DIY-er: Up-cycled Hanging Wire Basket

Here's another DIY project that's been making it's rounds in our household frequently as of late. We have two hanging wire baskets, both of which were either found at the dump or at a thrift shop for under a dollar.

No, I have no shame in going to a dump and finding things to re-use - I actually am happy, and even a little proud, to say that I'm putting it back to use instead of filling up the landfill with it.

Anyway, the bigger one of the two we use near the door as a space-saving catch-all. It's purpose changes throughout the seasons: in the summer, we keep sunglasses, bike helmets, re-usable grocery bags, bike gloves, and sunblock in it; during winter, gloves, hats, toe-warmers, and ear muffs tend to take up most of the space in it, although sunglasses still remain (and goggles!). During the in-between months, all kinds of stuff can be tucked away in there, like take-out menus (we even eat take out? Yup...sometimes...we're human, after all), mail that needs to be sent out, magazine clippings, and recipes we haven't found a home for yet.

But the smaller one doesn't seem to have much room for that type of stuff. It really doesn't provide room for much at all, even if we were to use it traditionally as a fruit or vegetable holder...which we never would because keeping our produce out for more than a day in a city dwelling can bring in many unwanted houseguests...cockroaches, ants, the ever-horrifying SPIDER...*shiver*...besides, I was lucky to have won a beautiful handblown glass bowl recently that has become our fruit bowl, and since we go through fruit so fast, we've been lucky enough to keep the bugs at bay!

So, question: what do we do with this little one? Answer: we put on our thinking caps and put it to use somehow!

Up-cycled Use for a Hanging Wire Basket:

Yup, that's it, there's no rocket science here. Just some old miss-matched bowls and maybe a cleaned out glass jar from shrimp cocktail sauce, or even a tuna can filled with water.

But, what's growing in there?

~The ends on a bunch of celery, growing NEW celery!

~The ends of Romaine lettuce bunches, growing NEW lettuce!

~The end of a red cabbage head, GROWING NEW CABBAGE!

~Rootlings, or clippings, of baby spider plants, English Ivy, and other houseplants destined to be bigger one day!

The smaller hanging basket works perfectly because it lets the light reach all three tiers/compartments/baskets, yet is just the right size to start these little growing friends until they are bigger and have started a root system in order to be planted in soil. The bigger basket may have held them, but one wrong nudge and the jars or bowls would have spilled water everywhere. The smaller size works best, as it supports and stabilizes the smaller containers.

I'm thinking there's definitely promise of using this as a permanent tiered garden, by lining the sides of each basket with Spanish moss or some other absorbent organic material...but my only concern is that it may drip, and we have hardwood floors...

So there you have it! Enjoy and use the idea, or share how you've used YOUR hanging wire basket non-traditionally! Thanks for reading!