Build A Cardboard Compartment Box

Got a bunch of small items that you need to organize and want to do it on the cheap? Then follow our simple instructions to make your own compartment box out of cardboard. It's a great way to upcycle old boxes and bits of cardboard.

Step 1

Find an old cardboard box box that fits the size of your items. In our case we needed a small box to store a bunch of tiny rubber bands used for making bracelets.

Step 2

Get your supplies ready. We used a scrap piece of cardboard for the dividers, scissors, a marker, some packing tape, a tape measure, and a level for a straight edge.

Step 3

Measure and mark your dividers. Our box was 8 inches wide by 7 inches tall and we wanted 4 compartments of equal size. This meant cutting 6 divider strips in total. Of those, 3 would be 8 inches long and the other 3 would be 7 inches long.

For height, we made ours 1.5 inches tall. Measure and draw your dividers using the marker and straight edge.

Step 4

Cut your dividers out as neatly as possible.

Step 5

Mark out the size of each compartment. We divided ours up to 4 even sections on each divider.

Step 6
You'll now cut out small tabs out of each divider. The tab should be 1/2 the height of your divider. Our dividers are 1.5 inches tall, so we cut tabs that are 3/4 of an inch tall. The width of the tab should be roughly the thickness of your cardboard.

If you're making 4 compartments, you'll be cutting 3 tabs out of each divider. All of the tabs get cut out on the same side of the divider.

Step 7

Assemble your dividers by sliding them together. The tab of a horizontal divider will slide into the tab of a vertical divider. There should be a bit of friction to hold it all together. If not, use tape as needed.

Step 8

Place the divider assembly into the box. Again, if you measured well it should be a snug fit so that friction holds it all together. If not, break out that tape again!

Step 9

Fill it up and marvel and what you did in 15 minutes without spending any money at all!