Photo: Bogdan Vacarciuc (Shutterstock)
Not everyone has the luxury of a spacious outdoor storage shed. If you love to garden but lack the space to store all the necessary tools, one solution might be to turn those large garden planters into their own storage vessel. It’s easier than you think.
How to turn a wooden planter into a storage container
The inspiration for this tip comes from TikTok account @DIYMontreal, which recently instructed some 340,000 followers on how to pry open a planter made of plank wood to create a simple storage solution. If you have a big wooden planter (or want to go get one) listen up: It’s easy, but it will take some time. First, watch this video:
As you can see, your mission here is to pull away part of the exterior of the planter using a small saw. The plants themselves really only take up a small part of the container near the top; the rest underneath is just empty space. Sawing away one side of the exterior gives you access to that hidden compartment, so you can store an old hose, shovels, and more.
The trick is to make the panel easy to reattach and remove again—you’ll do this with magnets. In the clip, the magnets are placed into a small hole, but if you don’t have the power tools, the know-how, or the interest or time to do that, you can opt for magnets that screw into wood; just know that this solution means the new “door” won’t sit flush with the other walls. Screw one end to the planter and the other to panel, repeat that a few times around the perimeter of the door you’re creating, and you’re done.
Other types of planters
This can be done with large ceramic planters, too, although the process is a little less glamorous. Plant your plant in a regular, plastic pot, then find a large decorative one that is much bigger than the plant’s real housing. Grab some sturdy cardboard and cut a circle roughly the circumference of the middle of the pot and place it inside. It will make a simple shelf for the plant to rest on top of, but leave space in the underside of the plant. Here, you can put anything as long as you don’t use it too often (as you’ll need to haul the plant out every time you want to access it) and don’t mind it potentially getting wet.
