LOOK HOW I REPURPOSED A POTTING BENCH

I bought a potting bench in 2020 thinking herbs would let me live my version of a little house on the cul-de-sac. Looking back it was a panic purchase when a 137 shoppers had this potting bench in their shopping cart.

The truth is I could have grown basil in a Home Depot bucket with drainage holes and potting soil. But judging from my Goodwill box I bought more than a dozen purchases in the spring of 2020.

I had visions of fresh mint for my favorite fall tea. And I did until I forgot to water the herbs.

Over the course of that summer, my potting bench felt the weight of 1/2 full garden mulch and soil and unused planters. It resembled the scratch-and-dent section in the garden center at Home Depot.

It was a hot mess and added to the chaos in our side yard.

On a whim, I ran upstairs to the laundry room.

Once I confirmed the bench would fit in the space behind the laundry room door I ran downstairs and hauled the potting bench up two flights of stairs.

The fact the bench did not fall apart as it made the journey up two flights of stairs was a good sign it would be sturdy enough for the laundry room plans.

My under utilized potting bench had found a new home.

STEPS TO REPURPOSE POTTING BENCH

I sanded the bench to smooth out splintered wood
I wiped it down with these multi-purpose cloths.
And then I got to work painting the soon-to-be- repurposed bench with Mascarpone.

POTTING BENCH TO LAUNDRY BENCH

Like so so many of my projects I had to take a pause to figure out what to do with a utility bench. The bench had this great space below the shelf- it was storage gold for a laundry room.

I remembered I had purchased these baskets from Goodwill and had them in the basement until I figured out how to use this $4.00 pair.

These blue and white matching chevron patterned nylon baskets were perfect for this laundry room bench.

The shelf is multi-purpose. I use it to sort or fold laundry.

Now when I have towels and bedding to wash I can toss them into these bins until I have time to do a load of dirty towels. Next to this bench is the door into the laundry room and I splurged on a second closet organizing system from Container Store. I have the same one in my entry level closet.

This bench makes me so happy. It fills a space that previously had a child size desk or a bench during my bench phase. I use the shelf above the baskets to fold laundry.

Repurposing this potting bench solved a problem in a room far away from the side yard. And now I have a clean slate to clean up the side yard. Stay tuned!

I would love it if you pinned this image for others to find! As we head into wall and prepare for cooler temps this is a good time of year to rethink how to store or repurpose outdoor furniture.