"...Good suggestions, but I the coke bottle was about 7 inches in diameter and had about a height of 3 feet...with 2 feet filled with quarters,..."

Seriously, DenimDemon, you should not be replacing this. Take it as a sign that you shouldn't have that much change.... keep it down to what can fit in half of the palm of your hand.

OR, if you don't agree with that: then I vote for replacing it with a Coca-Cola coin bank just like the one that got smashed. That's as grown-up as anything that large for change is going to get; only down-side is carrying it to the bank.

I just use a nice big jar I got from Ikea for our change and sit it on the bookcase, and we try to empty our pockets into it every night--it's our savings for a trip. I hope to get some chalkboard paint to make a little spot on the jar to write our intentions for the trip ("Iceland!") to serve as inspiration to save.

I keep a saucer of change next to my landing strip. Empty my pockets/bag every evening, and grab the exact cost of my breakfast every morning (oatmeal & milk! $2.05) and stick it in my jacket pocket. Keeps the change from piling up....That or if there are too many quarters take it as a sign i need to go out and play a few games of pool in a bar :-)

How about keeping with the bottle theme but growing it up with a large champagne bottle? As a bonus you get to tell people "no, that's not a Jeroboam, that's a Salmanazar" or whatever size you get. Not to mention the bonus of, um, removing the existing contents of the bottle to make room for your coins. Cheers!

Oh, Dude.

Having a giant container of money in your apartment:

a) is like Christmas in July for the guy who breaks into your apartment,

b) loses you money in interest that could be earned by putting those 2 feet (!!!) of quarters in the bank,

c) is going to be the thing that kills you when the fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night, because you're probably going to trip in the dark while carrying it and then be trapped underneath it,

d) is going to go up in flames during a fire anyway, because you will think better about trying to carry it down the fire escape and save your dog and your family heirlooms (or whatever) instead. And no bank is going to cash in a big, melted blob.

Seriously, you must have had at least a couple hundred dollars worth of quarters in that thing. Are you sure you want/need to replace it? How about a cheerful, smiling Buddha Bank for your change? Think of the karma. Ommmmmmmmm...

Or you can get what you really want, Coke bottle or not. :)

1. Not only can you use the "Penny Arcade" coin machine for free at Commerce, but they'll also give you a free coin bank in the shape of a red letter "C."

2. I just spotted the following article on CNN.com about a a woman who's selling nearly all her belongings on e-bay, and I really enjoyed her attitude about getting a fresh start. Though, it doesn't sound like she had a lot to start with....

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/09/ebay.sale.ap/index.html

hi again guys.

i got a free dishwasher that is a built in, but the land lord doesn't want to replace the counter top in order to extend it over the dishwasher. the dishwasher will be right in between the counter/cabinets and the washing machine (most galley kitchen you've ever seen!) and i can't figure out what to put on top of the dishwasher. i was thinking a piece of butcher block but how to attach it? any ideas?

Ok, maybe i'll go to Commerce and cash them all in today. Anyone care to guess how much change is in a 2 foot high and 7 inch wide coke bottle?

Gotta say I agree with Mlle Kate and Sea on the change jar. Seriously, consider Apartment Therapy's "Cure". It's one thing to keep a little loose change in a tray or quarters for the Laundry, but a huge jar is just more clutter and wasted space. It's a nusiance to count and carry when you do decide to take it to the bank. It makes me think of Uncle McScrouge Duck from the old Disney comics and cartoons. ;-)

i don't need to GUESS at how much money denim has...i've got mad math skillz:

2 feet x 7 inches x 25 pennies to a quarter x 365 days in a year x 24 hours in a day x 1,000,000 legs on a millipede x 20 thorns on a rose x 6 chairs at my dining room table x a kabillion quarters = approximately $400

give or take a buck

I never use change when shopping and at the end of each day I put my loose change in an empty tin box that once had candy in it (the quarters go in a glass jar for laundry purposes). When I get desperate for money I take the HEAVY box of change to Commerce a block away and cash in.

Here is something a bit different, whimsical, yet grown-up:


"Superbitus is a one-piece bomb-shaped ceramic money box. Supplied with a white marker to write the purpose of savings."


http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/superbitus/

This might be a bit labor-intensive for some, but I empty the change in my pockets into a small Micmac quill box I picked up in Halifax years ago.

Once a week, I see whether I have enough of any one coin to fill a roll. If I do, the roll gets wrapped and stacked with other rolls.

Once a month I go to the bank and make a small deposit. I've never thought about it in terms of an annual take, but I think it's a recycled $300 or so a year.

If you live in New York, it's soooo easy to give away change. Put it in the violin case open on the street, or put it in the 'tip' jar at your favorite bubble tea place, or put it into the bag next to the freezing person (though single dollar bills should also not be allowed to accumulate). I never have more than 50 cents at the end of the day. It used to be much harder to keep the change down when I needed to have quarters on hand to do laundry. Now, there's just no need to have any of it piling up.

I have a little pinch-pot I made in art class in high school that I keep on my landing strip, in which change fits nicely.

Since it's a studio apartment and there's really no one else to need to put stuff there, I pretty much empty my pockets right by it, and easily empty that change back out and put it back in my pocket the next day.