How to make a DIY essential oil storage box with dividers to keep your bottles organized.
I may have a slight addiction to essential oils. Each time I see a bottle of something that I don't have, I grab it because I need all the oils.
Sadly, I didn't have the necessary storage for all of these bottles. I was using a three drawer plastic organizer in my closet, but the bottles kept falling over. One bottle leaked, and I had a stinky mess.
After that debacle, I started looking for an essential oil storage box that would be compact with little wasted space and had dividers to keep my bottles organized.
I couldn't find one that I liked, so I made this DIY essential oil storage box.
I also wanted something cute because I like cute things. Ever since I got my first Cricut die cutter and now my Silhouette Cameo, I have to paint and vinyl everything.
So I went to Pat Catan's with a few bottles of my favorites oils, Crafty Bubbles, and set out to find a box that would fit them. I ended up buying a blank wine bottle box because the bottles fit in it so well. It ended up being perfect with my dividers for a DIY essential oil storage box!
DIY ESSENTIAL OIL STORAGE BOX
Like I said, I took my oil bottles to the store with me. I use Crafty Bubbles essential oils, which are 0.5 fluid ounce bottles. Your bottles may be smaller or larger, so measure them before you purchase a box. The particular box that I used measures 14.1" x 4.52" x 3.93".
When I was shopping, I could only find small boxes that were tall enough to hold all of my oils. Then I saw a wooden wine bottle holder.
At first, I didn't want it because of the small section on the side. I went ahead and bought it thinking that I would remove it, but then I really liked it for this DIY essential oil storage because I can use it to store my accessories.
My accessories aren't shown in the photos because I have had this done for a few weeks but didn't have the final photos done. I threw out my back yesterday, so I was not up to gathering the accessories for the photos. So just pretend that I have my funnel 
MATERIALS NEEDED
- Wooden box (I used this one)
- Balsa wood
(I used 3" tall x 1/16" thick)
- Utility knife
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Paint (I used Yesteryear from DecoArt
)
- Distress Ink
- Wax
- Vinyl
- Silhouette Cameo
- Chalkboard vinyl
DIRECTIONS
STEP #1
I actually started my box by decorating it, so I did it backwards. I had the image in my mind, but I wasn't quite sure how to get it to look like I wanted. I figured if I messed it up, I could get another box easily.
This was the box that I started with.
And this is the inside. The piece of wood in there is for the neck of the wine bottle.
I started by painting the entire DIY essential oil storage box in chalk paint. Then I used Distress Ink
I went along all of the edges to distress it. Then I used just a little bit of ink and rubbed it all over just to give it some texture.
STEP #2
After the ink dried, I used a wax to seal the paint and ink. Make sure that you let it dry for at least 48 hours or the ink might smear.
Then I used my Silhouette Cameo
STEP #3
Once I had the DIY essential oil storage box pretty, I turned it over to my husband to make the dividers. First he measured the length of the box and cut the balsa wood to the length of the box.
STEP #4
Then we measured the depth of the box and cut the balsa wood to fit.
My box was going to have two long pieces, so he calculated where those would go and made marks on the shorter pieces so they would interlock. He used a utility knife to cut out small notches.
STEP #5
We were originally going to have a piece of balsa wood between each column, but then we decided that it wasn't necessary. The space of the balsa wood would have meant that we would lose a column in the DIY essential oil storage box, so we decided to have three bottles in each "cell" if you will.
We set the bottles on top of the long piece of wood and marked off where we needed the dividers. You could do math, but we were dealing with some really odd numbers, and this was just easier.
STEP #6
Then he cut notches in the long pieces of wood so the two pieces would interlock.
STEP #7
We set the dividers inside and made adjustments as necessary. We actually had to trim the balsa wood down at this point. It fit in the box, but I wanted it flush with the box when it was opened.
STEP #8
I was going to use a paint pen to put the initial of each oil on the top of the caps, but then I decided to use my chalkboard vinyl. I really like the chalk inside so I can see what's what.
This also helps me see if a bottle is missing and what bottle it is. If it's Breathe Easy, then it's at the diffuser in the living room.
I really love how it turned out!
Now I finally have my oils in one place, ready to use.
I'm really glad I left the little section in it. Right now, I have some duplicate oils in there for storage, but I am going to put my funnel and bottle opener in there so I have everything in one spot.
This was an inexpensive and fairly easy DIY essential oil storage box. The hardest part was finding a box that would fit my bottles and then figuring out where to cut the balsa wood. You'll just have to play with it to see how they will fit in the box that you make.
If you're not ready to DIY, don't worry because you can buy an essential oil bottle storage box. Amazon has one with dividers like mine has and stickers to label your bottles. You can also find beautiful handmade boxes on Etsy like this antiqued one.
DIY Essential Oil Storage Box
materials:
- Wooden box (I used this one)
- Balsa wood (I used 3" tall x 1/16" thick)
- Paint (I used Yesteryear from DecoArt)
- Distress Ink
- Wax
- Vinyl
- Chalkboard vinyl
tools:
- Utility knife
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Silhouette Cameo
steps:
- Paint the entire box with chalk paint. Use ink to distress if desired. Seal with wax.
- If desired, use a die cutter to die cut a saying or graphic with vinyl.
- Measure the length of the box and cut the balsa wood to the length of the box.
- Measure the depth of the box and cut the balsa wood to fit.
- My box was going to have two long pieces, so I calculated where those would go and made marks on the shorter pieces so they would interlock. Use a utility knife to cut out small notches.
- Either calculate how far apart the divers have to be or set the bottles in place and use them to make your marks for where to place dividers.
- Cut notches in the long pieces of wood and interlock them to make dividers.
- Trim the balsa wood if necessary so it's flush with the box.
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