Give A Broken Wicker Basket New Life As A Rustic Sanctuary Birds Will Flock To

Wicker baskets have a timeless look. However, if you actually use them to carry things, they're not so timeless. The natural materials are prone to breaking, and it's often the handles or the base that fails first. Without one of these two essential features, the broken basket may seem destined for the dump. But what a waste that would be — don't toss your old wicker basket when it can become a bird-feeding station with woodland charm! We were inspired by TikToker landhaus_garten's broken basket turned birdfeeder; topped with a few natural materials, like greenery and berries, this clever creation is pretty enough to enjoy even when birds aren't at the buffet.

Salvage that still-useful basket with some jute rope and tempting treats, like suet balls, cut fruit, and loose seeds, and you've mastered budget-friendly DIY feeders that will keep birds flocking to your yard year-round. Depending on how you hang the basket, a terracotta plant saucer (or a plastic lookalike) may come in handy, too. Hung from a safe branch or structure, this platform-style feeder is a roomy and secure option for many types of hungry birds.

Even a mostly-intact basket or an underused mint-condition one can step in for a broken container for this simple project. If you have a fraying container that has lost its appeal as decor, grab that one. You can also employ a thrifted wicker basket, an object you'll almost always find at a secondhand store. If your Goodwill is short on wicker, baskets made from other materials, like metal, are also good options. The coolest thing about this DIY — as long as you've stuck with all-natural materials, including natural wicker — is that when your basket birdfeeder finally wears out, you can break it up and toss it on your compost pile.

Inspect your basket to decide how to proceed: Are there spots that look weak or that are already broken? What kind of handle does the basket have? Lastly, is the entire basket sturdy enough to withstand hanging, especially with the weight of an extra saucer and birds? If not, save that basket for a non-weight-bearing use like these creative ways to upcycle baskets for your plants.

If you have a wide, shallow basket with a robust center-mounted handle to use as a hanger, this would make a picture-perfect platform feeder. Even if you're not super confident of the handle, you may be able to reinforce it by wrapping it in jute and/or looping the material through sturdier parts of the basket and gluing it. A plant saucer of the right size to fit inside the basket will keep small seeds, like nyjer and millet, from slipping into the weave, but you might be able to forgo the weighty saucer by filling the basket with larger-grained seeds or suet balls.

A basket without a bottom might seem to be beyond salvaging, but it hasn't reached the end of its life just yet. Loop a few coils of jute rope from its mouth through the open base to serve as a hanger. Since the basket will dangle on its side, an extra seed receptacle helps for this design. Set a saucer or dish on the basket's inner horizontal surface, and stock it with bird snacks. No matter the form your feeder has taken, a few decorative accents, like pine boughs or cuttings from a shrub, will please your eyes while giving the birds extra perches.