Beautiful Boxes For Storing Your Beautiful, Personal Artifacts

Where are you keeping your precious mementos?

It had been years since my birthday fell on a Monday. So last week, I took the day off because nothing is better than a random weekday off. My day consisted of a breakfast sandwich, drop-off laundry, conversations with neighbors and strangers, Maguire Shoes, Old Friend Photobooth, a red gel manicure (no anti-gel manicure sentiment here because it’s the only thing that helps my cuticle picking problem!!!), thrifting at Stella Dallas, and making burgers at home.

But something that stood out to me the most from that day was actually a Mister Rogers video my boyfriend played on YouTube that morning. I was a PBS kid, but for some reason, my memory is hazy when it comes to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. So lately, we’ve been revisiting episodes. The video I watched was about a wooden captain's lap desk with different compartments. Mister Rogers talks about the importance of having your own little special place where you can keep your special things, whether it’s a wooden box or a shoe box.

“Do you have a place of your own where you can keep special things that belong to just you?” he asks.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Episode 1411 (1975)

Of course, it reminded me of how I’ve been wanting a new storage box to store the special letters, notes, ticket stubs, birthday cards, and postcards I’ve accumulated over the years. The white lidded IKEA plastic bin in my apartment just isn’t doing it for me anymore, nor does it feel special enough. So I began my search.

Boxes For Days!

After scouring eBay, Etsy, 1st Dibs, and a few other places, here are some delightful boxes for your leisure.

Art Deco Tin Jewelry Box: Vintage Scandinavian Casket, $83.75

Vintage Chinese Wooden Jewelry Box With Brass Hardware & Red Satin Lining, $91.65

Vintage 60s Mexican Los Castillos Modernist Inlaid Stone Brass Copper Silver Box, $250

70s Sewing Box Sewing Basket, $94.93 (Okay this not a technically box, but obsessed with the idea of keeping stuff in a little basket like this)

Vintage David Marshall Cast Aluminum & Brass Sculptural Box, $569

1970s Vintage wooden jewelry box, $28

Brutalist Tin Wrapped Box, $140

Vtg Mid Century Modernist Raymor Italy Pottery Trinket Box, $250

Primitive Blue Chest 1920s, $321

Vintage Hand-Carved Wooden Storage Chest, $78

Antique Primitive Traditional Mahogany Storage Box, $169

Red painted XL chest, $395 (Leaving you with big wooden trunk which I actually really want so I can also store all of my journals in it. Also, it’s an incredible value!)

While putting this together, I also remembered that back in my childhood room, I have a DIY storage box I made with materials I got from the craft store. I bought a cardboard box, wrapped it in pink paper, and bedazzled it with sequins. In it, I have old receipts, my first ever Hello Kitty debit card, and a High School Musical CD. It’s all still in there.

P.S. Go to the thrift store because you will find amazing storage boxes at low prices. I’ll probably be stopping by Yesterday’s News soon because they’ve always got a fantastic selection of storage boxes of all sizes.

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