Solve Your Potato Storage Problem With This Dollar Tree Trash Can Find

Potatoes are one of the ultimate all-rounder veggies, showing up in everything from classic potato salad to every kind of french fry you can imagine. But when it comes to storing them, they're a lot less flexible. Potatoes are a little picky, and ignoring their needs can mess with both their quality and the freshness of the produce around them. Luckily, a $1.50 item might be the key to all your potato-storage woes: Dollar Tree's Essentials Wire Wastebaskets.

At 9x9-inches, it's definitely too big for most fridges — but that's actually perfect. Potatoes are meant to be stored in a cool, dark place. Refrigerating them can cause their starches to turn into sugar, which affects both flavor and texture. The best home for this basket is a pantry or lower kitchen cabinet where it stays cool and out of direct light.

The product's reviews are also a great way to gauge how well it holds up in real life. On Dollar Tree's website, it sports a solid 4.1-star rating. Plenty of shoppers say they use it for much more than trash, with gardening and arts and crafts being mentioned in several instances. Ultimately, while it may be listed as a wastebasket, a little creativity and DIY can turn it into pretty much anything you want it to be.

Potatoes aren't the only vegetables that dislike being stored in the refrigerator. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, and fruits like avocados and bananas don't do well when things get too chilly. To preserve the freshness and texture of these produce, Dollar Tree's Essentials Wire Wastebasket is a great way to keep them stored in a cool and dark pantry without creating any unnecessary clutter.

Beyond being the perfect storage solution for your potatoes, these wastebaskets can even become the perfect planters for green-thumbs to grow their own spuds at home during fall. To create a planter out of the wastebasket, all you've gotta do is fill the base with straw, add in some compost, and then place in your seed potatoes (potatoes with eyes). Repeat this layering process as the shoots grow, topping up with more compost until the basket is full. The holes provide excellent drainage, which is a key requirement for potato growth. If you find that the holes need to be bigger, you can easily adjust the size using wire cutters.

Even when simply planting your potatoes in your vegetable garden, the wastebaskets make for eco-friendly protectors of your growing spuds. Many reviewers noted that placing the baskets over their plants or even planting the produce inside a buried basket is an effective way to keep pests at bay while still allowing light and water to pass through. Over time, pests nibbling away at tender leaves and roots can stunt growth and even kill your plants, making the wire basket a simple tool to guarantee a bountiful harvest.