Turn A Basic Dollar Tree Bin Into A Stylish Bathroom Trash Can With An Easy DIY

While Dollar Tree carries tons of handy organizational products, the retailer tends to be lacking in the aesthetics and design department. You can't fault the products for this — if you're shopping for home solutions at Dollar Tree, you want a good bargain more than a beautiful piece. But who says you can't have both? DIYers level up Dollar Tree finds into functional pieces that are as stylish as they are useful for storage and organization. What's more, this is often achieved entirely with Dollar Tree items, resulting in budget-friendly solutions that are hard to beat. That's exactly what you get with this trash can DIY.

To do the project yourself, pick up two of Dollar Tree's most versatile items — an Essentials Wire Waste Basket and the decorative rope and/or jute of your choice. These waste baskets can be used for all sorts of household projects (you can even turn it into a stylish fruit bowl), and jute is a staple in Dollar Tree DIYs that add a rustic touch to your home. Keep it simple and use one style of rope to cover the basket, or get creative and combine different rope colors and textures like Dollar Tree's hardware rope, baker's twine, or other options from the craft store. Starting at the base of the wire trash can, glue jute around the bottom and continue to wrap it up the basket. Hot glue it to the metal along the way, and if your jute roll runs out, just tuck the end inside the wire basket and glue it down, and continue with a fresh roll. This is also how you'll introduce your secondary rope, if using.

To achieve your desired design, continue wrapping the trash can with jute until you are ready to introduce another style of rope. If you are unsure of how you want yours to look, wrap the trash can sans hot glue and just pin the rope in place with a clothespin and play around with it until you are happy with the result. If you want yours to look like the picture above, expect to use about three rolls of Dollar Tree jute and one roll of Tool Bench Hardware Poly Rope.

To finish the trash can, singe off the scraggly jute fibers using a lighter, carefully lighting it in small sections. The jute will catch fire, but the flame will burn out quickly due to the fiber's natural oils. Singeing jute just leaves a lovely, clean outer layer for a finished look. You can also customize your waste basket in endless ways with small embellishments. Whether you want to use faux flowers, ribbon, or other 3D decorations, simply glue them to the jute or secure them to the wire mesh behind the rope with zip ties for extra hold. 

While this trash can will elevate any bathroom, it would look great in a bedroom, home office, or laundry room as well. If you are after more of a wooden rustic look, cover the same Dollar Tree trash can with paint stirrer sticks from the hardware store for a high-end look. Use either version as a waste basket or as a small laundry hamper.