Build Your Own Outdoor Trashcan made from Recycled Pallets!

While you all are reading this post, I’ll be galavanting all around India. Getting ready to go was extremely busy not only because of the packing but also in making sure that I stay on top of this blog! I love creating projects and writing on the blog so having new projects and recipes up was a priority for me. I can’t wait till I get back to be able to share with you all about my trip.

I’ve been hoarding some old shipping crates that I got from work awhile ago. They have been sitting on the side of the yard, just waiting for a project, I just could never settle on something. Well, we had a party at our house a few weeks ago and after watching our guests put trash into one of our huge gross ugly garbage cans I realized what we needed to make. An outdoor pallet trashcan! Of course I put Sean on the job right away and he was so excited to work on an outdoor project in the California heat! Um, no, he wasn’t. But, that wasn’t going to let that stop me. I just had to use a little sweet talking and our project got started.

If you want to make a trashcan, or anything else out of the pallet wood, the first question to ask is where to find pallets! The best place to start is to ask small local business or facilities if they have pallets they are willing to give or let you buy for a low cost. But, since building with pallets have become so popular, you can also find the wood on Etsy and Home Depot. If you buy it from one of those two sources, you won’t have to tear and cut the boards apart like we did.

Supply List:

{7} – 96″ lengths of 2″x4″ pallet wood or equivalent.
{2} – 2″x2″ 6′ pine
1″ nails or nail gun brads
2 hinges
handle

Tool List:

Cut List:

{35} – 16″ 2″x4″ – mitered ends (9 boards for each four sides, 4 for the lid sides and 5 for the lid top)
{4} – 33″ 2″x2″
{4} – 3 1/2″ 2″x2″

Sean used a sawzall to cut the nails and boards apart. We didn’t have to take the nails completely out.

Once all the boards were loose, we cut them all to size first. Well, I cut them all first (of course wearing safety goggles) and Sean started nailing. I cut them all to size and then went back and mitered the ends. It seemed the easiest way of making it all even. I had to be super careful when cutting through the wood because anytime I hit a nail the board did a little kick back. But, I made it through all fingers intact!

Sean then started nailing all the wood to the corner supports. He did the two opposite sides first, then ballanced those and did the other two opposite sides.

Having the mitered corners created a cleaner edge, especially with how rustic this box is it makes it a little nicer to have those mitered corners.

The boards don’t reach completely to the ground, there is about a one inch gap. But having that space seemed perfect since it allowed water from rain to go underneath without rotting the bottom. After the main box was done, Sean built the lid. It’s basically the same as the bottom box, but only 1 layer deep instead of 9.