DIY Dollar Tree Nail Polish Organizer
Organize all of your nail polish bottles in one place with this easy-to-make DIY Dollar Tree nail polish organizer!
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There’s just something so refreshing about a new year. It’s like a chance to start over. Personally, I like to start the year off by getting things organized within my home. I’m not a fan of clutter and things being out of order. It’s just so overwhelming because it’s harder to find things when you’re looking for them.
When Jodi from the House house blog came up with a DIY organizing challenge, I knew exactly what I was going to make. Jodi’s hosting our monthly DIY challenge for the month of January, so be sure to check out her blog. She has some great DIYs and tips!
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for links to the other great bloggers’ organizing projects!
DIY Dollar Tree Nail Polish Organizer
I’ve always kept my nail polish in a plastic storage container under my bathroom sink or in the bathroom cabinet. However, since it’s all together in a small container, I can never see all the colors. Sometimes I buy a polish just to use it once or twice and then forget about it because it’ll get pushed to the back of the plastic container and I can’t see it.
So I needed to figure out a better way to organize my nail polishes so I can see more than just the ones that made it to the front row. Jodi’s organizing challenge idea couldn’t have come at a better time! A couple of months ago I bought 3 wooden trays from Dollar Tree and my husband picked up some paint stir sticks from Lowe’s. Keep reading and I’ll show you how I turned those pieces of wood into a Dollar Tree nail polish organizer.
What you need:
Here’s a list of everything you will need to make your own DIY Dollar Tree nail polish organizer:
- 3 wood trays from Dollar Tree (like these)
- 4 wood stir sticks (on Amazon here or at any hardware store)
- Wood glue
- Stain
- Sponge brush
- Clamps
- Old rags (I used an old t-shirt that was ripped up to make rags.)
What you do:
Step 1
Tip: Before starting any staining or painting, be sure to cover your work area. I use an old bed sheet and a plastic Dollar Tree table cloth, especially when I’m staining. Also, I like to wear gloves while staining wood because I tend to get stain all over my hands.
First, stain all 3 wood trays and all 4 wood paint stir sticks. I have no idea what color the stain was that I used. It was actually leftover stain from when we refinished the hardwood floors in our bedroom.
To stain the wood trays and stir sticks, use a sponge brush to apply the stain generously. Then use a rag, such as an old t-shirt, to wipe the excess stain off.
After all the pieces have been stained, let them dry completely before gluing.
Tip: If you would rather paint the Dollar Tree nail polish organizer instead of staining, I would suggest painting last after the entire thing is assembled to make it easier.
Step 2
After the stain has dried, it’s time to start gluing the pieces together. I used Elmer’s wood glue for a strong, long-lasting hold.
To glue the paint stir sticks to the wood trays, I started with the bottom tray and worked my way up. I lined up the bottom of 2 stir sticks with the bottom of one of the wood trays on one side. After they were lined up, I glued the sticks to the tray.
Next, I lined the top of another wood tray up with the top of the stir sticks and glued the tray down. Then, I eyeballed where I wanted the middle tray to go, and glued that one down as well. I used clamps to hold the trays in place while the glue dried.
Step 3
After the glue has completely dried (follow drying instructions on glue label), you can start organizing your nail polish bottles!
This is so easy to make! Other than waiting for the stain (or paint) and glue to dry, this is such an easy organizing project. Here are some other ways you can use your Dollar Tree nail polish organizer:
- hair ties and clips
- plastic spoons, forks, and knives
- organize pudding boxes, Jell-O boxes, Kool-Aid packs, hot chocolate packs, etc.
Those are only a few examples. What would you use the nail polish organizer for?
Be sure to check out these other great organizing ideas for these amazing bloggers:
- Carol from Blue Sky at Home
- Jodi from the House house
And don’t forget to pin the DIY Dollar Tree nail polish organizer for later!
Hard work but it looks wonderful and very useful 😉
Thank you so much!!
My mom says that nail polish lasts longer if you store them in the fridge! She wears a lot of nail polish but only wears shades of read and pink. You’d be amazed how many shades of red and pink exists and I can definitely see the need for one of these organizers to store them all!
This is a very cute organizer. I can’t wear nail polish, unfortunately. Sometimes I use nail polish for art projects.
I’ve never heard to store nail polish in the fridge. What a great tip! I didn’t really there were so many shades of red and pink. Thank you so much!
“Keeping nail polish in a fridge slows down the normal possible discoloration and solvent evaporation of the polish, which happens as the polish gets older,” says Hariharan. In short, “the sooner you put the product in the fridge, the longer the color stays true.”
I googled this so I guess my mom isn’t crazy 😂 I’ve never seen her wear anything other than pink and red shades. She usually had 20+ nail polishes at any given time.
I never knew that! That’s very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Sharing is caring! Have a good day 🙂
Great work and now it’s all in one place.
How nice.
Happy New Year!
Thank you so much! Happy New Year to you, too!
It’s perfect! What a great project and looks pretty easy to make. Love it!
Thank you so much!!
I love this! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! I hope you’re doing well!
I am trying like crazy to get back to writing. Let’s just say there are a lot of cobwebs, but I am not giving up! 🤨
I definitely need one of these organizer’s, Michelle! I just went through my stash of polish and I have so many duplicates! This would make it so much easier to see what I have, Thank you for sharing! Happy 2022!
That’s great! I had to get rid of so much polish because most of it was old, but I also realized I had duplicates, too. Those I gave to my daughter, but it was crazy to think I had bought the same color just because I couldn’t see what I had. haha! Happy 2022 to you as well!
Is that the cutest thing?! What a neat idea! I have no idea if you’ve been posting or not. WordPress hasn’t been showing me anything in my reader and then suddenly today there was a bunch of posts from bloggers I read.
Thank you so much! I haven’t been posting much because it’s been so crazy busy around here. I could definitely use a vacation. haha!
Amazingly good idea! At the moment, I have a big plastic tub with lid to keep mine in but I had to cull a few that were way too old as the lid wouldn’t fit 😂 Having them neatly arranged like this, or any smaller products really, would be brilliant. Love the DIY make and your steps for it! xx
Thank you so much! I know the problem of having way too many polishes. I finally had to break down and force myself to get rid of some. haha!!
Beautiful!! My daughters need one of these, lol! God Bless!
Thank you so much! It’s easy to make, too! 🙂
Wow! This container is amazing, it looks nice, and it keeps everything tidy. I love organizing ideas. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much!! It was so easy to make, too. Just takes a while for drying time. 🙂
This turned out beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much!!
That is so clever, love it. at the end of last year I threw out all of my old nail polish 🙂 cleaned out the drawer I had them in and decided to start fresh, so now I have exactly 3 nail polishes 🙂 Happy New Year Michelle xo
Thank you so much! That’s great that you cleaned out your nail polish. I used to buy so many until I realized I only wore a few colors all the time. I had to make myself throw most of it out! 😀 Happy New Year to you, too!!
Michelle, honestly, I don’t have nail polish at home, but I can see this project for organizing so many things. I have had 6 small drawers for years just waitig fo ra project like this. Thanks for the suggestion.
That’s great that you can see other ways to use this for organizing other things. I hope it has inspired you to create one, too! Now that I’ve made one I want to make more for different rooms.
My Mom worked at nail salons and even had her own business doing nails out of our basement when I was a kid. I always liked talking with all the ladies at the shops and at our house. 😊 Good memories. Happy New Year! God bless!
That sounds like such fun memories! 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your family!
What a cool little organizer! Great idea for keeping nail polish corralled 🙂
Thank you so much!!
What a super idea! This is a great organizer that won’t break the bank and is super easy to do. I love how it looks Michelle, I have mine all in a storage bin, but your idea is so much better. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you liked it!
Great work❤
Thank you!!
I never would have guessed those were paint sticks! I think I would use it to organize my jewelry. I have that same problem of never seeing my jewelry, so I never put it on. Do you have any jewelry organizing ideas?
That’s a great idea to use it for organizing jewelry! Jodi’s link is above and she made the cutest organizers for her earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry so most of mine is stored in a jewelry organizer hanging in my closet. 🙂
Thank you; I will have to check that out!
You’re welcome!
You make it look so easy!!
Aww thank you!
Very clever idea and it turned out so well. I don’t wear nail polish, but I am a sucker for organizers and I could see using this for other things as well.
Thank you so much! Yes, this project could definitely be used for more than nail polish. 🙂
Practical and attractive. 🙂
Thank you so much!
This would be an excellent project for kids….too. What a great catchall for craft supplies, or miniatures, mini-heros…I think you should do another for kids! Hugs, Sandi
That’s a great idea! Thank you for sharing!
Very clever idea. I love seeing posts on how to upcycled items from the Dollar Tree. These look great. #HomeMattersParty
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you liked it!
Very clever!!! That would be cute storage for a lot of places! I can see it in my future lake cabin. Thanks for linking up to #trafficjamweekend
Thank you so much! I’m glad it inspired you to make one for your cabin. Thank you for reading!
Very clever Michelle!!! It looks great!!
I absolutely love it. You did a wonderful job!