She Put Vintage Matchboxes on Her Tiny Bathroom Mirror, and It’s the Cutest Storage I’ve Seen

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 products. But just because a space is practical, doesn’t mean it can’t also be beautiful, playful, and unique.

If you’ve been looking for something cute to store small items in your toiletry collection, I just discovered the perfect bathroom storage gem hiding in the thrift store: a vintage matchbox holder.

In an Instagram post, creator Amber (@sustainablyamber) showed off several vintage matchbox holders she found at secondhand shops. Some are adhered to her walls, while others live on the countertops — and they’re not being used for matches. You can see two decorated matchbox holders mounted to the bottom of her bathroom mirror with suction cups. They’re both charmingly retro and impressively practical: One is filled with Q-tips, and the other holds reusable face pads. The matchbox holder’s L-shaped, dispenser-style design is perfect for both.

In her laundry room, she shows another adorable vintage matchbox holder filled with laundry pods. I love the idea so much, I’ll be looking around my local thrift shop to find the perfect matchbox. You could also use it for toothpicks, bobby pins, jewelry, floss picks, and, of course, matches. It’d also be great for dog waste bags next to your front door. 

Part of what makes this idea so great is that you can thrift a cute secondhand matchbox holder in your favorite style. You could also look online for new or vintage matchbox holders on places like eBay (here’s a decades-old one painted on three sides with fruit) and Etsy, where I found this stunning 1940s wooden matchbox holder When in doubt, there are always simple options on Amazon like this steel-enamel pick that you could even decorate yourself.

If you do go for a vintage matchbox holder, it’s recommended you 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 the surface and dipping it in vinegar.