It’s officially spring, but if you’re like me, all of the winter “stuff” is still scattered around your living space. Nothing feels better than getting rid of all that clutter, or if nothing else, at least hiding all the clutter inside a beautiful spring basket ! Whether you want to donate your winter extras, or stock up on spring organizers, Goodwill has what you need, and it’s the place to donate everything you don’t.
Goodwill always has a great selection of baskets, containers and trinket holders, but if you don’t find what you’re looking for, here’s a fun up-cycling project to turn paper grocery bags into a cool basket. You could also use posters, large book pages, or other paper goods you might find at Goodwill.
You will need
-Paper grocery bags (about 15), paper posters, or other large paper goods
-Hot glue, or glue stick and tape
-Duct tape
-Scissors
-Cardboard base (or use a book cover from Goodwill)
1. First cut off the bottom of your paper bags. Then cut them in half (along the length) so that you have many small strips. Next roll them from one corner to form long tubes, glue the end corner in place so that the tube will stay together. Also glue your paper bag handles together so that they make a long strip.
2. Next tape your tubes, and one end of your long handle strip to the bottom of a piece of cardboard (whatever size you would like your final basket to be). This is the base of your basket.
3. Take the paper handle strip and weave it around the base of the tubes.
4. Loop the strip back through the start point. Tape to the bottom.
5. Next use the rest of your handles to weave over and under the tubes. It’s helpful to place a cardboard box, or any box that is the same size as your basket. This will help keep the tension on your basket and make it more geometric.
6. Once you’re basket is the height you’d like, fold over the tubes, snip the ends at an angle and weave them over the adjacent tube.
7. You’re done! Fill you’re new basket with goodies or try making other basket styles (you could make an Easter basket this way, too!)
Happy spring! And, don’t forget to keep an eye out for great organizational tools while you’re shopping at Goodwill!
