I love when a project I have on my list fits perfectly with something I’ve been wanting to share with you all! Abby here again and this month’s project falls into that category: My orchid has started to outgrow its original planter, and because orchids are notoriously finicky, I thought it would be fun to thrift a new planter at my local Goodwill. But not just any planter, a glass one, so I can keep an eye on its roots.
While I was shopping for my new orchid planter, I happened upon so many good options for planters (that aren’t planters), so wanted to share those too!
We’ve talked about thrifting planters on the Goodwill Akron blog before. Dina shared some GREAT tips for 12 Months of Thrifting (you can find them here), and I’ve shared a few DIY ideas here and here. But generally, if you are keeping plants indoors, look for something sturdy, big enough for whatever you are planting, and if whatever you find doesn’t have holes for drainage, either drill some yourself, or add some loose pebbles be-fore your soil when you are repotting/planting.
So first things first, why don’t you come thrifting with me!
I made a quick stop at the Goodwill Akron location on Waterloo Road. I love this location because it has the retail location, as well as the outlet. Candidly, I’ve not visited the outlet since it moved back to Waterloo Road, but I bet it is a gold mine for things that could be used as planters. Check out what I found on the shelves in the housewares sec-tion below!
The tall, blue ceramic containers would be perfect for some tall greenery or flowers. Place them on the floor (assuming you don’t have rambunctious dogs or small children – we have both) and fill them with your foliage of choice // The little brown crocks would make perfect planters for someone’s home (store away the lids for if you ever want to use them as crocks again).
Most Goodwills sort the housewares by color. So if you have something specific in mind, just make a beeline for that area and color. These red sections have several good options for little planters (the little bowls packaged together, the mug, the red, glass bowls, the little cup/chalice thing).
Like I mentioned, I was looking for something clear to repot my orchid. There were so many good options, but I narrowed it down to the two shown below (plus I grabbed the bird bottle because it was really beautiful – if I don’t use it for serving, I’ll probably put some long-stemmed flowers in it). I loved the funkiness of the square, glass container.
And here is my orchid in its new home!
And because I couldn’t commit to just one clear container, I repotted my pothos in the other container. It was outgrowing its current home too, and I love how it looks in this square planter.
And if you’re looking for some other inspo, here are some other planters I’ve thrifted over the years!
Baskets! You might recognize the basket this monstera lives in as the basket I used the fake flowers from to make my floral letter hangings. I actually re-used BOTH of those planters (the other one is further down the list). If you go the basket route, be sure to either line your basket with plastic (I used part of a garbage bag in this hanging basket), OR leave the plant in the container it came in and set it in the basket. You’ll probably still want plastic on the bottom to catch any water that seeps out. PS monstera is incredibly easy to grow, as well as propagate – these stems were all propagated from my original plant!
Teacups! I decorated the below teacup at an event we did at the Ontario store for their grand opening a few years ago.
And this teacup was thrifted by some friends for my work bridal shower. The cactus that lives in it now has seen better days, but to its credit, I bought it at Walgreen’s about 9 years ago.
Actual Planters: Like I mentioned above, the other planter I thrifted for fake flowers for my floral letter hanging was so cool, that I had to re-use it to hold something green in our home. It was an old creamish color, so I gave it a quick spray with some paint, and then repotted our jade in it.
Fish Bowls/Parfait Bowls: I’m not really sure what this big bowl is, but I thrifted it a few years ago to grow an indoor succulent garden. My succulent garden could use a refresh, but this bowl is great.
And if you’re feeling REALLY adventurous, look out for fun, hollow plastic toys you can cut out a bit of the back of to make a smaller planter (we bought a few dinosaur planters like this).
What do you think? Will you thrift your next planter instead of buying new? If you do thrift a planter, we’d love to see them (and you’ve probably already shared via #12monthsofthrifting, but if you were re-inspired), share with us on social, @goodwillakron or @_abigaildrennen! And if you’re new to indoor plants, this article is a great resource if you’re just getting started 🙂
Happy repurposing!
_Abby