Stay Gold

Thursday, April 14, 2016

I'm not going to lie, I am really bad at keeping my veeeery long paper trail of receipts, invoices and well...just anything made of paper organized. It's mostly due to having an inadequate place to store things. I work in a very small space so if my papers aren't neatly tucked away in a drawer or sorted, everything ends up in a paper box and never to be seen again...until I desperately need it and I'm frantically sorting through a years worth of junk. It's a problem.

So instead of sorting (pun intended) my problems out head on, I came up with this cracking idea to DIY a pretty looking box to store all my papers in. This is all in the hopes that one day I will sift through everything - so far, it's working out pretty great.

What you'll need
A clear plastic filing box
Hanging folders
Hanging file folders
Wrapping paper
Fine grit sandpaper
Painters tape
Old newspaper
Spray paint primer for plastic
Spray paint
Varathane spray sealant
Glue stick
Scissors
Washi tape (optional)

Note: This is kinda picture heavy because I'm really into documenting EVERYTHING.

This is what we're working with, not everything is pictured but you get the idea. Except for the filing box and paint primer, I had all these things lying around my house (and you probably do too!)

I picked this filing box up from Marshall's for $10, I'm not really stoked on the lettering but it's nothing a little paint can't fix. (Ignore the blue spray paint, it just reaaaally wanted to be included in this family photo)

First, tape off the area you'd like to paint - cover what you don't want painted with the newspaper.

Sand the plastic to create a surface the primer can adhere to and then wipe with a damp cloth and let air dry.

In a well ventilated area, follow the instructions on your can of paint and spray the box with primer (I did two coats). When dry to the touch, follow with your spray paint colour of choice, again follow the instructions on the can (I did three coats here). When dry to the touch, spray with sealant to finish. The sealant takes a while to dry to it's best to leave it overnight.

Right, while your soon to be shiny new box dries, let's work on the file folders. There's apparently no such thing as nice hanging file folders unless you order them online, but I thought covering the folders with wrapping paper could give your existing folders a new life.

I'm pretty boring and unimaginative when it comes to picking a colour scheme so I went with brown wrapping paper that I got at the dollar store for a whopping two dollars, but feel free to make your paper choices much more exciting than mine.

First, lay out your hanging folder on the paper to get a rough sizing estimate. Cut the paper a bit larger than the folder size. Glue the folder and the paper together, you'll have excess paper on all sides. Glue the excess paper and fold it onto the inside of the folder like so.