It's amazing the types of containers that can be reused. I use those plastic jar containers from canned peaches to store home made hot fudge and sweet/sour sauce, cold drink mix containers make great holders for pens, pencils, small scissors, etc. With the lid they are great for saving buttons, snaps, etc. and they are also visible. If you do a lot of hand sewing you can use old salt/pepper shakers or purchase cheapies (just make sure they are large enough to hold a spool of thread loosely). Put your thread into the shaker and pull the thread through one of the holes of the lid. I also put a small piece of stick-on velcro on the outside or top to keep the thread from falling back into the jar or just tape it to the outside. This will keep your thread from unwinding all over the place and makes for neat storage.