6 Archive Box Storage hacks to maximise your space!

This article will show you some ingenious ways to use standard archive boxes or bankers boxes to keep your home organised!

Via abeautifulmess.com

Let’s be real, Archive boxes are not exciting. In fact they are very boring, they have a boring name, are used to store boring things and even the way they look is particularly uninspiring.

You could even go as far as to say they are the Dwight Schrute of office supplies.

But looks aren’t everything and much like dear Dwight from The office, archive boxes have hidden skills which are actually very cool (I mean come on he has ninja stars under his desk).

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You may think that having archive boxes in your home is a bit strange, almost like seeing a co-worker outside of work. You know them quite well but seeing them in the big wide world feels a little bit off don't you think? 

But trust me by the end of this listicle you’ll agree with me that the archive box is criminally underused and you may even want to buy some for yourself. If that’s the case you’re also in the right place (and it means I nailed the SEO on this one). You can shop all kinds of boxes right here.

Alright without any further padding or references to tv shows that wrapped up almost 10 years ago let's get into these hacks!

1. Use Fabric and Hot Glue to give your boxes a modern makeover

Archive boxes are made primarily for offices and despite managers trying to convince us otherwise, offices are BORING. And so archive boxes are made with very little consideration for interior design. (how rude of them)

But just like that scene in early 2000s teen rom coms, where the fugly kid has a transformation before the prom. We too can refuse to accept the way archive boxes look and force them to conform to popular beauty standards. 

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If you’re a crafty person you wouldn’t be caught dead without a hot glue gun and that is basically all you need for this hack. Take yourself to spotlight or even scrounge some vintage curtains from Vinnies.

We recommend an archive box with a detached lid for this one.

Like this one

Measure your fabric against your box. Trace the pattern, make sure to leave over hang on each edge to fold into the box. Take your scissors and hack up your fabric into a cross shape like so;

VIA designsponge

Put some hot glue along the edge of each fabric flap and then firmly press into the box. Rinse and repeat until the outside of the box is unrecognisable. 

Then take a contrasting fabric and line the inside of the box for a nice popping look.

VIA HGTV

And now you’ve got a storage box straight out of the ikea catalogue. All it needs is a Scandinavian name (Bjork is good). 

You could continue the process with the lid and even add other parts such as a section where you can name the contents of the box. You could add some fabric handles or even rhinestones if you have no taste.

2. Create a thread storage box

VIA peekaboopages.com

Sticking with the textile theme now, if you’ve got an interest in sowing, you’d know that your thread spools can add up pretty quick. 

Standing them up on a bench runs the risk of them falling over and unravelling themselves which is very unenjoyable and if you lay them down they're already halfway to rolling off the table.

What you need is a storage box to hold them in place and here’s how to do it.

You’ll need:

• A box
• Cardboard
• Screws (about 100mm) 
• Straws

You can take any box which fits your needs. You may have tall spools or short ones, wide or thin either way you’ll find a box you like.

Now measure the base of this box and write down the dimensions.

Take a large rectangle of corflute cardboard. This is the thick cardboard they use to make boxes for transporting goods like fridges, tvs and appliances. 

Take a box cutter or a good pair of scissors and cut it according to the dimensions you’ve measured.

Now get a pencil and a ruler and measure up a grid on this piece of cardboard. Spacing will vary according to the size of the spools you wish to store. You want to make sure there is space between each spool as well as the sides of the box.. We went with a 2cm border and 4cm gap between each row and column.

Push a screw through where each of the lines on the grid intersect and repeat until you’ve covered the whole grid. Add a little dab of hot glue to the base of each one to give it some extra stability.

Flip the board over so that all of your screws are pointing up. Now place your straws on top of each screw.

Take the whole cardboard base and place it into your box, it should fit snugly.

Place your spools down the middle of each spool and there you have it, storage at last.

This trick also works great in draws.

3. Divide and conquer

You’d be surprised how much of a difference adding dividers to a box can make. All of a sudden you can go from a box fit only for paper to one that can safely transport a dozen bottles of wine!

Dividers are like adding little boxes within boxes and they are a great way to make your boxes more suitable for the storage of fragile items.

Here are some ideas;

You can reach out to local wineries, restaurants and bottleshops and ask them if you can use their wine dividers. These split boxes into 12 Bottle sized sections. Create your own compact wine cellar, store spray cans or cleaning supplies. 

You can also make your own dividers with a box cutter and some old cardboard. Wrap them up for a nice textile finish. It’s perfect for storing leftover material and clothing in neat little rolls. No more creases.

4. Crafty Storage for crafty people

These storage hacks definitely appeal to a certain crafty kind of person. And as crafty people ourselves we understand the struggles of accumulating a lot of random stuff from your various projects.

Spray paint for example is an essential ingredient for the DIY obsessed. There’s nothing like taking something old and faded and spraying it with some bright new colours, but the issue is that you end up with a lot of half empty cans of varying colours.

If you live in an apartment or townhouse and you don’t have the luxury of a backyard shed, storing spray cans can be fraught with danger. 

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Many crafters have thought to themselves “If this metallic chrome paint dribbles everywhere in my cupboard my bond is as good as gone”. We’ve all been there and here’s a handy little secret.

Comic storage boxes are actually the perfect size for storing spray paint cans. A short box can comfortably fit 15 cans. They’re robust enough to be carried around if you’re painting some murals in Melbourne laneways. 

You can pop a lid on them to keep all that dribbling paint locked away in the corflute polypropylene box. They're stackable and they’ll fit anywhere, under a bed, in a cupboard or on a shelf. Wherever it fits, it sits. 

And here’s a bonus hack: archive boxes can double as a portable painting booth. Just put your item in the box and spray to your heart's content without fear of covering the room in a beautiful mist of paint.

5. Kallax shelving and archive boxes? A match made in heaven.

The Kallax shelving unit is arguably the greatest thing to come out of Ikea since the meatball.

Almost every home has one, I’m sitting right across from one right now as I write this. 

They are truly omnipresent and some theorise that they may even be behind most historical events, secretly pulling the strings from the shadows…

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Conspiracy theories aside, the best thing about Kallax shelves is that they are the perfect size to fit Archive boxes. Meaning? That every hack we have already mentioned is compatible with Kallax Shelving. 

The second best thing? You can get really creative with them. Want to store your custom made thread storage box under the bed? Build a bed frame out of Kallax Shelves like this!

Want to store your funky repurposed archive boxes AND have a window seat? Feast your eyes.

Check out this post for even more Kallax shelving unit ideas, there’s no limit to your imagination.

6. More than just Paper Records: Vinyl storage archive box hack!

To quote Zoolander, vinyl records are “so hot right now”. Audiophiles are returning to the analog music medium in droves. But what’s the smartest way to do vinyl storage?

Vinyl Record sales in America doubled from 21.5 million units in 2020 to 41.7 million units last year. Such a boom doesn't go unnoticed in the business world and all sorts of vinyl accessories are now available.

The only problem is that these accessories are expensive as f@#$. Record collecting used to be for the cheapskates, finding bargains from the past in second hand shops, storing them in milk crates you found in a laneway, the true hipster’s dream.

Well here’s a handy tip for you, listen closely. You could pay up to $70 for one overpriced vinyl crate, orrrr you could pay $10-15 for a polypropylene archive or comic box. 

They are nearly the exact same dimensions. Built to withstand all kinds of handling. They are acid free so they will actually provide better protection in the long run for your records than a wooden crate would.

The Comic crate specifically can hold approximately 60 12 inch vinyls and fits easily on a shelf

But keep this quiet, otherwise the box people will rename them to Vinyl boxes and jack up the price 80%.

Thanks for reading this far!

Those are our 6 storage hacks for Archive boxes. They really are a super cost effective solution for household storage. If you’re crafty and always on the lookout for a bargain you’re in the right place, I mean look at the title of this website, where else would you go to buy archive boxes?

We are a local Melbourne company supplying small businesses and comic enthusiasts across Australia. Our aim is quality products for a fair price, so if you need storage supplies, drop by Archiveboxes.com.au .