Remember these? Before we got the luxury pre-fab MDF entertainment centers that fit *everything*, we had these fake wood and plastic drawers that neatly stored away our vast VHS collections of home videos, movies, and the tv specials we ripped on the VCR.
The problem with such particular-use furniture is that once the technology it was built to hold becomes obsolete, the furniture often gets demoted to the dumpster. Not only does our planet have a trash problem, and a VOC problem, and an inflation problem, but crafting, hobbies, schooling, and home organizing (i.e, everything that makes existence worthwhile) are taking more of our budget than they are contributing.
Well fear not, collectors and organizers and polymath connoisseurs of all things crafty (you don't have to call it ADD if you don't want to). These old VHS drawers are waiting for you cheaply and abundantly at your nearest thrift store, swap meet, or dumpster dive, and they are AWESOME!
When I first found them at the thrift store as I was setting up my studio, I simply lined the drawers with boxes, either ones that happened to fit, or ones I cut and taped custom-sized. With a permanent marker to label, and a stackability as unlimited as my table-to-ceiling measurements, I used this convenient set-up for years.
If woody-station-wagon-chic isn't your vibe, go nuts with the designer adhesive paper rolls!
However, as I'm gearing up to move the studio and either sell or ship my beloved storage solutions, I thought I might come up with something that was a little more uniform and stable inside. As it was, the drawers were not all the same style, and inside the contents would shift awkwardly in their hand-made boxes, often stuffed with cardboard scraps to keep things from moving too much. One style of VHS tray was open on the bottom and required matboard taped inside to hold my treasures. I feared it'd be a hard sell, and likely end up in the trash. As luck would have it, my studio is now a mess of all things storage and boxes, and I had the joy of creating a new invention while playing Tetris with my junk.
You know what else was made to fit VHS but outlasted the technology? Those photo and craft boxes, which come in all colors and designs to upgrade your storage space! If you take out the runners on the VHS drawers, and add a little pull handle to the photo boxes, they fit right in! They can be used without the lid for easy access, or with the lid for a little extra security. (Speaking of security, there will be a little extra space behind the drawers for hiding your top secret treasures, too!)
I've got a whole mixed-media studio, so I didn't have to buy a single thing to whip these up; get creative with what you've got lying around or can find at your nearest freecycle, thrift store, or dollar store. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!
Materials:
old VHS storage units
craft storage boxes (7 3/4 " wide, 11 1/4" long, 4 1/2" high, or as fits your drawer unit)
ribbon, 4 1/2" piece for each drawer (I used 3/8" grosgrain)
buttons
staple gun, staples, and a block of wood or old books to run the staples through
hot glue gun, hot glue sticks
pliers, flat-head screwdriver or knife, and hammer can help
STEP 1:
Remove the plastic drawers and find another use for them (hot glue station, beading tray, paintbrush holder, tool caddy, etc) or recycle at the nearest local facility which accepts rigid plastics. You can also simply add a box or tray that fits inside, and voila - project finished!
Remove the slide track / stopper that is stapled inside the VHS box. (This is where you can carefully use a knife, blade, flathead screwdriver, and/or pliers to pry off and remove the staples. BE CAREFUL. Some are rubber, and some are plastic, which can shatter into sharp pieces)
STEP 2:
Use a ruler to measure the length of the craft box, and glue a piece of foam board, cardboard, wood, or popsicle stick in the back of the VHS box behind that measurement. This will be your stopper to keep the drawer from getting pushed back into the unit.
You may need a double-high stopper and an extra piece on the side if your VHS box has an extra ledge on the bottom, to even out the drawer setting:
STEP 3: Measure the center point on the end of your craft boxes. If you are keeping the lids on, make sure this point is below it, so the ribbon and button does not interfere with closing the lid. Fold the ribbon in half, and staple the two ends to the center of the box. Hanging the box on a wood block, sturdy cardboard box, or stack of old books will help keep the staple straight. Carefully pull the box off the block and use pliers and/or a hammer to fold down the ends of the of the staple inside.
STEP 4:
Hot glue a button, or other embellishment, to cover the staple and end of the ribbon pull. Large beads, glass pebbles, semiprecious stones, seashells, monograms, mini toy cars, or plastic animals are all great options! Be careful not to burn your fingers with glue coming through the button holes!
STEP 5:
Let the glue cool down, and insert the drawers into the VHS box. Add stickers, labels, or write on the box with markers or paint pens. Use them with or without the lids; you can tuck the lids underneath instead to easily access the drawer's contents without losing the lid for future use.
STEP 6:
Let everyone know your studio / classroom / office / home organization is an affordable and fun hack to reduce, reuse, and recycle!
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