Upcycled Mailbox – A Storage Cubby for our Vegetable Garden!

Jun 06 2021
This post may include affiliate links Click here to read my Disclosure and Copyright or, for more information on how this website collects your data, click here to view my Privacy Policy. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time to retire it. I didn’t have the heart to toss it though and its been literally sitting in our flower garden, by our front step, for all the years since. I thought about bringing it in and hanging it on the wall or placing it above one of our hutches as decoration but it was just too big for either of those things. It finally dawned on me where it would be perfect this spring when we started working on the vegetable garden!

(Teaming up in our DIY Blog Hop this month with the outdoor projects, check out all of the projects following my post. If you’re interested in joining us click here for more info!)

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

Its weird how many years it took me to realize that this mailbox would be perfect for the vegetable garden. I ended up with soggy gloves and a pile of gardening tools just sitting out there all summer long.

I really needed a cubby of some kind for sure!

Our vegetable garden is a good hike from the garage so I knew I would never manage to walk to the garage, get my gardening tools, walk out to the garden and then also manage to get my tools back to the garage only to have to retrieve them daily for the rest of forever.

It was just never going to happen.

I absolutely needed a place in the garden for storage.

First I hand sanded the old mailbox down with sand paper and then steel wool to get the old stickers and grime off of the galvanized steel.

Then I decided to paint the mailbox. This was actually a tough decision for me because for as long as I can remember my grandparents’ always had a steel mailbox at the end of their driveway.

But my garden has been crying out for some color and bright red just felt perfect! (And this certainly is not the last of the additions to the garden this year – we really want to give it some character!)

A couple of coats in Rustoleum’s bright red high gloss spray paint and my Grandparents’ old mailbox looks practically brand new!

It easily stores all of my gardening tools and a couple of extra pairs of gloves too!

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time


Hi guys! Chas and I are teaming up the first Sunday of every month for our DIY blog hop. Feel free to join us by linking up or you can also share it!

This Month’s DIY Blop Hop: GARDEN OR YARD PROJECTS! (Click here for our upcoming themes and more info on how to join us every month!)



Chas from Chas' Crazy Creations – DIY Garden Sphere with VideoChas from Chas’ Crazy Creations – DIY Garden Sphere with Video



Amy from Health, Home, and Heart - DIY Mud KitchenAmy from Health, Home, and Heart – DIY Mud Kitchen



Allison from Darling and Dapper Life - Outdoor Herb Garden Chest of DrawersAllison from Darling and Dapper Life – Outdoor Herb Garden Chest of Drawers



Mary from Life at Bella Terra - How to Build a Garden ObeliskMary from Life at Bella Terra – How to Build a Garden Obelisk



Niky from The House on Silverado - DIY Garden Bench MakeoverNiky from The House on Silverado – DIY Garden Bench Makeover


This old mailbox was my grandparents for many, many years before I came along and used it as long as I could before it was finally time

Comments

  1. Marybeth
    June 6, 2021 at 8:50 am

    What a great idea! A perfect way to keep everything you need in one place. Keep taking pictures “as your garden grows”.

  2. June 6, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    I’m all about recycling and upcycling when I can.

    This will be great and no more soggy gloves

    • June 7, 2021 at 11:39 am

      Thanks Cindy, its working out perfect!

  3. June 6, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    Love this idea and it turned out so cute. Useful is always nice too!

  4. June 6, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    This is such a great idea Tarah. I need something like this in my garden, I get tired of walking back and forth to the shed all of the time. I’m inspired!

    • June 7, 2021 at 11:41 am

      Yep this worked out great for me!

  5. June 7, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    This is such a clever idea! I love that it is super useful, and a great way to save a sentimental keepsake from your grandparents’ home!

    Niky @ The House on Silverado

  6. June 7, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    I’m absolutely in love with this idea!! I’m such a fan of upcycling something old into a completely different something new and it’s even better when you can incorporate an item with some sentimental history into a daily use item! Love it love it!

    • June 8, 2021 at 9:22 am

      Thank you Allison! These are my favorite projects too, something that’s important to me and yet I can use it for real every day!

  7. June 9, 2021 at 10:03 am

    That’s wonderful you were able to revamp your grandparent’s mailbox. A great idea that serves a new purpose and keeps the memories, too!

    • June 9, 2021 at 10:24 am

      Thanks Allyson, its been really working great for us!

Leave a Comment

*