Last year my husband gave me probably the best birthday gift ever - metal lockers! To some, this may sound like a bizarre, unsentimental gift. But, to me it was absolutely perfect! I've been wanting lockers for years now. And, my taste in lockers is somewhat specific. I wanted lockers with a classic look - the kind you would find in a middle school hall. You know lockers that are metal, a little beat up, in some sort of muted color shade, that make a loud crashing sound when you open and close them. My search only uncovered expensive possibilities like buying them from Iowa and costing hundreds of dollars to have them shipped. The steep cost wasn't worth it to me. However, my guy came through and bought six lockers for a grand total of $10! YES, TEN DOLLARS!
Here's our tip - if you live by a university, visit their surplus store. A school's surplus store sells all the stuff the university doesn't need any more. For example, you can find old dorm room furniture, desks, bookshelves, bikes and at times even pianos. Usually, they sell their items for super cheap just so they can get rid of them. I love our lockers! Each of us has our own and we fill our lockers with sports equipment, bike helmets, gardening supplies and gloves, sand toys, boots and school backpacks. The lockers help keep our garage clean and may be your answer to spring cleaning this year. So, my tip to you: Become friends with your university surplus store. See what you can find. Many times you can get on their email list or become friends with them on Facebook. Then, you will get notified when new items become available. May be you can even score $10 lockers of your own!
In addition to the usefulness of our lockers, we also have fun decorating them. We have a tradition of buying a sticker or magnet anytime we visit someplace. Our lockers are becoming quite decorated - the front and the inside. It is a fun reminder of the places we've seen and an easy, cheap souvenir for everyone.
Another way we decorate is with our bottle cap magnets. We love our bottled soda. Some folks in our household believe the only true way to drink soda is from a bottle so we've accumulated a lot of bottle caps over the years. The magnets are simple to make. My husband actually made them so here's his craft tutorial :) First, wash and dry your bottle cap.
Next, buy some 3M double-side foam tape and cut to fit inside the cap. You can also use a glue gun. Once the tape is placed inside your cap, adhere a small magnet to it. You can find plain magnets at any craft or home improvement store. The bottle cap magnets make the lockers colorful and are too fun reminders!
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