Upcycle Milk Jugs To Create Stylish Countertop Storage With An Easy DIY

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Kitchen countertops are a magnet for clutter. They just seem to magically attract anything in your home that's looking for a place to be put. Countertop storage solutions are a dime a dozen, but that doesn't mean they come cheap. You can spend tons of money on countertop organizers to tidy up your kitchen while milk jugs just pile up in the recycling bin.

You can solve both problems by getting crafty and making your own stylish countertop storage using a couple of old milk jugs, a roll of jute twine, a piece of cardboard, and some popsicle sticks (actually, a lot of popsicle sticks). In addition to the materials, you'll also need scissors, a box cutter, a hot glue gun, and plenty of glue stick reloads like these Adtech Hi-Temp Mini Hot Glue Sticks from Amazon. This DIY project calls for plenty of the sticky stuff!

YouTuber Minno creation showed how to do this in a video. They started with cutting the bottoms off ½-gallon milk jugs, leaving a vertical tab. After gluing them together with a hot glue gun to create a double-compartment container, they attached a cardboard cutout to the base for stability. Then, after applying a whirlwind of glue, popsicle sticks, and jute twine, they made some strategic cuts into the plastic handle for easy carrying. Finally, they added a stylish floral print to one side and presented the finished DIY: a rustic-yet-stylish cutlery holder.

A few words of caution are warranted before you start rifling through the recycling bin for discarded milk jugs. While this DIY project can theoretically be done with 1-gallon milk jugs, the ½-gallon ones used by Minno creation are preferred. Once you see just how much jute twine, glue, and popsicle sticks go into making one with ½-gallon milk jugs, you'll understand.

If you insist on going ahead with regular 1-gallon jugs, you won't end up with a cutlery holder. The base of a 1-gallon milk jug is pretty wide and might just swallow up your spoons, forks, and knives. But you could definitely use it to store longer kitchen utensils, like spatulas, ladles, and whisks.

If you're supersizing your countertop storage by using 1-gallon milk jugs, you'll also need bigger popsicle sticks. The ones used by Minno creation are pretty thin, which works for the ½-gallon jugs, but to save time on gluing and to help the sticks match the bigger design, you should go for jumbo popsicle sticks like these Apremont 100-Piece 6-Inch Jumbo Wooden Craft Sticks from Amazon. If you only have 1-gallon jugs on hand and don't want to do the supersized version of this DIY project, not to worry. There are plenty of other smart ways to reuse milk jugs, like upcycling them into enchanting light-ups and adorably unique garden decor.