Create Stylish Storage For Your Produce With A Dollar Tree Wire Basket Hack

Looking for a chic way to store your produce without creating an eyesore on your countertops? Look no further than Dollar Tree. The store is a tried and true DIY haven, and there are plenty of ways to use Dollar Tree items to add storage to your home. This new addition to the cheap hack line-up adds a touch of style to an otherwise common storage necessity. You can use Dollar Tree wire bins with simple wooden cutting boards and leather cut-outs to make an enclosed, stackable fruit storage solution that will look like an expensive décor fixture. 

YouTuber Home Goodiys used this hack to store her citrus, and started off with the Dollar Tree wire bins, which retail for $1.25 each and come in gold and black. The bins measure 8.63 inches by 6.63 inches, and they line up nicely with the store's bamboo cutting boards, which are 8.63 inches by 5.88 inches and also $1.25 each. Once you've bought these items, simply cut a thin piece of leather or other hardy fabric into the shape of a handle and use super glue to set it onto the top of the cutting board. You can also glue on some simple metallic gems — or use thumb tacks — at the end of the handles to give them an elevated look. Then, fill the baskets with fruits and veggies, and stack them on your counter to keep everything stored nicely. 

While the hack above is a genius way to make stylish storage containers, it might not actually be the most ideal way to store fruit. The enclosed and dark storage is better for items like potatoes, which need to be stored in cold, dark spaces in order to stay fresh. Other room-temperature items like citrus fruits, bananas, and tomatoes need air circulation and plenty of space, since they release ethylene gas as they ripen. So, you can just ditch countertop produce bowls altogether and use the Dollar Tree wire baskets to make hanging fruit baskets instead; these will optimize the amount of light and air that your fruit receives while in storage. 

Hanging fruit baskets are a space-saving storage hack for your kitchen, and, just like the previous DIY, they're easy to make using Dollar Tree items. Simply use some Crafter's Square twine (which retails at $1.25 for a pack of three) and wrap it through the top sections of your wire baskets, making sure that there is an end piece of twine on each short end of the basket. Then, tie the two strands of twine together so that they can attach to a brass cup hook, and hang from the ceiling or a high-up spot on a kitchen wall. You can even drill the hook into the bottom of a cabinet so that the fruit hangs above your counter.