DIY Dollar Tree vanity can keep your kids out of your makeup (finally)

Who doesn’t love a good bargain? Especially one that helps you keep in line with your family’s budgeting plan for the year AND keeps your little one’s tiny hands away from your makeup. 

The struggle is all too real for moms whose kids get into their stash of makeup. It’s not so much that they’re going to eat it (although that’s obviously concerning and a big no-no) but typically you see viral TikToks about little fingers smudging hundreds of dollars worth of makeup and skincare products. Oh, and the videos are super cute when the kiddos try putting on lipstick but totally miss their lips. But, that doesn’t mean it’s not a real problem. 

This TikTok video might be able to solve that problem for you. You don’t need a fancy vanity to lock away your products. According to this popular video, all you need is a quick trip to the Dollar Tree. This Dollar Tree DIY vanity will have you rethinking how you store your makeup. And if it can keep your products in pristine condition, why not give it a shot? 

@bargain.bethany Dollar Tree Makeup Vanity! #dollartree #dollartreefinds #dollartreediys #dollartreediy #organization #organizationtiktok #organizationhacks #fyp #bargainbethany ♬ Paradise – TELL YOUR STORY music by Ikson™

Bargain Bethany posts money-saving hacks and a whole bunch of bargains on her TikTok page. And this recent video is no different. In the video, Bethany walks into a Dollar Tree and grabs a bunch of those cheese-hole-type crates along with zip ties. 

You can see her using the zip ties to attach the crates together. She says, “I’m going to be making a hutch by placing four crates on each side of the top of the hutch and then two crates in the middle.” 

Once she has the frame together, she takes it outside and spray paints it. She chose gold but you can go with any color that fits your room decor. 

Bethany then takes the crates and attaches them to the wall. “I hung mine off of nails. You can nail or drill through the crates,” she explains. With the crate standing up on the wall, it looks like a proper shelving unity which basically makes it a DIY vanity. 

Now, to really make this Dollar Tree vanity come together, you can use foam squares for each shelf bottom. In the video, you’ll see how she uses regular foam, cut down to squares with marble contact paper for design. Again, all from the Dollar Tree! 

“Then you can place your makeup inside of there,” she concludes. 

This Dollar Tree DIY project is something that could save you what you would normally pay for a huge vanity that could potentially take up a lot of space. Because it’s standing upright, you can organize your products in order of height—putting the things you want to keep out of reach from little ones at the very top. 

So, what color will you be spray painting your budget-friendly, DIY vanity?

A version of this article was published in October 2023. It has been updated.