How To Transform Your Old Sheet Pan Into An Actually Useful Decor Piece

We love creative ways to upcycle kitchenware. Our cooking and baking essentials have served us well for years, but eventually, every item reaches a point where it's no longer efficient. We upgrade to new versions, but to simply toss the old ones seems like a waste. It's a win-win, then, when you find a clever DIY project to do with them instead — you get the new kitchen staple, plus a creative activity that yields a new piece of decor or organization. In the case of the sheet pan-repurposing DIY project shared by TikTok user Upstyle Daily, both decor and organization apply.

The idea is to turn an old sheet pan into a magnetic bulletin board. This is super handy for the kitchen, considering all the bits and bobs from necessary papers to cute drawings your kids made that need to be displayed and kept tidy. It's also an appealingly customizable project, and, importantly, cheap and easy. You'll want a smooth surface, so if there's any build-up, effectively clean your dirty sheet pan with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Later, spray paint the pan outside. Then, paint a set of clothespins, too (this Jabinco pack of 50 clothespins is just over $5). Once they're dry, magnetize them by simply cutting and sticking on pieces of this Towjug magnetic tape or any other self-adhesive magnetic strip. Stick Command picture-hanging strips to the pan's back and hang, and your bulletin board is ready to rock.

The possibilities are endless for how you can decorate this bulletin board. You can spray paint it with any color that matches your kitchen design theme, from metallics to primary hues or pastels. If you have some artistic talent you want to flex, you can get creative with multiple colors. A foolproof approach for a more eye-catching finish that even those of us who are not so artistically inclined can nail is stencils — this Llousak 24-piece painting stencil set features all kinds of geometric patterns. You can even use Rust-Oleum chalkboard spray paint to make your bulletin board a chalkboard, too, where you can write notes, shopping lists, or that evening's dinner "menu."

This bulletin board is one of many kitchen organization hacks we love for clearing counter space because it gets all those papers that seem to magically accumulate (takeout menus, bills, grocery lists, school trip permission lists, recipes, and more) neatly hung in one convenient place. But with the customization options, it's a statement-making decor piece, too. You can even decorate the individual clothespins. For a fun, kid-friendly board, pick a theme like animals and glue on erasers (this Urskytous 35-piece animal eraser set is just $8). Or, use faux flowers, sleek metal studs, sea shells —  the sky's the limit. As handy as it is fun, this bulletin board is one of our favorite sheet pan uses.