Upcycled Vertical Storage (as featured on Redfin’s Blog!)
I love organization, and while you wouldn’t always know it by peeking into my messy studio, if you keep looking, you’ll find a few creative ways I corral materials for all the different types of projects I do. Proper storage solutions are key to a functional creative space.
I also enjoy thinking up ways to reuse or repurpose things instead of throwing them away, and often what I come up with is something to organize or store something else. My mom introduced me to the idea of upcycling before it even had a name. I was quite young when she first showed me how to fold, wrap, and neatly tape a cleaned out juice concentrate can to make a personalized pencil canister. It’s so simple – but I'd much prefer the cat-covered one I had on my desk for years (er, decades?) to anything I could have bought new at the store.
So you can imagine my excitement when I was approached by Redfin to share an upcycling project that anyone can do to improve their home. Keep reading to learn more about the project I shared with them, and check out the entire article linked at the end for more upcycling ideas!
One of the cat pencil canisters my mom and I made in the ‘80s
Repurpose an old metal grating to create storage
This upcycling project materialized when our laundry cart broke. We loved that cart. It was composed of a sturdy metal frame with big casters, three hanging laundry bags with metal hangers, and a metal grating lining the bottom of it. Unfortunately, after many happy years of use, not one but two of the casters broke off. While someday I’d like to learn how to weld, that day has not yet come. So my husband and I disassembled the unit and tried to think about how we could use the pieces. I probably had the metal grating laying around the garage for months before it hit me. Vertical storage!
This piece of the broken cart seemed perfect for the job. It’s flat except for the two long edges, which extend below the rest of the grating. This kept it in place on the laundry cart. Here, it would allow the piece to sit away from the wall without having to attach some kind of spacer to it. The only new things I added were a pair of metal D-rings for picture hanging (minus the Ds) to mount it on the wall, and a big pack of curtain clips with hooks. I used drywall anchors to install the grating onto our wall and started loading it up.
I wanted the ability to store writing implements on the unit since it would be right next to my desk, and the solution came to me pretty quickly. I know for a fact I’m not the only artist who has discovered the magic of empty Talenti gelato jars. They’re the perfect size and shape to hold paint water, buttons, brushes – you name it. The lids seal well and are flat for stacking. I grabbed several from my stash and lined them up along the bottom, each held with two clips. I filled them with pens, pencils, paper clips, rulers, and scissors. As much as I’m still tempted to cover them in cat wrapping paper, I do like that they’re clear so I can see what’s inside. My husband had some leftover neoprene padding from an old project. I stole it to line the bottom of each can. A little luxury for those pricey art pens and pencils!
And that’s it. It’s so much easier to find things now, and the organizer in me loves to look at it every time I enter the room.
For more upcycling ideas, check out Redfin’s full blog post, which features a wide range of ideas from makers all over the US and Canada, including this one.
What’s an upcycling project you’ve done? Leave a comment below to let me know!
