One More Frugal Thing — A Schwanky Wastebasket Makeover
by Katy on June 8, 2025 · 8 comments
One of the things that I brought home from last week’s neighborhood garage sale freebie fest was a Restoration Hardware polished nickel wastebasket. It was superficially rusty on the inside, but I welcome a DIY challenge.
Please enjoy the funhouse mirror effect, although I promise you that my reading glasses are not this big!
Step one was to take sandpaper to the interior to smooth out the paintable surface.
Step two was to tape a bag around the outside to protect it against paint overspray. Although the inside was silver, I chose white spray paint as I already owned it and my goal is to always use what I own before buying anything unnecessary. Because, c’mon . . . the inside color of a wastebasket doesn’t really matter.
It’s the same found-it-in-the-basement paint that I used to paint over my scratched toilet seat a couple weeks ago!
I sprayed three light coats of paint to get even coverage and then let it dry overnight before removing the tape and bag.
For those who think this is an excess of effort to revive a revolting old wastebasket, I see your point. However, I need to point out that the closest version of this item is currently on sale for $499 on Restoration Hardware’s website! (Although this one is a mere $140!)
For comparison, my husband and I paid $500 for our first car in 1987, a 1972 VW squareback!
Behold an even white interior surface, not disgusting looking at all!
I think I’ll use it in our bedroom and give away the plastic lined wicker wastebasket I’d been using through my Buy Nothing group.
Here’s one last no-money shot to impress you with the power of white spray paint. This free rusty wastebasket went unclaimed throughout an entire day until I stopped by after the garage sale. Goodwill wouldn’t have accepted it and it surely would’ve hit the landfill. Now it’s back in use and no money was spent.
Katy — 1, throwaway society — 0!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks great!! Yay!! One more thing saved from the landfill.
I would have paid a couple of bucks for that trash can at a Habitat Restore and had no idea it was originally so expensive! I love that you saw it and its potential in a free pile!
The idea that anyone would pay $500, or even $140, for a wastebasket is making me feel a bit faint. But, that said, you’ve done a beautiful job of restoring this one.
In other frugal news, the NY Times just did an article on university-area scavenging/”hippie Christmas.” Once again, NCA/Frugal Girl readers are ahead of the curve!
And a neighbor down at the cul-de-sac has just put a bunch of plants and pots on her curb with a “Free” sign. I’ve already brought home what looks like a pepper plant and am about to make another trip.
P.S. The article by the young NC woman whose story leads off the NYT article is even more interesting–and doesn’t seem to be behind a paywall. Here it is (https://indyweek.com/culture/duke-students-dumpster-diving/).
Thank you– that was an interesting read. I understand how finding free stuff could become obsessive.
The small college I worked for never quite worked out consistent policies for where/how students could or should leave unwanted items, how much staff could take (and housekeepers and grounds crew who first found the stuff were probably the lowest paid on campus and would have benefitted the most), whether there should be a barn sale of some sort open to the public, etc. I appreciate the pro-active approaches some schools take as described in the article and expect that will only continue.
But as usual, I cringe at the implication ALL students and their parents, especially at large private schools, are wealthy and spendthrifts. They aren’t. And some even buy stuff on sale or at thrift stores.
Congratulations! You have a thing! It’s so shiny I can’t tell what it looks like. I am unschwanky and would be happier with a plastic trash can. But it is good to know how to restore metal.
Great job! I like the white inside. And, honestly, who pays $500 for a wastebasket and then lets it rust out? It’s shameful.
Nice job on the trash bin rehab. I’m surprised you aren’t selling it!
You’ve inspired me to work on one of my deferred projects — an ugly little footstool that needs a facelift. I have a can of spray paint I got from a free pile, but it’s gold and I’m not feeling the trumpy aesthetic.