Don't Throw Away Your Old Ironing Board, Use It For A Stylish Potting Bench

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

You may be wondering whether it's time to toss an ironing board that seems to have no purpose other than collecting piles of clothing in a dark corner of the basement. Don't throw it away, upcycle it instead. By design, ironing boards are quite practical; they're sturdy, they can be folded up when not needed, and some have an adjustable height. Those factors make them quite handy for all sorts of uses beyond ironing or stockpiling clothes, like serving as a potting station in your shed or yard. 

A metal ironing board needs almost no work before it's ready for a new life as a potting bench. The absolute best type for outdoor use is sturdy and has a top that looks like it's made of a metal grate, since the holes will easily allow excess water to drain and potting soil to hit the ground. As a potting table, that old ironing board is a useful work surface when repotting those store-bought mums so they thrive, or when hardening off seedlings before planting them in the ground. When you're not actively using it for gardening, it could also double as a plant table to display your favorite potted flowers. 

Some ironing boards require a little extra prep work before they're ready for the garden. If your board has a cushy cover on it, tear that away, as none of the padding or outer cover are needed outdoors. A metal board that's colorfully painted and has no chips or dings in the coating could be ready to go as-is, but if there's no obvious paint or it looks a little rusty, it'll need an outdoor-worthy coating that stands up to the weather. A spray paint such as Krylon Fusion all-in-one paint/primer works well on multiple surfaces, so it could also jazz up an old wooden ironing board.

If dealing with wood, sand it gently to remove any old coatings and to allow the paint to adhere better. Wood is best preserved with several coats of paint or stain, and then an outdoor-worthy sealer. If you like the look of your ironing board and don't want to add more color, a sealer will protect it for outdoor use. You could also drill several holes through the wood board to allow water drainage.

Once the ironing board is ready for use outside, set it up in a convenient location, such as a spot where you normally pot plants fresh from the garden center. Add S-hooks or carabiner clips to your metal grate-style board to hang gardening hand tools. For a wooden board, twist some screw-in plant hooks into the bottom for added convenience. Now that you've upcycled one item, here are more household staples to repurpose in the garden.