I use lots of of non sewing things for sewing purposes. The boxes you get from the hardware or office supply store are great for holding small items. I use short drinking straws on my vintage machines to hold the spools in place, netting from around wine bottles can work on large spools of thread to keep the thread feeding upwards instead of sliding down and catching on the spool holder, magnetic bowls (as you mentioned), the zipper bags that sheets come in are great for holding fabric sets and other items.