So, the other week, Michaels (the craft store) had an awesome deal on their Recollection line of storage: Buy One Get One! I knew it was the time to finally purchase what nail crazies (myself included) call the "Melmer," (Michaels + Helmer) AKA the three-drawer cube.
So, I have hopped aboard the Melmer train! And, it was about time, because my nails racks are overflowing, and I am certainly not getting another:
Here's a look at each of the four racks up close, for fun!
More will fit (especially if I turn more of the square-shaped ones sideways), but I keep them color organized so they can't just be jammed in anywhere. My overflow was hanging out on top of my PC tower, which probably is not the best storage solution ever.
So: Melmer!
I bought two (BOGO!), and they basically took a whole weekend to assemble (or it felt like it). The instructions/ construction is actually pretty simple and straightforward; everything is labelled. It's just that you're hand-screwing in dozens and dozens of screws into pilot holes with a screwdriver. It takes time and elbow grease.
Of course, a drill with the right bit would've sped things up, but ours wasn't charged so I went ahead without. The first Melmer came with the hardware just all jumbled together in a plastic bag. Sorting it according to the not-to-scale illustrated key was a pain.
Luckily, the second Melmer, for some reason, came with them pre-sorted, like this:
Handy. Here's what I used:
It says you only need one screwdriver for assembly, but I found I needed a smaller size for the screws that join the drawer panels together.
And....here's how Hambone pitched in to help the assembly process:
...by basically lounging around and doing nothing. His life is so hard.
The first finished one:
...with most of the polish overflows on top, ready to be stored! That other thing is a jam-packed desk drawer containing all my nail art supplies, nail care stuff, top and base coats, and additional polishes:
What a mess!
So, once the second Melmer was completed (which went a lot faster since I knew what I was doing), I began to organize stuff!
The first drawer from the top is just nail art supplies:
Makeup sponges, binder rings for half-moon designs, striping tape, feathers, Konad & Bundle Monster stuff, rhinestones & swarovski crystals, loose glitter, nail glue, and some SH Salon Effects. There are also some dotting tools and an art brush but they're hiding. The glass container is for striping polishes.
Second drawer is my entire Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure collection, as well as all my Orly minis, and my top and base coats (foremost):
Third drawer is random drugstore and miscellaneous polishes:
There are some Sally Hansen Xtreme Wears, some Color Club (& a Layla) Magnetics, random non-glitter Revlons (glitters are in the rack), and some other assorted polishes.
The next two drawers are empty, which is great. Hopefully I won't ever need to use it all for polish. Maybe some other beauty-related stuff can go in there. I'm not sure yet. Or socks. Socks always need homes.
The very bottom, and last, drawer has polishes I don't plan to keep- that will either be swapped, sold, or given away:
Also some Kiss nail appliques which I find appalling (trypophobia, hello), but someone else may rock.
A couple things: One thing I'm not thrilled about is that the drawers are not self-supporting, which means that when you pull them out far enough, you need to support the weight of them yourself with your hand or else they hang at a strange angle, and everything inside will slide around.
The other thing is that I need to pick up some drawer liners or something so that the polishes have something tackier to sit on so they don't slide around so much. Any suggestions for these? Dollar store?
Anyway, here's what the final thing looks like!
They are made to be modular/ stackable, so they are secure and sturdy stacked like this (there are little pegs that connect them if you choose to stack them).
I love how clean and unobtrusive it looks. There's plenty of space on top for my crazy container of swatch sticks, and any polishes that are waiting to be swatched or organized or anything else! I'm glad my overflow polishes now have a home!
Wow, Cait what a beautiful collection, indeed!!!! I really enjoyed this post. I do love your wall storage and how you organized by color. I wonder if they make the melmer in black?
ReplyThank you! :) I don't think it comes in black, because all of the Recollections line is white, to my knowledge. :/
Drawer liners should be heavy vinyl, not rubber. The rubber drawer liners will eventually cause the polish identification sticker on the bottom to become oily and will fade the lettering till it disappears.
ReplyTo the right of the Melmer, what kind of electrical socket is that?
Huh, thanks for the tip! I will go looking for some soon...
You know, I have been wondering what kind of socket that is since I moved into this house. I have no idea- I've tried Googling it before, but no luck. It's obsolete, nothing fits in it. Just strange....
The socket looks like a 240 v socket to me, which would be strange in a room that's not a kitchen, laundry, or utility room.
Yea...it's a bedroom, so your guess is as good as mine. :)
I love the clean look of your new storage! But I also have to say I love the polish racks. I organise my polishes by brand, because I can't stand the look of differently shaped polish bottles next to each other (in drawers), but the polish rack looks gorgeous! I hope you're not getting rid of it! :)
ReplyI love the racks too- I'm not getting rid of them, no way! My boyfriend will probably murder me if I get another though, so four is it! I am going to organize by brand inside the drawers too, since they won't be on display. :)
Awesome collection and I love your little helper :)
ReplyThank you! He is quite the useless lump, huh!