How to Make Trendy Storage Solution From Dollar Tree Baskets

Amie
by Amie
8 Materials
My house is a minefield of Legos and marbles at the moment. Two of the Christmas gifts that my boys got this past year were a marble maze with over 300 pieces and a Lego set—the kind with the teeny tiny pieces. One wrong move and I’ve got a Lego lodged in my heel or I’m sliding across the floor like some uncoordinated ice skater.

I think I’ve done something to piss Santa off.

I’ve seen some amazing Dollar Tree storage ideas on the internet, so I decided to take a little trip this past weekend.  I found these Dollar Tree baskets in their storage aisle.  The color was a little too bright for my liking, but they were the perfect size to hold Legos, marbles, or any other floor hazard that my children call toys.


I knew I wanted to change the color to make it look more industrial, but I also wanted to add a rustic touch.  They needed labels too. 


Any good organization system has to have labels.
I decided to add jute twine handles for a touch of rustic, so I started this project by making holes on either side of the handle cutout.  You could use a drill to do this, but mine happens to be dead at the moment.  I added my holes by hammering a nail through the plastic.
Next, I spray painted the Dollar Tree baskets with Krylon ColorMaster Ultra Flat Gray.  It took two coats to completely cover the bright blue.
Once the paint dried, I cut my rope to size.  I used jute twine, but you could use just about anything you want.
I thread the rope through the wholes I made in the beginning.
Tie a knot at the end of the rope so that it doesn’t slip back through.  You can also add a drop of hot glue to make sure the knot doesn’t come undone.
For the labels, I found these wood labels at JoAnn Fabric.  I spray painted them with chalkboard paint.
Once it dried, I primed the chalkboard paint by rubbing chalk all over the surface then wiping it off with a dry paper towel.  This will help it erase better.


The last step I took was hot gluing the labels to the Dollar Tree baskets.  I pressed the label firmly to the basket for a few seconds until it had a good hold.
Turning these Dollar Tree baskets into a modern storage solution was such a simple project.  I love how they turned out and they are the perfect solution to hold all of those Legos and marbles.  They are pretty enough to leave sitting out so that my kids can have easy access to their favorite toys without them ending up all over my floor.


Take that, Santa.


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Amie
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 5 questions
  • Lra23041233 Lra23041233 on Jun 01, 2017

    What is the purpose of the jute?

  • Ttr30262188 Ttr30262188 on Dec 16, 2017

    What kind of paint do you need to use to make sure that it adheres to plastic?

  • Kathy Kathy on Jun 07, 2018

    I did this before once with a nail and once with a drill. Both plastic containers cracked immediately. Did your plastic crack?

Comments
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  • Sandy Doyle Sandy Doyle on Jan 27, 2019

    I also thought of wrapping the handles with jute but realised the string was probably easier for the kids to drag the baskets across the floor and not lift them.

    • Celt 1954 Celt 1954 on Jan 27, 2019

      I think you could do both: make a loop of jute, hot glue it above the handle hole, then wrap jute around both the loop and the bin handle.

  • Doris Doris on Mar 18, 2019

    Love love love this.

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