Yay for reusing!
Isn’t nice when you find a completely different and useful function for something that is no longer needed?
This little hutch for my desk is made out of two old (and probably discontinued) Ikea CD holders. My friend Chiri (not her real name) gave them to me years ago when she no longer needed them (yay for friends who pass on cool stuff!). Since I no longer buy CDs, and keep the ones we have in boxes to keep them from getting dusty, I needed to find a new use for these.
This is the state they were in after almost two years in storage. The tape I had used to keep them together had left permanent marks.
The two little bars inside were originally on top (you can see the marks from when I pried them off), they were used for stacking the boxes. I relocated them.
I sanded the boxes, joined them with glue and nails and painted it white.
Four little Dollar Store baskets and the new little hutch now has four drawers for keeping some of my most frequently-used small items.
Like my many camera memory cards (I have two more in the cameras).
A side note: Chiri’s husband, Pedro, is a real photographer. You know, the kind that went to school and all, and decades ago worked as a war correspondent (shooting back with a camera when bullets fly around you must confer your opinions extra weight, I reckon). He suggests that it’s better to travel with many smaller cards than one big one. Should one card fail (and unfortunately, they do), you’ll still have some photos left.
I am starting to collect my ink cartridges for refilling. I will still use OEM cartridges for printing photos, but for regular printing, refilled it’s OK.
Have you ever used refilled cartridges? Any advice?
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican and Dominican-inspired recipes, home ideas, crafts, and the chronicles of Aunt Clara and Aunt Ilana's adventures.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I'm wondering do all people have your kind of creativity but have not unlocked it within themselves yet? What is OEM?
You are a real handy-women. Nice job! I love it
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. It usually refers to parts built by the manufacturer or the equipment. In this case HP original cartridges.
Very handy! We're in the process of doing a big tidy/re-organise at our house, just you wait and see – one day I will be as organised as you are!Never had an HP printer, but my temperamental Epson will only play with OEM ink, it throws a wobbly if I use anything else.
Clara..yay to recycling! Looks fab. My you are one handy lady.Sinead x
@ Anji:I had an old all-in-one HP that used some mighty expensive cartridges. I used to buy substitutes on eBay, and while the printer would throw a fit and fail to acknowledge that the cartridges were *not* empty, it still printed.@ Chiri:
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That is so beautiful and handy – but you always do that!-EJ-
Glad to be of service – they look great!
It looks great! I love how you repurpose existing items into something extremely functional yet really cute as well.
Everything in your home is so bright and cheerful.
Oh my! What a lovely makeover! I scrolled up and down the "before" and "after" shots and must say you did an amazing job! And again! – excellent photos!And btw lovely profile pic!
Geez, chickie, your creative talent knows no bounds, does it? I love these. Fantastic transformation.
We can't find the kind of ink cartridges we need for one of our printers and only black for the other. At first we would order from the U.S. and have them sent but that was expensive and time consuming. Found a computer store locally that will re-fill for us and so far we've been pleased with the end product.
Love the idea! One can never have too much storage space. I am looking in my garage in just a few to see what I can find to work with. (like I need one more project but hey…helps to end clutter) I have become a follower of your site.