Teal Shower Caddy Repurpose

Okay, so if you read my Linky post yesterday, you know I planned to have this little project all finished and ready for your viewing yesterday for Leap Day, but the weather wasn't cooperating (you'll understand why as you read on) so here it is:

We've had this shower caddy hanging empty in our shower for about two years. We got one of those spring loaded corner shelves, and this one got left in the dust. Or water. And got rusty.

I came up with a genius (at least in my mind) idea to clean it up, paint it, and repurpose it as a closet caddy, easily hangable on the inside of a closet door.

You will need:
A hanging shower caddy
Spray primer suitable for metal (or whatever material your caddy is made of)
Spray paint (I used shiny black and shiny teal)
Steel wool, a wire-bristled brush, or rough sanding screen - I used the latter because that's what I found first in our painting supplies.
Painter's tape (if painting with more than one color)
1 Command removable hook
Adhesive felt pads

All of my paint is Valspar brand, because that's what I had leftover from other projects. Notice all of the lovely dust on the paint caps. They've been sitting in the garage a while. All of my supplies were found items, except the hook.

Start by sanding the rust off of the caddy. Go ahead and sand the whole thing, in case there is any residue or clear coat on it that will hinder the adhesion of the paint. Make sure to check the top, bottom, side, insides, outsides and remove all the gross rust. It's gotta go.

Once all the rust is gone, it will be preeeetty, and oh so shiny. Like this:

Now prime your the caddy following the directions on your spray paint. I find thin coats work best.

When the primer is dry, you're ready to paint. I chose the contrasting black and teal to match my stepdaughter's decor since I am going to hang it in her closet. I painted the back part that hangs against the door black, and the baskets teal. I admit, this sounded much easier before I tried it. I REALLY wanted two colors though because I thought (1) they'd complement each other and (2) it would stand out from the white door better and (3) it would be cuter, and cuter is better. I did the black first, then covered it with painter's tape and plastic and painted the teal. It only took approximately 1 million pieces of tape. No joke. Mostly.

I also ran into a snafu with the weather that some of you may need to consider. The humidity this week has been 1000%, so the paint seemed to take a really long time to dry. By the time I got to the teal, I had become wiser. I opened the garage to paint (so I had plenty of fresh air). Then I closed the garage and turned on the AC to take the moisture out of the air, thus giving my little project a fighting chance to be done sometime this year. It literally took an entire extra day of drying to get the spray paint to set.

Here are the two final products I needed to finish up:

I used a white Command hook to blend in with the door. It holds 5 lbs, but I might add another on one of the lower baskets so she can hold more stuff. Also, I took one adhesive felt circle pad (the kind you put under furniture to keep it from scratching your floor) and cut it into strips and put them on the back of the black bars to protect the door.

And now, drum roll, please...

Here it is! The finished project! Too cute, handy, and resourceful! It's bins are the perfect place for girly stuff like nail polish, lotion, or hair products, and the hooks work great for necklaces, belts, or small purses. I hope she likes it!

Voila!

nail polish spot

hang necklaces, belts, purses, or a Hawaiian lei!

After doing all this teal painting, I realized this project coincided with my mom's birthday, who passed away from ovarian cancer. The ovarian cancer awareness color is teal. Please check out the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition's website for more information by clicking on this ribbon:

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