Roundup: Repurposed Mail Sorters

In our younger days, we had a pen pal. Our favorite thing about having a pen pal (besides making a new friend) was receiving mail. To this day, we love having a spot to stash the mail until we have the opportunity to rip it open (with our handy letter opener, of course)...

The thing we like best about a repurposed mail sorter is that its given a second life. Whether found at a thrift store or recycled from home, the fact that they're not being used for their intended purpose makes them that much cooler. Megan from Nerd Nest takes a vintage 45 record holder and uses it as a place for mail to land. Also in the lineup is a plate rack from the Container Store (which could be spray painted for a playful vibe). We've always been a fan of a fancy toast rack as a mail sorter but we've also heard a bagel cutter works great for storing letters upright.

Apartment Therapy readers, what kind of mail sorter do you use? Let us know in the comments!

Comments (10)

I don't really get enough mail to need to sort it, but I do love sending mail and try to send something to friends once every couple weeks or so, usually using cards or stationery I've made myself from recycled materials. Snail mail that's not a bill can be such a nice surprise!

I've been using a toast rack for some time as a letter holder. It really does the trick, in a neat and stylish way.

Sending and receiving personal letters and cards seems to be a dying practice, sad to say. The USPS is talking of closing PO's, cutting down to a 5-day week, etc... my mailman said that the volume of first-class mail these days is lower than at any time since 1964.

Let's all send a letter to someone today... or even a post card!

We use our napkin holder since we never had napkins in it. It doesn't sort the mail, but at least it keeps it all in one place instead of all over the table.

mirandabee, I'm surprised since 1964. You'd think with the Vietnam war there would have been a lot more letters going out after '64. But maybe that's classified differently?

Maybe I need something like this. Our mail usually just ends up on the shelf by the door.

Emily

I open my mail as soon as I walk in the door with it.

mirandabee, not only are people not sending personal letters, most of us get/pay our bills online these days, too!

I use my grandmother's sterling toast-holder! I can't imagine ever needing to hold that much toast...

http://www.mylittleapartment.blogspot.com

any idea where to to find something like the first photo?

Not looking to sort mail but looking for something that could be used as a print drying rack when i do my block prints.

trying to find an inexpensive way to do something like that.

jmorey,

Hi! The first photo was from my etsy shop (linked in the article). The record holder pictured went fast, but there should be a few more in the shop by next week.

I'm using the wine rack that is built into my kitchen cabinets. There is no way I will ever have that many bottles of wine at once, so there are plenty of slots for sorting mail and storing other knickknacky things.

Vintage breadbox, works great, hides everything!

Thought for a long time how I wanted to set up the mail inbox portion of our landing strip. Had this laying around, purchased from etsy for home-baked breads but it was too big for our small kitchen...after a few months in storage...it's now found a new use!

http://rotipom.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p884709457-4.jpg