Hiya, Folks!
Probably several other folks have these same ideas and perhaps have even posted them here but...just in case....
If you're on a tight crafting budget like me, you might appreciate a few of my cheap-o / free bead storage ideas!
FREE...If you take a lot of Rx meds, you doubtlessly already know the clear orangey-brown plastic bottles with the versatile kid-proof/easy screw-off tops are useful for storing beads. Because of their dark color, though (I suppose the plastic has to be dark in order to prolong the shelf-life of meds if they're sensitive to light), it's not helpful for ID-ing beads by color in them. I just tape a piece of paper to the lids with a sample of three or four beads (if they're seed/delicas) under the tape/on top of the paper with the bead info so I have an instant way of selecting beads for projects. And I like the recycling idea!
FREE...If you travel, many motels provide little bitty bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I've noticed in the past several years that many manufacturers or distributors of these products use similiarly-styled bottles. They're about 2-1/2" tall and 1/2" in diameter...round...well, cylindrical...and have screw-off caps. They're also a semi-opaque "clear white" color and their caps are opaque white. They hold quite a bit of seed/delicas and what I really like about these is that the neck of the bottle is the same height as the lid, which is about an inch or so high so I can get a lot more beads in each bottle than I could if they had short necks. I ID these bottles in the same way I do Rx bottles. Again...recycling!
CHEAP-O...If you have a Dollar-Tree store (NOT "Dollar Store" or any other store with the word "dollar" in it) in your area, they have these nifty little "chest of drawers" style Rx med containers in semi-opaque
clear white," blue, and purple. At a dollar a pop you get seven individual "drawers" that each have four sections with built-in plastic hinged snap lids. These are GREAT for storing left-over seed/delicas that you don't want to waste a bigger bottle for. I purchased a bunch of the "white" ones and have little "cabinets" sorted by color family. Sometimes the hinged snap lids don't quite line-up, but at a buck for 28 little compartments, one or two probably won't make a difference. Sometimes you can nudge them into place, too. I've used other styles of Rx med containers for bead storage before but I'm finding I'm liking this style better.
CHEAP-O...Dollar Tree is also selling plastic crafting boxes that have several compartments; again, for a buck, of course. They have built-in plastic-hinged lids. The one thing I don't care for about these is that horizontally in the center of the lid is a bulge (probably designed for spools of thread). Sometimes I goof and try to stack a flat-bottomed box on top of them. But if you stack the same kind of box on top, they fit without wobbling because the bottom of the box has a corresponding concave curve. I use these for storing my larger beads such as Czech pressed glass or Swarovski crystals.
CHEAP-O...Again with the Dollar Tree (gotta LOVE that store!)...they often have shoe box-sized plastic boxes with separate lids; these nicely hold a lot of the small bottles and those little cabinets.
CHEAP-O...I'm a thrift shop maven and have found several plastic boxes designed to hold cosmetics. They look like fishing tackle boxes and are brightly colored; probably aimed at teenaged girls. They're not huge...maybe 14" X 8" X 8" (I'm guessing), which is plenty large. I've several of these which I use to store not only beads in their own containers but also tools and supplies. They're sturdy and, since the handle's in a recessed area, they stack. I've never paid more than $3.00 for one and I often see these around in thrift shops. I've seen them in regular stores for as much as $25.00! The EXACT same thing! Sheesh! They're cool because not only do they open up like a tackle box with fold-out trays, some even come with lift-out trays. Almost all of the ones I've found also had a built-in mirror but, since I don't need that, I've taped paper over them to list what's in the boxes. I found one in which one of the trays was smeared with lipstick and powder...first I wiped off as much of the gunk as I could (Goo-Gone and plain, old-fashioned lighter fluid...NOT the kind you use for charcoal grills but the kind that comes in yellow plastic bottles and is for filling old-fashioned cigarette lighters; you can get it almost anywhere cigarettes are sold...it's usually with them...is good for that sort of thing). Then I just opened it up and stuck it in my dishwasher upside-down on the bottom rack (I removed the silverware basket), loaded the soap, and it came out sparkling clean!
These may not be the most stylish of storage solutions but they sure have given me a few more bucks for buying beads, instead!
I'd love to hear about other bead-y storage ideas!