Raise your hand if you got a Keurig coffee maker for Christmas.
Raise your hand if your counter looks like this.
Raise your hand if you love vintage and thrift store decor.
What? You don't have three hands?
Now, what the heck does a vintage loving, coffee drinking girl do with all those little demon pods o'coffee? OK, they're called K-cups, but still, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!!
I decided to use some of my vintage items from around the house to demonstrate some great ways to store them. So they would be within easy reach, yet with a look that stays true to our fun loving, vintage, thrift store kind of roots.
You could go with your basic stoneware bowl and just pile them on in there.
You could go with a vintage coffee tin, because well, the whole idea of coffee stored in a coffee tin was too good to just let it go to waste.
And a barn lunchbox full of coffee was pretty fun too. I sort of liked this idea because you can close the lid up on it when not in coffee making mode.
You can also use a sewing machine drawer. I see these all the time at the antique malls for $5-$10.
There are so many other vintage and thrift store items you can use for K-cup storage:
Toolbox
Fishing creel or minnow bucket
Cute vintage planters
Vintage kitchen canisters (does that count, because that is sort of what they are for?)
Vintage bread box
Cool cookie jar
Glass cracker jar (like the one I made into a terrarium)
Oh, there are just so many great vintage ideas that suit me better than a sterile looking K-cup rack.
So what won out in my house?
Even though I loved the barn lunchbox and thought it looked cool on the counter, I went with the sewing box because it held more K-cups plus my mason jar full of marshmallows.
Tip for you: If you are on a diet, try not to stuff marshmallows into a mason jar and set it right next to the Keurig though. It is WAY too easy to plop a few (dozen) into you hot chocolate. Believe me. Your hips will thank me.
Just before I was getting ready to hit POST on this, I saw that Kim at Kim Six Fix had posted How To Make A Marquee Sign With K-Cups. So now, you don't have to just throw those little plastic cups away. You can hoard them and make something cool with them 🙂
For you pinning pleasure 🙂
Jamie
I have an old tin box that I use for the k-cups and hot cocoa packets next to my keurig (the green box in your pictures i similar to a red one I picked up at an estate sale - was going to use it for the k-cups but sadly the sharpie they used to mark the price on the top of the box will NOT come off) I have an old avon bird on a nest with the marshmallows and a tiny souvenir spoon in it.
Pam
That sounds cute! I have a pet peeve about how they mark prices on stuff at estate sales and thrift stores! I bought a vintage croquet set that was taped up with massive amounts of packing tape and by the time I got all the tape off half the paint had come off 🙁
Whitney S.
I love the wooden box idea! Very nice post! Thanks!
Treasures By Brenda
I love all the vintage ideas you shared and then I saw the sewing drawer. That's my first choice and I love that I could even add some of my tea collection to it.
TheKimSix Fix
Oh my gosh! Thanks so much for the shout out on the bottom! I was clicking through from Facebook and (of course) I had to check out the K-cup post.. and I was so tickled!
<3
Lottie
Oh, I love the sewing machine drawer idea the best! Once I kept them in a silver rectangular loaf pan and I liked that! I know what you mean about the marshmallows! LOL!
Fairhope Supply Co.
I'm right there with you, raising my hand to it all. I've tried baskets, boxes and bowls, and so far, none of them work for our countertop. I like them out of sight but have had to move my dishes around. Love your drawer. I need something a bit larger, because we drink A LOT of java! But you gave me some great ideas.
More caffeine!!! More caffeine!!!
Rustown Mom
Nice. I shoved mine into a cabinet above the coffee pot since counter space is at a premium. I like the bowl idea, though. Also, I have a marshmallow jar sitting in a try of hot cocoa supplies and I resist it, except when it's cocoa time. The boys, however, snack on them, cocoa or not.
ThrifterSisters
I gave my sterile K-Cup spinner to my bestie a long time ago! Who the heck does Keurig think they are by not making something amazing and vintage to store our K-Cups in? I store mine in a variety of vintage tins, depending on my decor at the time. Right now the coffee ones are in a Jadeite Coffee canister, Brian's Ice Tea ones are in a pink Cafe tin, and the randoms are in an old grease jar. I love the idea of the sewing machine drawer! I have two of those things that have literally just been laying around for years.
Erica
Heather - New House New Home
Love your choice of the sewing box....But I don't know where to pin this. On my organization board or my vintage love board? Okay, both!
TARYTERRE
Great ideas. I would have gone with the lunchbox. But the extra space provided by the sewing drawer wins hands down.
Curtains in My Tree
I didn't get a K for Christmas but love the idea putting your little pods in the old lunch tin lunch box
Deanies Stash
I liked all the fun ideas you showed. The sewing drawer was my fave. Those marshmallows are just too easy to eat a dozen or so lol!
Shara
Someone somewhere (vague, eh) posted using a 24 hole soda crate standing on end. I was thinking about using that marketing idea to sell my crates for BIG MONEY. 🙂 I don't have one of these machines, so I can't use the idea at my house. I like the drawer idea - it looks great!
Cozy Little House
I love all the ideas, but I would have chosen the sewing machine drawer too. Clever girl!
Brenda