Tie organization doesn’t have to be a hassle and it can be fun and cool! This Tie Organization is the second in a series of Marvelous Man Crafts.
Marvelous Man Crafts are crafts you can do for a man, crafts that be done by a man, or crafts you can do with a man. There is no sexist intent here, just an opportunity for me to make things for the men in my life, showcase things made by the men in my life, or to share with you the things I have made with the men in my life. |
Ties seem to be one of those accessories that accumulate over time, often because they are an easy gift. Because tie styles change pretty regularly, you the men in your life probably have ties in various widths, colors, patterns, etc. Then there are all the novelty ties that men seen to accumulate, whether because it is related to an inside joke, a hobby, a favorite motorcycle, car, movie, etc.
Regardless of how you acquired all those ties, you probably have several. You might not care so much about the “cheap” ties but you want to keep your nice ties organized, clean, and free of wrinkles.
Disorganized Ties
Does your tie storage look something like this?
These types of tie hangars try to help you with tie organization. When you first put your ties on it, they probably looked organized. Over time, that organization likely fell apart into something like the picture above.
Trying to get to your ties on various types of hangars can be a challenge if you are stacking the ties on top of each other on the hangar. The ties are also exposed to the dust that normally floats around in all of our homes so you may end up with a line of dust along the part of the tie that is draped over the hangar. Your ties can end up with wrinkles from being crushed if the hangar hangs between the clothes in your closet.
Tie Organization
This post in Marvelous Man Crafts shows you how my husband does tie organization. It’s actually pretty cool and quite clever.
My husband does tie organization using sorter boxes. These plastic boxes are designed for small parts sorting in a workshop. They happen to be a good fit for his ties.
He has two of these boxes and they sit on a shelf above the closet rod. He has them in two different sizes to hold ties of different widths. This method of tie organization allows him to find the tie he wants without having to search for it on a hangar.
He has two other boxes for the ties that are not currently in style and the novelty ties that he wears once every few years.
The Box
The specific boxes my husband uses are Tough Box small parts organizers that he bought at Lowe’s. There are several of these types of containers by the common toolbox manufacturers. What’s nice about using these for tie organization is that you don’t need something heavy duty. It’s okay to spend less on these. They are more than durable for ties.
How to Get the Labels off the Plastic Boxes
Some plastic storage containers have a label that peels off nicely. It is always a relief when that happens. But, then you have the ones that are stuck on like they are angry with you and refuse to budge. One of the containers we bought was one such box. This label did not want to be removed.
I turned to the Internet to see what other people had tried to get labels off of plastic. None of the methods I found worked. Just soaking in soapy water did not work. I tried the coconut oil method someone recommended. I stayed away from the recommendations that involved abrasive powders or scrubbers because I did not want to scratch the plastic. One site was suggesting a few different solvent-based products that would have clouded or partially melted the plastic.
The method that actually worked for me for whatever glue was on this particular label was Simple Green and a little elbow grease. I soaked the label with Simple Green and scrubbed with a regular sponge. It took me about 15 minutes but it worked great and did not mar the plastic. You can see here that the ties are visible through the lid.
Organizing the Ties
If you have enough ties to have multiple boxes you might want to organize by color, by width, by formality, or by design. Organize by whatever works best for you.
In my husband’s case, he bought two sizes of the boxes to hold varying widths of ties.
Decorating the Box
Something we talked about doing was decorating the lid of the box but we decided not to do that. The lid of the box, while not perfectly clear, is translucent enough to see the ties through the lid and that was preferable to having to open each box to find a tie. But, YOU can still decorate your tie box. There are paints you can use on plastic and there is vinyl you can cut on your craft machine. If you end up with multiple tie boxes you might want to decorate them them to indicate what is in each box. This is helpful if they are stacked on a shelf or sitting on the floor side-by-side. That way you can tell at-a-glance which box to grab.
YOUR Tie Box!
I would love to know if you get your own box for organizing your ties and if you decorate your boxes! Join me on Facebook and share your pictures.
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