Dollar Tree DIYs That Will Keep Your Kitchen Countertops Clutter-Free

It's easy for a kitchen counter to become cluttered. Between cookware, utensils, spices, decor, and cleaning supplies, there are a lot of items to keep in order. While you can buy an array of organizing products, they can be expensive, and sometimes aren't perfectly suited to your needs. Why not try to make your own? One of the cheapest stores to buy DIY supplies is Dollar Tree, so it's the perfect place to start building a kitchen organizer on a budget. We've rounded up some easy Dollar Tree DIYs to keep your kitchen counters more organized. 

The projects on our list require minimal tools, and almost all of the supplies can be bought from Dollar Tree (save a few items you might need to buy from your local hardware store). Most of these DIYs are for items you can place directly on your countertop to organize small kitchen items, but we've also included some organizers so you can hack your pantry, cabinets, and drawers too, which can help you clear up some counter space. These projects can help manage messy counters for a tidier kitchen — and they only cost a few dollars to make.

A few crates and trays — plus some glue — are all it takes to make this rustic countertop organizer. Grab suitably sized crates and trays that are made out of wood (this means you can paint or stain the organizer to your liking). This project is held together with wood glue — you can buy a product like Gorilla Wood Glue for $3.97 from The Home Depot. Consider mounting this project on a lazy Susan turntable base, which will allow you to access all sides of the organizer more easily.

It's hard to tell that this paper towel holder is made from cheap Dollar Tree items. It looks like it could be made from wood, but it's actually made from a few boards, picture frames, and cutting boards. A layer of dark brown paint gives this project its wooden aesthetic and an all-purpose adhesive holds it all together. The top dowel is perfect for holding a paper towel, and you can use the bottom section as a spot for seasonal decorating.

The space under cabinets is often under-utilized. Get utensils off your counters and hang them to fill up this empty area. This DIY project uses a wooden base from Dollar Tree (you can use any shape, as long as it's thick enough to screw hooks into). It's optional to stain or paint it to your liking, then you can hand-screw some cup hooks into the base. If you can't find these hooks at the Dollar Tree, grab some like the OOK 2-1/4 in. Black Vinyl Cup Hook for $8.93 from The Home Depot.

There are a lot of small items to keep organized in a kitchen, whether it's your coffee pods, tea bags, or the contents of a junk drawer. To keep these little bits and bobs organized on a countertop, build this two-tier organizer. It uses four crates to keep items separate. Made of Dollar Tree's wood crates, it's another project you can stain or paint. We love the dark wood color in this video — it makes the finished project look more deep and luxurious and elevates this easy Dollar Tree DIY.

This DIY project is inspired by pricier hanging storage racks. It's smaller than most store-bought options, but also a lot cheaper. The frame is made using paint stir sticks. If you can't find these at your local Dollar Tree, you can get an affordable option like the SHLA 5 Gal Paint Stick 3 Pack for $1.98 from Lowe's. Wire mesh baskets, mounted on the paint sticks, provide the perfect space for you to place lightweight kitchen items like condiments, napkins, and cutlery pieces. 

If you don't have extra wall space but do have an empty pantry door, this over-the-door basket organizer can add a lot of storage to tidy up your pantry and countertops. It's made using several over-door organizers, joined together to create even more storage space. Add baskets to make it possible to store loose items, like spice jars, snack bags, or fresh produce. You can also use a row or two of the hooks as a space to hang your tea towels, aprons, or other hanging accessories.

It can be hard to store a large spice collection, but a variety of spices is a must-have for many home cooks. Instead of taking up counter or drawer spice, why not mount your spices on your fridge instead? The frame makes this spice rack look more intentional, but you can do without it — it's really just there for design. Keep it as a decorative touch if you have a smaller collection or just want to include your most-used seasonings. Omit the frame if you want to mount more spices to the fridge.

This DIY kitchen shelf is smaller than most options you can buy from the store. Its shorter dimensions mean it will fit well in the space between the countertop and cabinets, a spot that's often overlooked when it comes to adding kitchen storage. Plus, since it's made from all Dollar Tree items, there's no need to cut any wood to make this shelf either. It's a tool-less project: It comes together with hot glue and wood glue (hot glue provides immediate adhesion until the wood glue can set).

Dollar Tree planter hooks can make an excellent shelf bracket. Plus, the hook for hanging plants makes the perfect place to slide in a wooden dowel, adding a bit of hanging space to the front of your shelf. S-hooks make it possible to hang a larger range of items. Just make sure not to overload this shelf; it might not be as stable as a shelf made with proper shelf brackets. But it is extremely affordable, since you can find most of the supplies at your local Dollar Tree.

A big spice collection can make a counter look cluttered. If you have an empty drawer, set up a spice rack inside. You might hesitate about placing all your spice jars loose inside; it can become messy and difficult to see each container. To display them nicely and keep every jar in its place, try this Dollar Tree picture frame hack. It just involves turning the picture from upside down to create a spice display. A non-slip shelf liner is an important addition to help prevent the picture frames from sliding around.

Grid walls are so versatile: Similar to pegboards, you can buy or make all types of accessories to customize your setup. This DIY project makes a grid wall panel on the cheap using cooling racks and zip ties from Dollar Tree, although you may need to get wood pieces for the frame from elsewhere. The cooling rack makes up the "grid wall" section. It's not exactly the same as an actual grid wall, since it doesn't have the typical square pattern. However, the finished project still functions similarly: You can add a range of hanging baskets, bins, and hooks to make your own personalized organizer.

It takes a lot of work to keep a busy kitchen clean. If you've accumulated a range of cleaning supplies, you'll need somewhere to store them. The counter makes sense for your most-used products, but it can look untidy. Another excellent option is to create a hanging rack. This easy DIY project repurposes an over-the-counter towel bar and places it inside a cupboard door. The towel bar provides a space for you to hang spray bottles. They'll still be within easy reach (it's better than reaching the bottom shelf of a cupboard), but without cluttering up a countertop.

This DIY disassembles a few decorative frames and panels to make them into something new. The two smaller frames create raised legs for the top piece of the tray, which is fashioned from a decorative panel that you can cover with contact paper or paint. The pieces are held together with E6000 (which you can grab for $3.99 from Target), but any all-purpose craft adhesive can work. The finished product is a raised tray for your bigger coffee jars and containers, with some space below where you can slide containers with your favorite tea bags or sugar packets.

Dollar Tree cooling racks are affordable, and they're pretty easy to bend by hand too, so it's possible to flex them into a few simple designs — they'll even fit your spice jars. You'll just have to close off the ends. You can do so with decorative hemp ribbon or any other type of string that will keep the jars from sliding off the shelves. Install these spice racks with Command hooks for a renter-friendly option. The medium wire Command hooks should do the trick, and they cost just $9.47 from Amazon.

There's no construction required to make this easy kitchen supplies holder. You just need to hook a small dish rack onto an over-the-door cabinet towel holder. You can stop here and hang it from one of your cabinet doors, but if you want more stability, you can use zip ties to secure the two pieces. The dish rack spaces are the perfect size to place items like saran wrap, parchment paper, and aluminum foil containers. You can also use it to hang multiple tea towels or other hangable items you want to tuck away.

This DIY project makes a delicious-looking candy display, but you can use the organizer to hold much more. Using a couple of slim wood side panels and a few wooden trays, you can recreate this project. You just need wood glue to hold it together, and optionally, you can paint it as well. Dollar Tree sells candy jars if you want to recreate this adorable display to hold your sweet treats, but you can also use it to store coffee and tea, napkins, utensils, or decor.

There are probably a few things that you want to keep on your kitchen countertop, including decorative bits and bobs, candles, and your most used items like salt and pepper. You don't always need an organizer for these items. A decorative riser can make the clutter feel more tamed while keeping these items within easy reach. This simple DIY project involves gluing a platter to a bowl, so it doesn't cost more than a few dollars, and only a little more if you decide to paint the finished project, which is easy to do with spray paint.

A decorative tray is another good way to corral clutter on countertops. A few wooden slats make the base of this tray, then you can add any decorative square pieces on top to create a pattern. In this video, @lizfenwickdiy uses wall decals, but you can use any suitably-sized squares, like coasters. These front pieces are stuck on with hot glue and E6000. Glue also holds the handles in place, so you won't want to use this tray for carrying heavy items — it probably won't hold up to it.

Adding a hanging rail under your cabinets can provide so much storage space. You can place baskets, bins, and an array of other items using S-hooks. To attach the rail to the wall, this DIY uses the stick-on tool hanger from Dollar Tree, held on with Command Strips. Heavy-duty Command strips can help your rail hold a higher amount of weight. The tool hanger perfectly fits a Dollar Tree broomstick, which you'll use as the rail (it's even cheaper than most rods). You can add pieces to each end to conceal the fact that it's a broomstick.

This DIY countertop spice display looks so charming that it's hard to believe it's all crafted from cheap Dollar Tree products. The bulk of the display is made using small wood crafting crates, held together with wood glue. It's the finishing details that take this display to the next level, though. A dark wood stain, a wood panel across the front, and a few metal label holders give this spice holder its farmhouse look. Choose matching spice jars with labels to really tie the display together.

This coffee pod holder is right on theme, so you can organize your counter and make it look quaint while doing so. It uses children's teapot and teacup toys between its layers, painted to compliment the other pieces. If you can't find these toys, you can also use pieces of wood, although the finished project will look much more plain. This is another DIY project that uses glue to keep it together, so it's an easy one to make in an afternoon.

Running out of space in your mug cupboard? Leaving a stack of mugs on the counter looks untidy, so the best way to deal with this problem is a DIY mug holder. It uses your base of choice (you can either use Dollar Tree blocks to make your own, or grab a wood plaque from another store), to which you'll attach a rolling pin that creates a post. Screw cup hooks directly into the rolling pin, but remember to map out the placement before you screw them in to make sure you can fit your mugs.

Kitchens can become home to all types of odds and ends, whether that's a few spare batteries, extra keys, or those screws that came from somewhere, but you're not sure where. Relocate these items from your counter or a junk drawer and put them in this little organizer instead. It has a few boxes so you can separate items (it's better than the jumble that can manifest in junk drawers). You can also decorate this stepped organizer to your liking by placing decor on each level.

Most of the DIY Dollar Tree organizers on this list are on the small side, but if you need more countertop storage space, consider this cube organizer. It uses larger plastic cubes instead of the brand's small wooden crates, which are usually used for DIY projects. The plastic material takes away a little bit of flexibility, since you can't stain it, and painting is more difficult too. However, this video shows other ways that you can decorate the finished organizer.

Lazy Susans can be useful for storage: They make it easy to sort condiments and spices, allowing you to reach those items in the back of a cupboard without moving as many things around. While it's common to have a lazy Susan in a spice cabinet, you can also add one to a countertop. Most versions are very plain, so if you want to make one that looks a little nicer, follow this DIY project. It uses decorative rope to elevate a boring lazy Susan and make it countertop-ready.

This DIY pegboard organizer was originally intended for a craft room, but it's just as useful in the kitchen. Pegboards are an organizing favorite since you can alter their layout. Even better, Dollar Tree also sells different pegboard accessories, so you can customize your board to suit your needs in the kitchen. The base Dollar Tree pegboards aren't very big so they're better suited to holding small kitchen accessories, like your scissors, serving spoons, and small spice jars. 

Didn't find your perfect project on this list? Here are some more Dollar Tree DIYs to boost kitchen storage.