Key and Mail Organizer

When people get home after a long day of work or school and they enter their home with their keys, mail, bags, and sometimes much more, we just want to plop everything down on the nearest bench, chair, etc. This problem is what inspired my design of this key and mail organizer. It makes entering you home and staying organized easier. There is a place for you to quickly put you mail in. There is also a easy way for you to simply drop your keys in and not have to worry about putting them a the hook. With a keychain you are going to make for your keys it will fit perfectly in you key slots. This is an easier way to keep everything organized. Great for when you are tired when you get home or you are in a rush and need to quickly grab your keys and go.

• scissors
• box cutter
• pen/pencil
• ruler
• paint brushes
• a ruler/ measuring tape
• paper clips
• pliers
• paint (color of your choice)
• hot glue gun

First thing first is to design what we want to make. It is important to plan ahead and make our measurements beforehand, this way we will know if we have the materials needed and enough of them. What I like to do is make a rough sketch so I get my idea down, then add the needed dimensions. After seeing it down on paper I can easily change whatever needs to be changed, after all the changes get made I do a final sketch.

After sketching the product the next step is to outline all the parts for each component of this key and mail organizer. The first piece to outline is the back of the organizer, so outline a rectangle that is 12 inches tall and 9 inches wide. The next part to outline is the part that holds the mail (mail slot), start with a rectangle that is 6 inches tall and 9 inches wide, then at the top of the rectangle mark and inch away from the corner on both the right and the left, then make a line connecting the bottom corner the new mark. After this we want to outline the “v” shape slots that will go onto the organizer, they are squares that are 1 inch tall and 1 inch wide, you will need 8 (to place 4 sets of keys). Then finally outline the triangles that will go on your keys (as a keychain), this requires 12 squares that are ¾ inch wide and tall, and 8 triangles that are ¾ inch on all sides.

After outlining each part it is time to cut everything out. Depending on the kind of cardboard you use or how well your box cutter or scissors work I suggest to use scissors when cutting everything out, since the pieces are so small. So use you tool of choice to cut along the edges of the outlined parts.

After cutting everything out it is now time to paint each piece. You can paint it whatever color you chose, I chose the base color of the key and mail organizer to be a greyish silver and the keychains to be a coral.

After all the parts are painted and dried it is time to put together our triangle key chains. The first step in making our key chains is making sure we have the hot glue gun plugged in and ready to go. We will need two of our triangles and three of the squares that are ¾ inch wide and tall. Take the triangle and face it down (if you painted just one side then have the non-painted side facing you). Put hot glue around the edges of the triangle and place the squares along the edges (with the painted side facing outwards). This should make a prism with one side open. .Next take the paper clip and open it up so it is in an “s” shape, take the pliers and cut it so you have two loops, when you cut it one side (prong ) may be longer, cut the longer side so it is equal with the smaller length. Now take the two prongs of your paperclip and use the pliers to squish them closer together, the paper clip should now be in a teardrop shape. Now take the remaining triangle and place it flat on your surface (painted side down) and place a dot of hot glue in the middle of one of the sides and put the paper clip in the hot glue. It should be where the loop is extended from the triangle. After the hot glue dries, put hot glue on the edges of the triangle then plae thit triangle at the open end of your keychain. You will need to do this process four times if you are making four keychains like myself.

Now that our keychains are done it is time to make the key and mail organizer. First off we are going to glue the mail slot attachment. You may need another person for this step, have your lovely assistant (or unwilling sibling/family member) hold the back piece and the mail slot at your desired angle, if you typically get a lot of mail I recommend a wider angle. While your assistant is holding the pieces together you are going to hot glue it together. First hot glue the inside, this requires you to get as close to where the two pieces meet as possible and put hot glue down the entire length that you made for the pieces. Then after this dries you will have your amazing assistant turn the product so the bottom is facing you. I found it helpful for the other person to hold it so the bottom is facing you vertically not horizontally (you can do whatever works best for yourself). Now you will put hot glue along the length of this edge as well, feel free to do as many layers of hot glue that is necessary to keep your desired angle, personally I did two layers. Make sure that when you put the hot glue down it is not only down the middle but touches both the right and left side so it can hold both pieces together.

Now it is time to glue our key slots that will hold our keys by us placing our keychain in them. For this you will need to pair your squares that are 1 inch tall and wide in groups of two, there should be an equal amount of groups to the amount of keychains you made (since I made 4 keychains I should have four groups). Now you will put hot glue along one edge of your square and put it on the backpiece at and angle (if your starting with the right side of the “v” shape then angle it so it points to the right) and hold in place until the glue is dry, then take the last piece in your pair and put hot glue along another edge and place it so it makes a “v” shape with the previous piece you just glued on. This process will need to be repeated for the amount of key slots you need. You can also place each slot to make whatever pattern you like.

Finally you may add any personal touches you like. You can put a quote on the top of the backpiece or when you made this piece. You can also put a quote or saying on the mail slot. After you make this your own place decorative hooks along the top edge and some screws in the wall and hang up and enjoy.