While purging and getting rid of things before our big move “across the pond,” we started to take note of the fact that we have a LOT of old wine cases. When we moved into our farmhouse in 2006, they were one of the MANY things left behind by the previous owners. I always found them extremely practical to use in shelves because they are just big enough to hold a lot of stuff, but not so much stuff that they become unmanageable.
When we decided to move to Southwest Florida, I knew I just had to take those wine crates with me. I didn’t have a clue at the time what I intended to do with them, and I let go of a whole lot of other things that were practical for creating storage. But these crates just had a special place in my heart and I couldn’t bear to let them go.
My husband must have thought I was pretty crazy at the time. In fact, I think he probably told me that at least once. But I didn’t care. The crates had to make the journey. And shortly after we moved in, we became so glad that we’d made that choice. Because we found out that they are ideal for bookshelves!
We can’t take credit for this idea ourselves — because my in-laws actually did this first. They managed to get some cases for free from Costco instead of shipping them across the world. But the principle is the same.
What is super great about these shelves is that they are really versatile and can fit in a variety of spaces. We knew finding a shelf low to the ground which would perfectly fit under our bedroom windows and not stick out too far was going to be a bit of a mission. But not with these wine cases. It was almost as if they were meant for that purpose.
We managed to get almost all of our books unpacked and really are amazed at the number of books we must have gotten rid of since they all fit in these 8 wine crates. We staggered them a bit like bricks so that they won’t fall over in pairs. And we’ve got some of the larger, heavier books on the bottom to anchor things. But even when the dog comes in and creates a tornado with her tail, they don’t budge. They are nicely nestled into the carpet now and we just love them. I would be happy to find another couple of them to add here and build a new “shelf” with around the corner. But we love they way they look and the eclectic feel of them.
So what are you going to upcycle this week? I don’t advocate holding onto stuff forever. Actually I think that if you can’t figure out what to do with it or haven’t used it in 6 months, it’s time to say goodbye. But if you can repurpose items in your home to be practical and don’t have to spend a penny, that’s a very awesome thing!
