Large Egg Box Storage Cubbies

This post is mainly directed towards Moms or even kiddos that are looking for some easy and thrifty storage options for their dolls, doll items, and really anything else you may need to store around the house.  This is a large egg box (the box that the eggs get shipped to the grocery stores in.)  They make excellent cubbies once the front four flaps are cut off.

I am able to get pretty much as many as I need or want because my husband works part-time at a local grocery store.  He just asks his fellow co-workers to keep the egg boxes for him--otherwise they just throw them away.  I do know of other people who have gone to their local grocery stores and approached a dairy worker or manager about obtaining these boxes.  Normally, If you just ask and explain what you are using them for, the store will be willing give you some of their empty boxes.

I have found these particular boxes to be so useful in so many ways.  I wish that when I was still teaching I had thought about getting some of these boxes because they would also be great for a classroom for extra storage or centers.  The boxes are very sturdy as far as cardboard goes and can easily be covered in duck tape, fabric, pictures or paint.

How to Turn a Large Egg Box Into Storage Cubbies:
Step 1:  Go to your local grocery store and ask if you could have a few large egg boxes for a project (have your parent ask if your are under 18.)
Step 2:  Once you have the boxes at home, tape the back side of the box closed with packaging tape.
Step 3:  Cut the front four flaps off of the box.  I normally do this with a box cutter but scissors work as well.  If you are under 13, make sure to get a parents help with this step.
Step 4:  Design/Cover your cubbies.  You can use a multitude of materials to do this or just leave them plain.  It is up to you!  Be as creative as you want to be.
Step 5:  Fill with doll items or other items that you need storage space for.

Pictures of some of the ways we use these storage cubbies at my house:

Doll item storage in buckets labeled with my daughters' names inside the cubby holes.

This is in my craft room.  It is two boxes taped together side by side.  I use these cubbies to store doll books, little doll items and some other craft items.

This is the top of the two cubbies in the picture above.  I use this as a place to take pictures of dolls as well.

In this picture, I use the cubbies to store some of my craft items and containers.  These cubbies are on top of a high shelf in the room.

We also use the cubbies on shelves near our front door as cubbies for my daughter Gwen and her two friends that I watch during the day.  I modified it a little by adding extra boxes on the end to make a third row of cubbies and cardboard pieces as dividers on the top row.  The top row is where extra wipes, clothing, and some art projects are kept.  The middle row is for their main everyday belongings and the bottom row is where their "workbooks" and pencil boxes are kept.  The very far row of cubbies on the right (top to bottom) are my daughter Gwen's cubbies.  She likes to keep a lot of extra stuff in them. :)

This is the Little People area.  As you can see, the boxes are pretty sturdy.

This is part of the dramatic play area.  The cubbies on the left hold dress up items and the cubbies on the right hold babies.

These are Gwen's clothing cubbies in her room.  This is where the clothing choices for each week are kept to help promote her independence and self help skills.

 As you can see, I really like using these boxes and making them into storage cubbies.  I think it is the teacher in me, partly, that really likes everything to have its own little space.  I hope that this can help some of you with storage needs for your dolls or any house hold items.

I would love to see pictures of your storage cubbies if you try this out!  Please feel free to comment or email me @leasekristis@yahoo.com.