Organized Clutter

I've run across a lot of these two or three tiered metal trays on Pinterest, Facebook, other blogs, stores, and even Goodwill. They were/are pretty popular in farmhouse style decorating. Many people on Pinterest have amassed "smalls" for each holiday, and change out the tiered tray every few months. Today is the July Thrift Store Decor Team's Party and my tiered tray receives a small makeover.  Scroll on down to see my tiered tray along with my blogging pals projects.

I have a new, easy project today that started with this vintage aluminum basin or dish pan.  I found it at the consignment store for $6. It was dinged up perfectly for a planter! Also today is the June Thrift Store Decor Team's monthly blog party! Be sure and scroll to the bottom to see six more fun thrifted makeovers.

About 10 years ago, I found this old black metal lunchbox at a garage sale. My grandpa carried one of these to his job at the paper mill.  My dad worked there also but his lunchbox was hard plastic. I found this old lunchbox in my shed the other day and got an idea for a makeover.  Scroll on down to see it's new upcycle along with my Thrift Store Decor Team's April projects too!

My very first blog junk garden posts were shared in 2012. While I still love flower gardening, new ideas are fewer and farther between than in the early years. Here are some of my favorite repurposed junk garden project ideas!

Candleholders are fairly easy to find at garage sales and thrift stores, and they lend themselves nicely to upcycling and repurposing projects!  Here are 16 candleholder projects from over 12 years on my blog.

I found this $1 wooden duck plaque at a local fundraiser rummage sale. I thought it was perfect for a makeover.

Below is a compilation of some unusual junk garden planters that have appeared on my blog from my own yard and gardens, and three of my friends' gardens. I think you will enjoy all the rusty, junky goodness paired with flowers!

I found this long, skinny, wooden, hinged box at our local thrift shop last week.  I paid $3 for it. I think it must have been a pencil box or paint brush box, maybe?  The glossy red paint was in very chippy condition. The shape and size of the box gave me an idea.  Scroll on to see this box getting a makeover, and also check out more projects from the Thrift Store Decor Team's March blog party!

Do you have any whiskey barrel planters?  I currently have two round ones and one horizontal one.  Oak barrel planters weather into an awesome grey patina that is perfect for a junk garden.  Over the years, I have filled my barrel planters with a variety of annuals. I like to layer some plastic milk or water bottles on the bottom of barrels.  This saves on the amount of potting soil needed to fill the containers. The barrels also have drainage holes.  I always empty the soil into a wheelbarrow first if I move a barrel planter to another location. (But sometimes the barrel bottom has rotted out so the barrel stays put!) Above, my horizontal planter is filled with impatiens, asparagus ferns and filler vines.  Several years ago, I decorated the barrel front with an aluminum cover. It's nailed on.

I pick up inexpensive enamelware at garage sales and thrift shops all the time.  I find most of my enamelware for $5 to $10, sometimes less. Some are reproduction enamelware.  Pieces in excellent condition will not get drainage holes, but instead, become inside pieces.  Buying ceramic or terracotta flowerpots would be more expensive and would pose a winter storage hassle.  Enamelware works great for both indoor and outdoor planters, holiday decor, and farmhouse kitchens.

As winter winds down, it's time to think about flower gardening! Do you have enough galvanized buckets for planting?  Galvanized buckets are my favorite rustic outdoor planter.

My mom and both of my grandmas were button collectors. Besides inheriting some of their buttons, I have purchased my own cards and jars of buttons. Over the last 10+ years, I have used buttons for both decorating and crafting.  Take a look.

I purchased two 6" x 8" and one 8" x 10" art canvases at our local Dollar Tree. I used them to create easy botanical wall art!

Here is an assortment of older blog projects and newer ones. Let's talk old suitcases! I scoop them up when they are clean inside and have a reasonable price.   I spray painted the one above with  Rustoleum Painters Touch Flat Black Spray Paint  and decorated it with   Redesign With Prima's Somewhere In France Transfer. Keep scrolling for more upcycles and ideas with suitcases.

I found this washboard style wall bin at our local thrift store in late 2023.  I couldn't pass it up, I love washboard projects! This blog post contains eleven of my washboard makeovers, as well as six more amazing project ideas from the Thrift Store Decor Team!                                         

I have a garden project featured in the Spring 2024 Country Sampler Magazine. Country Sampler magazine has had a makeover from its all primitive country format, and it also features upcycling projects from many DIY bloggers. It's worth a read! Here is my photo featured in the magazine. The coffeepot planters on stakes idea is from my blog post from May 23, 2016.  I have planted annuals in old coffee pots for years now.  But, last week, I got the crazy idea to add wood stakes to the bottom of three old coffee pots.     I purchased a 6 pack of rough wood garden stakes at Menard's for $5.00.  I made the stakes three different lengths, allowing for part of the stake to be in the dirt.  I attached the stakes through the bottom of the coffee pots with a washer and a screw.  I then thought the wood looked a little too new and applied some vinegar and steel wool stain.  (The recipe is all over Pinterest). The bottom of this length-wise half barrel was pla...

The wooden basket on the left was found at a garage sale, and the miniature sled at Goodwill. Each cost $4.  I transformed the items with paint, stencils, napkin decoupage!

  The project I was most proud of in 2023 was my junk flower gardens! It's a summer long project. That is a labor of love. Thrift store finds can be found in every nook and cranny of the my yard and gardens.  Take the full tour  HERE. Be sure to scroll on down for more of my projects, and even more ideas from the my teammates on the Thrift Store Decor Team !

I found this washboard recently at the Minnetonka Goodwill .  I have never seen an "Authentic Musical Washboard" in all of my previous washboard finds. Apparently, it's not vintage.  Columbus Washboard Company  still manufactures this washboard.   See how I transformed the washboard into fun Christmas decor.  Also, it's Thrift Store Decor Team's November party , so scroll on down to more projects below.

I found these little wooden Jack O' Lantern unfinished boxes at Dollar Tree . I gave them an easy upcycle!