The Perfect Mini Bathroom Storage Gem Is Hiding in the Thrift Store (and It’s Vintage Too!)

Bathrooms are as practical as a space can get. My focus, personally, is on keeping hair out of the shower drain and making sure there’s enough room for all my skincare. But practical spaces can also be beautiful, playful, and unique! Yes, really. If you’ve been looking for something nice to store all those small items in your toiletry collection, I discovered the perfect bathroom storage gem hiding in the thrift store: a vintage matchbox holder.

A blogger and influencer who goes by Sustainably Amber made an Instagram post this week showing off several vintage matchbox holders she’s found at various secondhand shops. Some are adhered to her walls, while others grace countertops. However, they’re not being used for matches. “They really make for some neat and functional storage all around the house,” she writes.

In her post, you see two matchbox holders mounted to the bottom of her bathroom mirror with suction cups. One is white and yellow with yellow flowers painted on it, while the other is cream-colored and adorned with shiny red apples hanging on a vivid green branch. They’re both charmingly retro and impressively practical: One is filled with Q-tips, and the other has reusable face pads. The matchbox holder’s L-shaped, dispenser-style design is perfect for both. And in her laundry room, there’s a black matchbox holder decorated with an adorable bouquet in a heart-shaped vase. I love how it looks — and that it’s filled with laundry pods.

I love the idea, and I’ll be looking around at my thrift shop in order to find the perfect matchbox. Besides Q-tips, laundry pods, and face pads, you could also use it for toothpicks, bobby pins, individual floss picks, and, of course, matches. You could even use it for dog waste bags by your front door. 

Part of what makes this idea so great is the fact that you’re encouraged to thrift your matchbox holder. So, even if you and thousands of other people follow this trend, the final result should look different for everyone. 

I know not everyone enjoys the often time-consuming process of thrifting; if that’s you, then there are plenty of vintage matchboxes on places like eBay (here’s a decades-old one that came from an actual farmhouse) and Etsy, where I found this set of three 1960s matchbox holders. Two have rustic rooster, sunflower, and butterfly illustrations, and one has a weathered white enamel finish that’s undeniably vintage. 

If you do go for a vintage matchbox holder, you’re generally encouraged to test it for lead, as it’s made of metal and may have been decorated with a lead-based paint. You can get lead test kits from Amazon or hardware stores, and testing is as easy as swiping a swab over whatever you’re curious about and dipping it in vinegar.

And if you’re not interested in suction-cupping or drilling anything into your wall, or if you’re not the thrifting type, you could also look at cloche match holders, which could hold any manner of bathroom item while still looking gorgeous and gem-like.