HOW TO ORGANIZE WITH VINTAGE CRATES AND HOW TO DEAL WITH WOODWORM
Found a beautiful vintage crate at a yard sale? Looking for ideas how to use vintage crates in your decor? Need to preserve your vintage wooden box from woodworm? I have you covered in this post. See my great flea market finds and how I decorated my kitchen with them. And how I treated them for woodworm first.
Finally some time to play again! This time I played with some recent flea market finds.
Last weekend during the Easter weekend the flea market season officially begun, and I dove right in. And it felt like diving for real. It rained pretty hard the whole weekend and that definitely had an impact on the outdoor markets.
The vendors were fewer and not in the best of moods, but the competition of fellow buyers was smaller too.
I found some really nice treasures. Like two vintage wine boxes. I put one to good use in my kitchen.
But it needed a little attention first:
See all those little holes. They are the tell tales signs that woodworm has gotten into this box. I used to shy away from wood that was affected like this. But I have found a way to salvage it and now I simply point to the holes and use them to bargain the price down.
How to Get Rid of Woodworm
Stick it in the oven!
Yup that’s right. Heat the wooden object to at least 55 °C (131 F) for at least 15 minutes and all the worms, larvae and eggs are definitely dead and gone. Put the box (or frame or whatever) in the cold oven so it doesn’t crack from heat shock and then start timing when the right temperature has been reached. I heated my wine boxes (I treated the other one too although it didn’t have any holes) to at least 80 °C and left them in the oven for 30 minutes. I wasn’t taken any chances. Added benefit of this treatment is that it makes the wood thoroughly dry too, which is good considering I bought it in a rain storm.
So don’t pass up an nice wooden find next time, just because you detect some suspicious holes. Salvage it and use it.
Related Reading: How to avoid bringing home pests from the thrift store (and how to identify and treat them).
If you can’t find a vintage crate like this, don’t worry. It is super easy to give a brand new wine crate a vintage look. I dit it!
I like the wood in my modern – too much black – kitchen. It tones it down quite nicely. And it adds a little extra storage too without taken up too much space, which is also very nice in my tiny, galley kitchen.
I love wooden crates in my decor. In fact I wrote a whole post on how to decorate with wooden crates and all the tips and tricks.
Another find of last weekend where too vintage cake tins. I think they are too nice to shove away in a drawer somewhere. I think I am going to find a creative use for these ones too.
Another great score was a box full of ‘silver’ silverware. It was sold too me as real silver, but I seriously doubt that. Doesn’t matter it is beautiful anyway and I got so much of it for a great price that I will be able to craft with it without a guilty conscience.
Look at it, it is even monographed.
I think the monograph is an J and H, but I am not sure. Again, who cares, it is beautiful.
UPDATE: I made a VINTAGE CUTLERY WIND CHIME with these flea market finds.
First flea market loot of the year. I think it is going to be a good thrifting year!
So would you have passed up the holy box? Or did you know about the oven trick? And has the thrifting season started in your parts too?
Find this post useful and interesting? Do not forget to pin it to your favorite board!
kolein says
Your box is wonderful, Marianne! I did NOT know about the oven idea. I will definitely keep it in mind. We are redoing our bathrooms this spring. I’ll be headed to some flea markets, most likely indoors. I just came upon 3 in a row that I never knew about as I was out the other day with a friend. Only a 15 minute drive from my home!!! (they were closed when we were there)
Your finds are great and especially your exuberance toward them! If I remember correctly you craft with “silver” ware, right?
Have a wonderful Sunday! Glad the rest of your week went smoothly!
Marianne@Songbird says
Hmm, what do you mean I craft with ‘silver’ ware. I am going too. (or am I making an English mistake here and is that what you are referring too).
And great that you found some good flea markets. A girl needs those in her life.
kolein says
No mistake with your English at all! You have better English than I do!!! ; ) The “silver” ware reference was from your post. You mentioned a “box full of silver” – that you doubted actually was the real thing. Besides, I thought I remember seeing here that you did some crafty thing with spoons once. No? Well, if not, then I can’t wait to see what you do with your new finds!
xo
~Kolein
Marianne@Songbird says
Talk about good memory! Yes I made some herb labels from spoons once. And I think the ideas about my latest finds are brewing. You’ll see my first attempt at doing something with them soon.
Pat says
Hi Marianne-
thanks for the tip on the wood worms.
Love the box in your kitchen not only functional …but pretty too!
-Pat
Marianne@Songbird says
Yeah, I love it there too. And in a million other spots. We’ll see where it ends up for good.
Lezlee Cheek says
Love your box, and glad to hear the remedy…I had some boxes I bleached and messed with until I felt they were safe, but this is easier, for sure.
Lezlee
Marianne@Songbird says
I don’t think bleach would do it though. It’s the eggs and larvae in the wood that are the problem and I don’t think the bleach would have reached those. But if you haven’t noticed any activity anymore then I am sure you are fine.
Katie @ Wildwood Creek says
The wood wine crate makes a lovely backdrop for all your great finds! Great tip on heating the wood in the oven.
Marianne@Songbird says
Thanks! Yes the oven trick is by far the easiest and the most environmentally friendly one. Too bad you can’t do it with a closet 🙂
Linnea-Maria says
Great tip with the owen trick! Were I live we are fortunately don’t have problems with woodworms, it’s too cold. But in south of sweden they have these problems. I think a larger furniture could be placed in a hot sauna for a while to get rid of the wood worms 🙂
Marianne@Songbird says
LOL only someone from Sweden would say that. We don’t generally have a sauna in our backyard but now that I am thinking about the possibilities I want one. Think about all the dressers and cupboards I could deworm that way 🙂
thistle says
Love this idea so much! I am going to pin this idea about the wormholes! I am always a little worried and now you have solved the problem.
Beautiful silver and wonderful display!
blessings,
karianne
Elly says
Ondanks het slechte weer toch bijzonder goed geslaagd zie ik! Wat een mooie spulletjes allemaal, vind je bestek en de bakblikjes helemaal geweldig! En bedankt voor je tip over het behandelen van de houtworm, als ik dat eerder geweten had… heb al wat weggegooid doordat er van die rottige knagertjes inzaten!
Lieve groetjes Elly
Marianne@Songbird says
Kijk dat is nou zo leuk aan het bloggen. Kan ik iemand helpen en jij hoeft de volgende keer dat leuke lijstje of houten hertje niet meer achter te laten.
Tina says
Yeahh for the flea market season – best season of all.
Love your cake tins – they´re so beautiful. Great use witht he wine box.
I do the same, although mine are old raisin boxes
Winepine says
Excellent post. That crate was definitely weathered and kept outside for a long time
What you did with it was creative and makes total sense,
If your ever looking for perfect wine crates that are ready for any kind of finish, feel free to visit Winepine. We have thousands in stock, and guarantee complete satisfaction. No oven needed!