Cutest Little Breadbox turned Organizer!

I have a degree in elementary education, though I never taught beyond my semester as a student teacher. I'm a nerd at heart (well, all over, actually) and as a teacher I loved to correct papers and put stickers or smiley faces on them, to write the weekly updates, and to send the classroom newsletter home.

Kind of ironic, though. Because as a parent, I confess that I.Hate.All.That.Paper.

I love that my Little Men love school and love showing off their work. But do I need 2.4 million  (um. hyperbole) reminders every day of how well Little Man can trace a number 2? Or how expertly Littlest Man can glue cotton balls onto a piece of paper? Not to say that some of the paperwork that comes home isn't important---but do we need so much of it? And where to put it every day when it comes home but before I've gotten a chance to sort? I hate piles!

So, I found this little cutie to stash the paperwork in the kitchen when it arrives.

What? She doesn't take your breath away? Despite the fantastic and fun fungi? Can you imagine what the world was like when mushrooms were a hip kitchen theme, not roosters or vino?

Even with the fine job she does at cleverly concealing bread and whatnot? She doesn't take your breath away?

Okay. I'm not leaving her like this, I promise. I love retro as much as anyone, but shrooms don't really work with my decorating sensibilities. I imagine if they did, my life would be much more trippy and cool. Alas.


 I can imagine that a happy family pulled loaves of Wonder Bread out of this girl for years and years. In fact, when I started, there were still crumbs inside (eew).

The forms, the notes, the masterpieces. They can live in here until I have a chance to sort, save, and send to the circular file all the reams of paperwork that come home with the Little Men.

To start our project, this little breadbox needed a cleaning. I used Windex.

Then, I sanded her to prep the surface for the spray paint. I removed the knob, too.

Once it was sanded, I wiped her down again and then primed her well.

 After drying for 20 minutes or so, I started applying the main spray paint.

I  used Satin Black because I like it, though, I was tempted to do bright red gloss, too.

After 2 coats and a couple once overs to catch the spots I missed, the project looked like this. Let me remind you to be patient and wait between coats---it makes for a much better project! I'm not very patient, so I had to really force myself to avoid watching the paint dry! It is fast, though, and so easy!

With that tackled, I just wiped it off, reattached the knob and VOILA!

The Cutest Little Breadbox Turned Organizer!