Upcycle Old Cheese Graters Into The Cutest Planters For Flowers & Herbs

Despite how tasty freshly-grated cheese can be, it's just not as convenient as pre-shredded options at the grocery store. If you've decided your old box-style cheese grater is redundant, don't banish it to the back of that impossible-to-reach kitchen cabinet above the fridge. Give it a chance to become useful once again — just not as a culinary tool. You see, by flipping the grater upside down and attaching it to a wall, board, or post, you can transform this commonplace kitchen utensil into a well-draining planter for everything from herbs to flowers to succulents. If you still want to use your box grater but love this upcycling idea, snag a few old graters from your local thrift store or even buy them new.

A box grater turned upside down will topple over, so they're best used as wall rather than tabletop planters. The sides have pre-cut holes that are ideal for nails, screws, or mounting hooks. Just make sure the installation hardware you choose is heavy-duty and can hold a decent amount of weight. While the metal grater isn't very heavy, the damp soil and plants — or a second small planter insert, if you choose to use one — will add a lot of weight. Consider using a stud finder to find the most secure spot on the wall to hang your upturned box grater. You could also attach it to a Lian.Ripple.Lian Green Plastic Pegboard Wall Organizer or Freestanding Folding Babion Pegboard Room Divider. Anything with holes would work well as a mount. Outdoors, you can weave wire through the holes in the grater and attach it to a fence post or patio cover support beam.

Deciding where to mount your box grater turned planter is just the first step in repurposing an old cheese grater around the house and garden. Next, you need to make it practical for herbs and flowering plants. This kitchen utensil already has lots of drainage holes, which is great! But just as water can drain through them, so can your soil. If you are using your upcycled flower pot outdoors, line the inside of the grater with a small piece of Jevrench Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric or June Fox Square Plastic Seedling Pot. Indoors, you'll need a solution to keep water from running down your painted or wallpapered walls and ruining them. Popping any old plastic container without holes — like a yogurt pottle or small takeout container — should do the trick. Keep your houseplant in a pot with drainage holes and remove it for watering in the sink. Or simply use faux flowers or greenery instead of living plants.

Once you've mastered the logistics of this rustic upcycle, it's time for the fun part: customization. There are all kinds of unique ways to decorate your home with plants in wall-mounted box graters — or your garden. For one, you can spray-paint the grater any color you want — match it to your existing aesthetic or the hue of the flowers you plan to grow inside it. Create a modern farmhouse-style display by attaching two or three cheese graters to a whitewashed or weathered wood board. If the grater has a handle and is mounted outdoors, hang a wind chime, sun catcher, or birdseed ball from it. Suspend Yoeen Battery Operated Waterproof Fairy Lights across multiple graters for a whimsical patio lighting-planter combo. Indoors, the handle is the perfect kitchen towel or dishcloth holder.