A bargain "toolbox" design

Since at least 2012, I've seen "teacher toolboxes" floating around Pinterest.  Just doing a Google image search for that term yields a plethora of redesigned Lowe's drawer units.  I liked them but I felt they wouldn't quite work with my style.  Honestly, I'm lucky if my pen makes it back into a pencil cup immediately after use and I doubted that I'd be able to keep putting pencils and pens back in drawers.  I also don't keep all of my supplies in the same place.  Some live on my desk, some live on the cart where my document camera sits, and others are used infrequently enough that they stay in cabinets.

Just a few of the toolboxes on the Internet

Since I'm moving to a new classroom in the fall and I'm considering gaining classroom space by exiling my desk to the attached closet (which is a huge room), I thought a small toolbox could be useful.  My binder clips and paper clips are perpetually mixed up and I can't always find the size I need. 

I picked up a few mini two-drawer units from Dollar Tree.  That store has so many good teaching items at such a reasonable price.  The inside dimensions of these drawers are about 3" wide, 4" deep, and 1 1/2" tall.  They're not going to hold writing utensils, but that suits my needs just fine. 

I used a few small dots of hot glue to attach the drawer units together.  When you do this, I would suggest removing the drawers (bend the frame ever so slightly).  Put the glue on the bottom of one unit, then place that unit on top of the next unit.  This will keep you from putting glue where it could interfere with the movement of the drawer.

Next, I cut labels to size to fit each drawer.  If you want to make your own, they should be 1 5/8" tall and 3 1/2" wide.  If you want the sizing already done, feel free to download my file below and edit it to list the items you need, picking a font and color that you like.  Use cardstock and the labels will fit nicely in the front of each drawer.  There's sort of a little lip in front that holds the paper upright, so adhesive would be optional.  You could use a little double-sided tape, glue dots, or the like to hold the paper in place if you're afraid it will shift, but mine are loose so I can change out the contents quickly if I decide to. 

Here's the finished product (in a poor photo, sorry)!  Total cost: $3 plus tax.  Time to link up to #made4math!

I have designs on adding a few more drawers if I can find more at another Dollar Tree.   I brainstormed all my ideas in the file below.  The font is "KG What the Teacher Wants" and can be downloaded free for personal use. 


Have you made any organizational changes for next year?

Mathematically yours,
Miss B