Inexpensive Humidor Solution

Hi everyone. I know its been a while since I've been back on here. But I'm happy to be back. Today I'm going to be talking about cheap and effective solutions to not having a humidor. Using my Facebook profile Cigar Czar, I've seen a trend lately where people were having a problem procuring a good humidor. This led me to creating today's blog. This will also be helpful for those who are trying to start smoking and keeping cigars of there own.
What you need to do first is go to your local tobacconist's and ask if they have any high quality cigar boxes they can either part with free, or at a low cost. When I started I managed to get a very elegant looking Monte Cristo cigar box with a painted mural of a city on the lid, the rest of the box was silver and black, which conveniently matched my furnishing in that room. When they offer you some of these cigar boxes, make sure that they are large enough to house all your cigars, with enough circulation and enough space for the humidifier and the gauge. You will also need to make sure that when you get the cigar box, that it has a good, tight seal. This is very important for obvious reasons.
Once that's done and you've taken your make-shift humidor home, you will then need to 'prime' the humidor. The way you do that is take a clean cotton cloth and apply a small amount of distilled water to the cloth and wipe the entire inside of the make-shift humidor. this will help the wood absorb the moisture without waiting a long time with just the humidifier alone. But make sure not to use too much water as this can warp the humidor and cause an improper seal or a potential for mold.
This kind of humidor will require a bit more upkeep than a standard humidor, as it is a cigar box, and not a true humidor. However the upkeep is still relatively simple, make sure if you use a silica style tube humidifier (which is what I recommend for this kind of humidor) the silica is always moist, never let it dry out, and keep your levels at that perfect 70%. Another means to keep them moist was discovered by a friend of mine. He took the silica beads you find occasionally in clothes (in those little bags they tell you not to eat), found a retailer who sold the beads bulk and applies an ample amount into a flat bowl and just adds water occasionally. This to my experience for personal humidors has been the most reliable and stable form of keeping a humidor at an even 70%. However this method is best applied in larger humidors given the space needed for the bowl. Hope this helps and happy smoking!