Pottery Barn knock-off mail bin

I have always wanted a wall organization system like the one Pottery Barn sells.  I swore when I got my own house I would buy this set and display my pictures, daily notes, and mail proudly.  OK, I don't really want to display my mail but I am trying to make the most of every inch of my home while keeping it organized and clean looking as well as feeling lived in all at the same time.  I know, all this over a mail bin!  I have been searching high and low for a mail bin like this one to round out my organizational wall:

Pottery Barn Wire Mesh Wall Mount Magazine Rack

 Why not just buy this one for $24 and call it a day?  Good question. I almost did but it stuck out two inches too far.  Now two inches is not a lot I know but in this case the rack would have overlapped the light switch and just looked funky...and made me insane to see it every day, so the hunt continued.

Alas, after many stops in Home Goods and to the wall that has the organizational pieces I finally came across the perfect solution :)  Check her out:

A chalkboard with a mail bin and I love the wire, so rustic looking, just love it and for $24.99!  I inspected this thing thoroughly in the store because I had no intention of putting the chalkboard up, I was really just interested in that wire holder at the bottom.  Cue happy dance because it was only screwed into the wood!  I bet you can guess what happened next...

Yup, off you go!

Maybe I can find something to do with this later.

All I had to do next was screw the mail bin into the wall and presto! I now have the organizational wall that I have been longing for (crazy thing to long for I know, but hey, whatever makes you happy, it's all about the little things right?)

Here it all is together:

I love how you can find something in a store and tweak it to use it exactly how you need in your home.  Do any of you look for pieces to transform when you are out shopping?  I am not always thinking outside of the box like this but am very happy that on this day I was because this mail bin is exactly what I was looking for.

See you swoon,