Vintage Work Apron Hanging Storage

I’ve always been intrigued by those old work aprons with all the handy pockets and the business info written across the front. They are usually from a hardware store or lumber yard, like this collection of vintage aprons from Forestbound.  I’ve picked up several of these vintage aprons throughout the years. I finally decided to put them to use as hanging storage in our stairway.

I swear a week doesn’t go by that we don’t have a paint brush, a screwdriver or some type of diy tool taking up space on our kitchen island.  The tool is either waiting there to be used inside. Or it has been sitting there awhile, waiting to go back out to the garage or hobby shed.

I’ve committed myself to finding a solution. And this one’s super easy and kind of fun, in my opinion.

Hanging storage is a great way to use up that vertical space.  This blue jean hanging storage is one example.

Here is another… 

Vintage work apron hanging storage

Vintage work aprons are usually a little dirty and grungy.

But with a little TLC, you can turn them into handy organizers for most any room.

Think guy’s bedroom or bathroom for all the guy clutter like aftershave, electric razor, and so on.

Or how about a den with a fireplace for holding matches and those little fire starter sticks?

Wash, rinse and ready to hang up. Follow these steps and you can’t go wrong:

I soaked the aprons in hot water with a dash of laundry soap and powdered laundry whitener.

I rinsed them well, then let them hang dry, and then I steam-ironed them.

I tied the apron strings together with intent to hide them on the back side.

For the apron with the longer strings, I taped the strings with painters tape temporarily. The tape can be removed when hanging.

Lying the apron flat, I strategically pushed decorative nails into the fabric along the edges of the apron.

Make sure they are called “decorative nails” and not just upholstery tacks if you are nailing them into drywall.  You want the nails to have a little grip so that they will stay put in the drywall.

The last step was hammering the nails into the wall.  I removed the blue tape from the back, once several of the bottoms nails were in place. Make sure to start from the top!

Now we have a working catch-all in our stairway/ entryway that should help keep some of the clutter off of our kitchen island.  I know it won’t be 100 percent effective, but it’s progress nonetheless.

That these would make clever wall organizers for a work shop, tool shop or craft room, goes with out saying.

Who knows, maybe these will end up in one of those places in our house one day.

Thanks for stopping by ~ Amy