Turn A $1.50 Plastic Dollar Tree Basket Into An Aesthetic Storage Solution

Dollar Tree can be a great place to find storage solutions for home organization and cleaning. Most stores have an entire aisle just for baskets, containers, and storage bins to organize your home. One of the more versatile options from Dollar Tree might be their Plastic Locker Bins with Handles. These rectangular plastic bins are available in four colors for just $1.50 each. They're a good size for inside cabinets, on open shelves, and wherever else you might need additional storage. Perhaps the biggest downside is the fact that they are not the most visually-appealing option available.

While these bins might not look aesthetically-pleasing, you can turn them bin into a piece that you want to have on display with a simple DIY. Transform the bins into a stylish box that looks like faux wood, using sandpaper, paint, and jute rope. Ensure it's a paint designed to be used on plastic, like acrylic. Instead of regular brush-on paint, you can also use spray paint. To finish and protect your painted bin, apply a sealant as a top coat.

It's important that before you start painting the bin, you not only clean it with soap and water, but you also sand it. Sanding the plastic creates texture on the surface of the bin that the paint can stick to. Wiping away any dust from the sanding step also helps the paint to adhere to the plastic.

Upcycling your inexpensive Dollar Tree bins into countertop storage is easy with just a few supplies. Start by taking a gray bin and lightly sanding the plastic exterior. The exterior of the bin gets painted white and allowed to dry. Once the white paint has dried, the next step is to give it a faux wood grain effect, which is done by dry brushing a brown paint over the white in straight lines. To finish the bin off, the handles are wrapped in rope that's hot glued in place. This not only adds texture to the bins, but it can also help reinforce those handles.

These bins are a blank canvas, so you can decorate them however you want. If you prefer a wood finish look, this method works well for that rustic vibe. If you don't want to go with the full rustic design, instead of rope you can wrap the handles in ribbon, lace, or yarn. You can also keep these bins simple and elegant by repainting them without adding a wrap to the handles. Picking a paint color and design that works with your aesthetic can dress up these bins into DIY stylish storage containers without being costly. Just think about what design will work best in your space.