5 More Things to do With Buckets

They may not always be glamourous, but buckets have loads of practical household uses. Simplify your life by adding these DIY projects to your bucket list.

(Photo: MollyAnne/istockphoto)

1. Build a Camp Washing Machine

Here’s a great way to wash clothes while camping. Make a hole in the lid of a 5-gallon (19-liter) plastic bucket and insert a new toilet plunger. Put in clothes and laundry detergent. Snap on the lid and move the plunger up and down as an agitator. You can safely clean even delicate garments.

(Photo: flas100/istockphoto)

2. Paint High

Avoid messy paint spills when painting on a scaffold or ladder, by putting your paint can and brush in a large bucket and use paint-can hooks to hang the bucket and the brush. If the bucket is large enough, you’ll even have room for your paint scraper, putty knife, rags or other painting tools you may need. A 20-litre plastic bucket is ideal.

3. Paint Low

Use the lids from 20-litre plastic buckets as trays for 4-litre cans of paint. The lids act as platforms for the paint cans and are also large enough to hold a paintbrush.

4. Make Stilts

Make working on a ceiling less of a stretch. Use two sturdy buckets (minus handles) and a pair of old shoes to make your own mini-stilts. Drive screws through the shoe soles and into wood blocks inside the buckets. Or punch holes in the bucket bottoms and tie or strap down the shoes.

(Photo: lutavia/istockphoto)

5. Soak Your Saw

The best way to clean saw blades is to soak them in acetone or turpentine in a shallow tray, with a lid on the tray to contain the fumes. You can make your own shallow tray by cutting the bottom 5 centimetres or so off a plastic 20-litre bucket with a craft knife. The bucket’s lid can serve as the cover. Remember to wear rubber gloves and use a stick to lever out the sharp blades.

(Photo: tacojim/istockphoto)

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