Woman's Simple IKEA Storage Trick Keeps Dirty Garden Shoes Tidy And Off The Floor

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Looking for somewhere to stash that errant pile of garden Crocs and beach thongs? Out of sight, out of mind, we like to say. As usual, there's an IKEA storage hack for that. The furniture store has a bin that offers a stylish way to hide all those piles of shoes, and @herzenstimme on Instagram has generously shared her method for using it in your own home. For those of us who have already, for example, transformed an ordinary IKEA planter into a trendy end table, the IKEA GÅRDSBUTIK 6-Gallon Beige-Gray Bin is just another item waiting to be MacGyvered.

GÅRDSBUTIK comes in two pieces. One piece, the mount, attaches to the wall. The other part is the bin, which is designed to slide into a slot on the wall mount. The bin is large enough to fit several pairs of shoes. However, if you have a lot of footwear to hide away, the bin's design is multiples-friendly. That is, you can hang several bins side by side to ensure you have enough storage space for all of your shoes, plus your garden boots, gloves, and other related items.

There are a couple of ways to hang the bin on the fence or the wall outside the backdoor: screws, nails, or some Tool Bench 8-inch Nylon Cable Ties from Dollar Tree. The latter is particularly useful if your fence has slats that the ties can fit around. You'll also need either a drill for the screws or a hammer for the nails. A tape measure, a pencil, and a level should also be on your supplies list.

If you're hanging this clever IKEA hack that turns shoe clutter into chic storage on a wall (as opposed to a fence), you'll want to start out by finding the stud. This step ensures that the bin won't fall down if it becomes heavy with shoes. Finding a stud on an exterior wall can be challenging, thanks to extra layers like drywall and other building materials. These extras make your stud finder ineffective. Your best chance of success for finding a stud lies in actually locating a stud on the interior of the house. Measure its location, and follow the same exact measurements to locate the same stud on the house's exterior.

The IKEA GÅRDSBUTIK bin has holes in the back of it. You'll add screws or nails to the walls and place the holes over them. For accuracy's sake, measure the distance between the two screw holes on the back of the bin. When you're getting ready to hang the mount, use an AikTryee Laser Level Line Tool to ensure the screws or nails are correctly spaced and straight. Mark the spots for the screws or nails with a pencil and drive them in using a drill or hammer. Hang the bin's mounts first and then attach the bin to the wall. Fill it with all of your garden shoes.

The GÅRDSBUTIK only comes in beige-gray. If you'd like it to match the color of your house or your fence, you'll need to add a coat or two of weatherproof paint before hanging it on the wall or the fence. However, the bin is made of polypropylene plastic, which means you'll have to treat the IKEA bin first to ensure the paint will stick. Normally, to clean the GÅRDSBUTIK, you'd wash it down with a soft, clean cloth and some mild soapy water. However, you may want to use denatured alcohol instead to prepare the piece for painting. 

Lightly sand the bin with a 60- to 80-grit sandpaper. You're creating surface texture for the paint to stick to. Once that's done, wipe the bin again with the denatured alcohol to get rid of any fine debris left by the sandpaper. Then add a layer of primer. Before you paint the bin, do a test on the back. You want to be certain the paint will stick. Once you've confirmed it works, go ahead and paint the whole piece. To create a more interesting two-toned look, consider leaving the bin's interior and top paint-free or use a different color. No spot outdoors to hang your new shoe bin? This is also a smart way to use your garage as extra storage space for garden footwear.