Charger Station - Bread Box Repurposed!

Today I decided to fix a huge problem in our home--the cell phone charging station.  Up until a few hours ago, we charged our phones/iPods/bluetooths in a corner of our kitchen.  It was always a mess of cords and electronics, and usually looked like this:

I finally grew sick of looking at it and did something about it today.  Many months ago, before I worked full time, I made my own bread.  Cooking is something I've had to compromise on since I went back to work and although I miss it, I know I can't do everything, so we eat a lot of things that are less-than-homemade.  I had this bread box from my former bread making days and thought I could repurpose it for this project.

I bought this bread box at Target last year.  I think it was $10, maybe $15.  I'm sure they are also available at some thrift stores or yard sales.

First, I painted it.  I chose a spray paint from my garage called Heirloom White by Rustoleum.  It's the same color that I used a few weeks ago on the crib rail that I also repurposed. 

As you can see, I didn't paint all the way to the back of the box, as I had plans to cover this area.

I learned this tip from a craft blog (can't remember where):  If you cover an area - like the magnetic closure - with tin foil, it will conform perfectly to to area and keep it from being painted.  Excellent tip.

Next, I drilled a hole in the back of the box.  Yes, I actually did this.  (Insert gasp from my father and husband here.)  I know it's not the neatest looking hole or perfectly symmetrical, but nonetheless, I was the only adult home and I did it by myself.

On the inside of the breadbox, I placed a surge protector strip.  I threaded the plug through my newly drilled hole and started plugging my electronic chargers into the power strip.

I chose to plug in four items- iPod charger, my phone charger, my husband's phone charger and my camera battery charger.

I wound the excess cord into a circle and taped them together.

I taped each loop of cord down to the bottom of the bread box.

 This next part was the most difficult (yes, even more so than drilling the hole!).  I cut a piece of posterboard the exact size of the opening.  I made four small slits in the bottom of the posterboard.

 Because I wanted a pop of color, I chose to paint my posterboard this lovely shade of green.  I repainted an end table a few weeks ago, so this beauty was in my garage as well.

 I carefully taped the posterboard to the inside top of the breadbox.  I taped it where it would not be seen, but left the bottom untaped so that I could remove the chargers when we travel or upgrade.

The chargers are all ready to be plugged in when needed.

In the rare event that nothing needs to be charged, the door closes up and it is fully disguised on our countertop.

But most of the time it will look like this in my kitchen.

I love how it brings organization to my kitchen, reuses something that was sitting in a cabinet, and is fully functional every day.

My inspiration for this came from Pinterest. 

This post is linked to the following sites:
Under The Table And Dreaming ~ Sew Many Ways ~ Little Rays of Sunshine ~ Tatertots and Jello ~ Funky Junk Interiors ~ The 36th Avenue ~ Be Different Act Normal ~I Heart Naptime ~ Creative Jewish Mom ~ The DIY Home Sweet Home Project ~ CRAFT ~ Made By You Mondays ~ Sew Chatty ~ Keeping it Simple ~ Dittle Dattle ~ It's so very Cheri ~ Sew Can Do ~It's So Stinkin Cute

See my complete list of Link Parties here.