Dollar Tree DIYs That Will Keep Your Kitchen Countertops Clutter-Free

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It’s easy for a kitchen counter to become cluttered. Between cookware, utensils, spices, decor, and cleaning supplies, there are a lot of items to keep in order. While you can buy an array of organizing products, they can be expensive, and sometimes aren’t perfectly suited to your needs. Why not try to make your own? One of the cheapest stores to buy DIY supplies is Dollar Tree, so it’s the perfect place to start building a kitchen organizer on a budget. We’ve rounded up some easy Dollar Tree DIYs to keep your kitchen counters more organized. 

The projects on our list require minimal tools, and almost all of the supplies can be bought from Dollar Tree (save a few items you might need to buy from your local hardware store). Most of these DIYs are for items you can place directly on your countertop to organize small kitchen items, but we’ve also included some organizers so you can hack your pantry, cabinets, and drawers too, which can help you clear up some counter space. These projects can help manage messy counters for a tidier kitchen — and they only cost a few dollars to make.

It’s hard to tell that this paper towel holder is made from cheap Dollar Tree items. It looks like it could be made from wood, but it’s actually made from a few boards, picture frames, and cutting boards. A layer of dark brown paint gives this project its wooden aesthetic and an all-purpose adhesive holds it all together. The top dowel is perfect for holding a paper towel, and you can use the bottom section as a spot for seasonal decorating.

There are a lot of small items to keep organized in a kitchen, whether it’s your coffee pods, tea bags, or the contents of a junk drawer. To keep these little bits and bobs organized on a countertop, build this two-tier organizer. It uses four crates to keep items separate. Made of Dollar Tree’s wood crates, it’s another project you can stain or paint. We love the dark wood color in this video — it makes the finished project look more deep and luxurious and elevates this easy Dollar Tree DIY.

If you don’t have extra wall space but do have an empty pantry door, this over-the-door basket organizer can add a lot of storage to tidy up your pantry and countertops. It’s made using several over-door organizers, joined together to create even more storage space. Add baskets to make it possible to store loose items, like spice jars, snack bags, or fresh produce. You can also use a row or two of the hooks as a space to hang your tea towels, aprons, or other hanging accessories.

This DIY kitchen shelf is smaller than most options you can buy from the store. Its shorter dimensions mean it will fit well in the space between the countertop and cabinets, a spot that’s often overlooked when it comes to adding kitchen storage. Plus, since it’s made from all Dollar Tree items, there’s no need to cut any wood to make this shelf either. It’s a tool-less project: It comes together with hot glue and wood glue (hot glue provides immediate adhesion until the wood glue can set).

A big spice collection can make a counter look cluttered. If you have an empty drawer, set up a spice rack inside. You might hesitate about placing all your spice jars loose inside; it can become messy and difficult to see each container. To display them nicely and keep every jar in its place, try this Dollar Tree picture frame hack. It just involves turning the picture from upside down to create a spice display. A non-slip shelf liner is an important addition to help prevent the picture frames from sliding around.

It takes a lot of work to keep a busy kitchen clean. If you’ve accumulated a range of cleaning supplies, you’ll need somewhere to store them. The counter makes sense for your most-used products, but it can look untidy. Another excellent option is to create a hanging rack. This easy DIY project repurposes an over-the-counter towel bar and places it inside a cupboard door. The towel bar provides a space for you to hang spray bottles. They’ll still be within easy reach (it’s better than reaching the bottom shelf of a cupboard), but without cluttering up a countertop.

Dollar Tree cooling racks are affordable, and they’re pretty easy to bend by hand too, so it’s possible to flex them into a few simple designs — they’ll even fit your spice jars. You’ll just have to close off the ends. You can do so with decorative hemp ribbon or any other type of string that will keep the jars from sliding off the shelves. Install these spice racks with Command hooks for a renter-friendly option. The medium wire Command hooks should do the trick, and they cost just $9.47 from Amazon.

This DIY project makes a delicious-looking candy display, but you can use the organizer to hold much more. Using a couple of slim wood side panels and a few wooden trays, you can recreate this project. You just need wood glue to hold it together, and optionally, you can paint it as well. Dollar Tree sells candy jars if you want to recreate this adorable display to hold your sweet treats, but you can also use it to store coffee and tea, napkins, utensils, or decor.

A decorative tray is another good way to corral clutter on countertops. A few wooden slats make the base of this tray, then you can add any decorative square pieces on top to create a pattern. In this video, @lizfenwickdiy uses wall decals, but you can use any suitably-sized squares, like coasters. These front pieces are stuck on with hot glue and E6000. Glue also holds the handles in place, so you won’t want to use this tray for carrying heavy items — it probably won’t hold up to it.

This DIY countertop spice display looks so charming that it’s hard to believe it’s all crafted from cheap Dollar Tree products. The bulk of the display is made using small wood crafting crates, held together with wood glue. It’s the finishing details that take this display to the next level, though. A dark wood stain, a wood panel across the front, and a few metal label holders give this spice holder its farmhouse look. Choose matching spice jars with labels to really tie the display together.

Running out of space in your mug cupboard? Leaving a stack of mugs on the counter looks untidy, so the best way to deal with this problem is a DIY mug holder. It uses your base of choice (you can either use Dollar Tree blocks to make your own, or grab a wood plaque from another store), to which you’ll attach a rolling pin that creates a post. Screw cup hooks directly into the rolling pin, but remember to map out the placement before you screw them in to make sure you can fit your mugs.

Most of the DIY Dollar Tree organizers on this list are on the small side, but if you need more countertop storage space, consider this cube organizer. It uses larger plastic cubes instead of the brand’s small wooden crates, which are usually used for DIY projects. The plastic material takes away a little bit of flexibility, since you can’t stain it, and painting is more difficult too. However, this video shows other ways that you can decorate the finished organizer.

This DIY pegboard organizer was originally intended for a craft room, but it’s just as useful in the kitchen. Pegboards are an organizing favorite since you can alter their layout. Even better, Dollar Tree also sells different pegboard accessories, so you can customize your board to suit your needs in the kitchen. The base Dollar Tree pegboards aren’t very big so they’re better suited to holding small kitchen accessories, like your scissors, serving spoons, and small spice jars. 

Didn’t find your perfect project on this list? Here are some more Dollar Tree DIYs to boost kitchen storage.