I thrifted this box planter at the end of last year. Well, I’m not sure how much of a “thrift” it was. I bought it on Facebook Marketplace, new with tags, and paid $30. Does that count? It’s a box planter that Target has pretty regularly in different color combinations. Most recently I saw this one, with an original price of $70:

Though it had the tags attached and appeared unused, it was very dirty. “New with tags” doesn’t mean it hasn’t been in someone’s garage getting grimy and knocked around for a while ya know. This seemed to be the situation here, but no matter, I’m used to cleaning up secondhand stuff.

Sometimes thrifts are disappointing though, and this one was destined to be so in the short run.

I was just getting into indoor plants and this adorable box planter seemed perfect for an empty spot I had in my house. And it would have been, only, when you are new to container plants, you don’t realize how unhealthy so many planters can be for them. This one was terrible in that regard. Generally speaking, you just shouldn’t put plants in containers with no drainage. I know that rules out a lot of cute, fun options, but you have to be a good plant parent first and foremost.

I was disappointed in the price, condition, and even the item’s basic function. The only thing I liked was the look of it, but beauty only gets you so far. It didn’t even have any padding on the feet to keep the rough edges of the metal legs from scratching my concrete floors. Ugh!

My husband tried to convince me to write this one off as a loss and just donate it for my sanity’s sake, but I was determined to do something with it for the price I paid. As it was sitting around in my office one day, generally just making me mad at the sight of it, the perfect use struck me.

You see, I’m quite the casual writer! I have a journal obsession and one for every purpose you can imagine. So on the weekends or evenings when I curl up in my big chair and reach for a notebook, my tiny chairside table was getting a bit crowded.

The box planter was perfect for my needs! It is slim, has an unobtrusive profile, and is the perfect chairside height. It holds three rows of my notebooks and journals of various sizes.

Not only did this repurpose cure my buyer’s remorse, now I wouldn’t take anything for my little chairside cubby. I wanted to share in case anyone else found themselves in similar need of a slim chairside storage option. Mine is 6.5″ wide, 24.5″ long, and 20.5″ tall. This is the closest thing I could find on Amazon. It’s a little taller than mine, but it has a bottom shelf, which would be even more helpful! Maybe you could find one at Target though, since they have them so frequently, or even thrift one yourself!

Anyway I am so happy with my repurposed box planter. Isn’t it great when you can turn a disappointing thrift around into something great?!