Ammunition Boxes Revevaled

Ready to see what I did with these?
(Ammunition boxes from Goodwill for $2.95 each)

Well, after lots of thought, and after reading through all of your suggestions (which I greatly appreciate) I decided to do this:

As I so often do, I got my inspiration from Pottery Barn. I remembered their bankers boxes as I was starting at my ammunition boxes trying to figure out what to do with them to make them decorative while also making them functional.

Each of the boxes got 2 coats of chalkboard spraypaint. The one on the left shows the box after being treated with chalk, the one on the right before.

I added old mason jars in the top box, also found at Goodwill. One is now a pen holder and the other a vase (although it could easily hold paperclips, rubberbands, etc in the future). I also added blank index cards so that they are conveniently next to the pens for quick to-do and grocery lists. (I love using index cards for lists as they are easy to stick in my pocket, handbag, etc.) The bottom box will hold important mail, paperwork, etc. that needs to be accessible but hidden. And since I used chalkboard paint, I could change the writing to "In" and "Out" or anything else!

And the addition of these boxes to our desk led to a full on reorganization!
While we have had good intentions for our desk, it's never really panned out. For some reason our bill organizer has always been in the kitchen taking up prime space on our counter tops. Moving it to the desk only made perfect sense. Luckily it's black, so it goes well with the my version of the bankers boxes. I added a burlap runner that I made out of my burlap stash. I hemmed the edges this time using heat-n-bond. My little bird cage stayed. The lamp is the same but the lampshade got replaced by something less formal.And all the drawers in the desk were purged and reorganized. So happy to have been prompted to do that!

A basket in the floor next to the desk helps to act as a catch all for junk mail, items, keys, etc.

This is now one of my favorite and more functional areas of our home. Funny how the addition of small items can lead to a whole makeover!

These ammunition boxes were my first great find at Goodwill at only my 2nd visit. I plan to make pitstops there all the time now in the hopes of finding more gems! What was your first and/or favorite find at a thrift store?

I'm linking up to "Today's Thrifty Treasures" at Southern Hospitality, "Metamorphosis Monday" at Between Naps on the Porch, "Make Your Monday" at Cottage Instincts, "Get Your Craft On" at Today's Creative Blog, and "Best DIY Projects of March" at Beneath My  Heart.