How to Organize Batteries with a Battery Kit!

“Moooommm, my ______ needs new batteries!” It’s a request I get at least a few times a month. So after digging through junk drawers and pulling batteries out of remote controls far too many times, I took an hour to organize our batteries into a simple, quick-grab case. Now storing, accessing, and stocking our batteries is super easy (even the kiddos know where they are!), and this 1-hour project is easily one of the smartest things I’ve done in our home. Let me show you!

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Organizing the batteries wasn’t really on my To Do List. We usually keep all of our batteries corralled in a basket so they were easy to find whenever we needed them. However, when we moved last summer, I threw them all into a giant Ziplock bag for transport (packers won’t move batteries), and they were still in that exact same bag until this week. Rummaging around the bag had become a nuisance, so I decided to come up with a better solution!

A trip the garage and and an hour in my craft room later, we now have a snazzy new “battery kit,” and I am so excited about it. It’s the little things in life, right?!

Not only are the batteries now in a more space-savvy container (rather than just a large open basket), but they are all separated by size/type so finding just the right battery (or assessing which ones are out!) is easy peasy!

Like I said, this was a spur-of-the-moment project I wasn’t planning on. But now that it’s complete, I really wish I had done it sooner. Best of all? I used all items we had on hand so this fun little organization project didn’t cost me a penny!

Finding the Right Organizer for Batteries

When I was trying to figure out a better way to store our batteries, I remembered my friend Jen’s post. I was literally about to empty one of my craft boxes to copy her when I remembered we had a single-layer hardware organizer sitting empty out in the garage. I sure love to purge, but I almost always hang on to organizers. I’m so glad I did because look at how well this adjustable toolbox fits batteries!

At first, I loaded in all the batteries, got rid of all the trash, snapped the case shut and called it a day. But if you guys know me at all, you can guess that the bright yellow dividers were really, really bugging me. So….I gave it a makeover (of course). Some paper and tape later, here we are:

Now…admittedly, this project errs on the side of “Seriously? You made over a hardware box? Do you have nothing better to do with yourself?”

Trust me, I was saying the same things to myself the entire time I was working on it. I’m often saying I don’t have time for anything these days, but this was one of those projects that just made me happy and I really wanted to do it…so I did!

Supplies Needed

• Single-layer hardware organizer with adjustable dividers. (The one I used is no longer available, but THIS ONE is similar!)
• Patterned Cardstock – (I used paper like this.)
• Washi sheets or Duck tape (to cover the plastic inserts)
• Roller adhesive or double-stick tape
• Vinyl (optional, for the label)
• Tools: scissors/paper trimmer, e-cutter (optional)

Decorating the Battery Case

Start by removing whatever dividers come out of your organizer and measuring the base of each compartment. Using a paper trimmer, cut down sheets of patterned cardstock to dimensions that will comfortably fit into the base of each section. Secure the papers with double-stick tape.

The splash of pattern along the bottom of the organizer was just for fun, but it was really the yellow dividers that bothered me the most. At first, I thought I would just have to embrace the color, but when I realized the extra-wide washi tape I had on hand from my Rugby-Striped Dresser Makeover stuck really, really well…I decided to give it a go! You should be able to do the same with Washi sheets, Duck tape, etc.

Don’t worry about wrapping the dividers just right. Simply wrap each one in the tape and then trim away the bottom and side excess with a craft knife. The tape should cling to all the ridges on the dividers just fine, and they should still slide into their slots with ease.

Here is how my organizer looks with paper liners and tape-wrapped dividers…

Loading the Battery Kit

The last step is to fill up your organizer with your batteries. Adjust compartment sizes to best fit the size and amount of batteries you have. If desired, label the sides of the compartments with a label maker. I chose not to label them (shocking, I know!) because batteries themselves are labeled, and I want to be able to adjust the compartment size (up or down) and move things around based on how many batteries we have/buy.

If you’d like, add a simple label to the outside of the box so it’s evident and obvious what’s inside. I cut my gold letters out of vinyl with my Cricut Explore, but you could get the same look with peel-and-stick letters from the craft store. The gold on its own wasn’t bold enough, so I added a strip of blue vinyl to the inside of the lid to help it pop.

If you need help making vinyl labels, see my tutorial HERE!

Not only are our batteries now sorted, easy to find, and access, but we have a pretty happy battery kit to boot!

How do you store your batteries? Have you come up with other creative uses for these hardware organizers? Do you think you might give this one a try? Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below!