Is your kitchen drawer becoming overcrowded with seed packets? Are they scattered throughout your house? It seems like you require a proper storage solution for them immediately.
Remember to store them somewhere cool, dark, and dry, and you’re golden – here are 20 inventive ways to store your seed collection!
1. Glass Jars
Glass jars are a great storage option since they come in many sizes should you want to store your seeds loose or bundle many seed packets together in a single jar if you’re grouping them seasonally/alphabetically etc.
Storing the seeds loose creates a nice aesthetic in your kitchen or pantry and allows you to view them at a glance in all their varied shapes, sizes, and colors!
Just be sure to keep a bag of silica gel (or a home-made equivalent) inside each jar to keep them nice and dry.
2. Photo Storage Box
These storage boxes are an ingenious way to keep a detailed bank of your seed collection in one place.
Boxes like this one contain 16 separate 4×6-inch transparent containers with snap-tight closures, allowing you to keep large photos, booklets, and other info with each seed packet.
Best of all, 4×6 is the perfect size for accommodating some of the largest seed packets – according to customers – and the molded handle on the box lid makes it easy to transport around your garden.
3. Photo Album With Sleeves
For a more compact way to view multiple seed packets, why not keep them in the sleeves of a photo album?
This 4×6 album, for instance, is the perfect travel size and comes with 504 individual sleeves with three on each page.
Thanks to its gold-accented leatherette cover, it’s also nicely disguised as a classy, vintage book to fit nicely among your cookbooks or pop on your Zoom-background bookshelf!
4. Pill Organizer
Pill boxes make awesome seed buddies – especially if you’ve accumulated small amounts of many seed varieties.
Simply label each day-of-the-week compartment with your seed type, and you’re good to go.
Most dollar store pill boxes will do the job, but for added convenience, this EZY DOSE organizer has anti-slip silicone spots at the base and push-button openers to prevent the seeds from flying everywhere when you try to pop the lids!
5. Recipe Box
Using a recipe box is a rather elegant way of keeping your seed varieties in line. Take this gorgeous bamboo box, for example.
It contains seven tabbed divider cards to help you categorize your seeds by season, name, herbs, vegetables, flowers, etc.
To give you an idea of its seed-packet storage capacity, it can also accommodate over 100 4×6 index cards, and it has a card slot/groove on the lid with a clear frame if you want to display a specific seed packet.
6. Arts & Crafts Organizing Case
As your seed collection grows, a deep art-storage tote like this arts-and-crafts case can be very handy indeed.
This deep 15×14×6-inch clear plastic case comes with a handle and six removable dividers, allowing you to create two to eight compartments depending on how you wish to categorize them.
This case is stackable too!
7. Plastic Bags
This is a super cost-effective seed storage method since most of us have a whole drawer of these at home. (Just to be clear, we’re referring to the small plastic sandwich bags, not the large plastic grocery bags!)
Most small resealable bags also have blank labels printed on the outside for easy seed identification.
Just be sure to store seed packets as opposed to loose seeds inside the bags as the trapped moisture will soon harbor mold.
8. Small Craft Cabinet
Gardeners with an ever-expanding seed inventory will appreciate a sturdy multi-compartment cabinet with an added space-saving bonus like this wall-mounted cabinet.
These cabinets are typically seen on craft room and garage walls, putting you at eye-level with the items – or in this case the seeds – you need.
This particular model comes with 24 4×2-inch drawers with optional dividers, permitting a possible 48 compartments!
9. Portable File Box
If you prefer to organize your seed collection broadly, such as by season or the area in your garden, then a deep file box with hanging folders can be just the ticket.
Like a mini, portable filing cabinet, a design like this 14×11-inch box contains file rails to hold multiple folders with customizable tab inserts, it and grants enough space to house photos, memos, and anything else relating to your seeds.
10. Repurposed Cardboard Boxes
When you need something quick and easy, old cardboard boxes make a fine (and free!) storage system.
Depending on your collection size, you could simply use an old shoebox or cut the base from a larger packing/delivery box to the depth of a tray.
You can then cut some colored cardstock to size to make dividers and create categorized tabs using color-coding stickers or washi tape.
11. Trunk Organizer
This awesome collapsible storage solution can be used in the manner it was made for or simply provide you with another space-saving seed tote at home.
Say you make regular trips to a community garden, for instance – this multi-compartment organizer can become a mainstay of your car, not only to carry a whole bunch of seed packets in the front pockets but to transport growing seedlings in the main sections!
12. Homemade Seed Organizer
Look around your home for any kind of container that can accommodate at least a handful of seed packets – you may be surprised to find many storage possibilities that fit the basic criteria.
Do you know someone with an old CD tower, wine rack, or maybe even an 8-track case (like this cool display)?
It’s easy to see seed-storage potential anywhere if you think outside the box.
13. Tackle Boxes
The same place fisherman would normally store their lures, bait, and line can also be the perfect home for your radish, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds.
Like a pill organizer, tackle boxes give you a clear view of each compartment – this one, in particular, comes with pre-cut dividers of different lengths so you can keep small and large seed packets together.
14. Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer
The roomy pockets and clear plastic pouches of an over-door shoe organizer make for ideal vertical seed storage, especially in apartments where you need all the space you can get!
This fab organizer by SimpleHousewaree comes with 24 transparent pockets (measuring 7.5×4.5 inches each), giving you ample space to stock a handful of seed packets per pouch.
15. Over-the-Door Pantry Organizer
When you’re low on pantry space, sturdy hanging baskets provide an efficient way to hold your seed jars, tins, or envelopes in one place and often come in designs that can either be wall-mounted or simply hung over the door.
This six-tier organizer comes with wide removable baskets and adjustable rods so you can customize the height to your needs.
16. Cardboard File Holder
The same file holders that organize office papers or magazines can be put to great use for your seed packets too.
Standard letter-sized file holders like this multi-colored set come in 4-inch wide designs with finger holes for easy access on the shelf.
17. Mail Organizer
Why stop at parcels and letters when mail organizers can also make awesome little seed cubbies?
This cute vintage-style organizer comes with 30 name tag/labels and three spacious compartments – to perhaps let you separate your spring, summer, and fall vegetable seeds.
18. Empty Pill Bottles
Next time you get to the end of a prescription bottle from the pharmacy, don’t chuck it away – these could be your new seed vials!
These are made with USP-standard light-resistant plastic to prevent pill spoilage and will offer your garden seeds the same protection.
19. Small Tins
These cute aluminum tins normally displaying sweets or candle wax are an ideal, compact size for housing a small number of seeds.
A large window on the lid gives you a clear peek of the seeds within, but the tin is just deep enough to add a label on the side for clarification.
20. Bead Storage Containers
At 1×1.85 inches, these teensy clear containers for jewelry crafts can be the perfect size for storing a small number of seeds.
The size leaves ample room for a label sticker and features tight screw lids to keep the seeds in great condition.
That’s a Wrap!
However, you decide to store your seeds is up to you and how you like to stay organized. If you have lots of pantry space then a shelf full of glass jars or empty pill bottles can be ideal.
But if you’re low on storage space at home or prefer to be a little more meticulous, you might want to keep your seeds in photo albums or recipe boxes so you can keep pictures, instructions, and other useful info with each seed type.
Happy seed storing!