DIY Recycled Chalkboard Canisters

I love finding new purposes for everyday items. I've also found that chalkboard paint is an easy, and versatile, way to transform these items.

I've been buying these Kirkland Signature Unsalted Mixed Nuts for at least a year now, and I buy one container about every month. As you can imagine, that adds up to a lot of plastic!

At first, I was just recycling the containers as normal, not even thinking about giving them another purpose.

A few months ago, I was re-organizing my kitchen and realized that I had began saving a handful of these containers, maybe 3 or 4 of them. I had also recently re-done a room in our house to be the kids' playroom, and had some leftover chalkboard paint. [*NOTE: There's also a product called chalk paint that is completely different from chalkBOARD paint. It's important to note that they are not interchangeable.) Then it hit me to paint these containers with chalkboard paint and use them as uniform organizers for my kitchen. I chose to use chalkboard paint, because it can go over any surface without priming or sanding (making it easier on me!).

I don't have a ton of space in my kitchen, and I'm always looking for ways to maximize what space I do have while keeping it organized so I don't get overwhelmed. These containers were perfect because they can hold quite a bit of product (coconut flour, almond flour, dark chocolate, whey isolate, etc.) and they fit easily in my cupboards or on my pantry shelves.

First, remove the outer labels from the containers. It was a pleasant surprise that the labels on my containers came off fairly easily. There was some leftover sticker residue, which I used a little Goo Gone to remove.

Then clean the whole inside and outside with regular dish soap and water, and let it dry completely.

Next comes the chalkboard paint!

You can choose to paint all of the sides, or just one - or really, any pattern you want! Whatever makes your life easier, go for it.

I used foam brushes to paint the containers. They gave a clean, smooth finish and were easy to use.

All that's left is to let the paint dry! It really doesn't take long, it took maybe an hour for mine to dry all the way (and that's pretty generous).

Fill it up with whatever your heart desires, and label with colorful chalk.

I used this same method on a few other items in my kitchen (a utensil canister and glass spice jars) which worked equally as well as the plastic containers.

These containers have been the easiest, most convenient kitchen canisters ever! They stack, store a lot of product, and they all match.