19 Useful IKEA Ordning Hacks

8 19 Easy & Useful IKEA Ordning hacks…who knew there were so many cool uses for a $3 IKEA utensil holder?

Here are 8 19 creative, and useful IKEA Ordning hacks. Have you seen IKEA’s “Ordning” utensil holder? It’s a simple, metal canister with lots of holes for aeration.

They are usually sold at IKEA for between $2-4 each. And like anything IKEA makes, people have found some good uses for these guys, beyond their intended purpose.

About IKEA…Are you a fan? Who isn’t, right? But I have to be honest and admit that I try to keep my IKEA visits to once or twice a year.

This is for 2 simple reasons:

1. I love the cinnamon rolls from their restaurant WAY too much for my waistline’s own good, and
2. Because I never walk out of there with ONLY the items I went in for.

By the way, if you LOVE IKEA, then grab this list of 25 IKEA must-have items for a stylish home on a budget! These are my favorite IKEA products. Many of them can be used in amazing, outside-the-box ways, too.

Sure, IKEA stuff is always a good deal. But when you are googling “U-haul rental” on your way out of the store to somehow get the 18 items you purchased home…after entering the store 6 hours earlier with only 2 things on your list, that’s no bueño.

Regardless, I loooove a good IKEA hack as much or more than the next gal. And on my last IKEA trip, I picked up one of these babies…

A $2.50 Ordning utensil holder. But I didn’t use mine to stash utensils. And there are clearly others out there who didn’t either. Here are 8 19 fun alternative uses for this inexpensive IKEA purchase.

So the basic product you’ll need to complete ANY of these DIY ideas is:

19 Easy Ordning IKEA hacks:

1. Ribbon Organizer Ikea Hack | Heathered Nest

Here’s what I originally did with our Ordning utensil holder. Used it to store and dispense ribbon!

If you’re thinking…wait, I have WAY more ribbon than could possibly fit in that little thing, check out these articles for more awesome ribbon storage solutions:

• DIY ribbon organizer Ikea hack!
• 20 Clever Ribbon Storage Ideas You Need

2. Marble/Pick up Sticks Game Ordning Hack | Limmaland

Isn’t this a fun (and simple) way to use this product? And it isn’t modified at all. So you can easily revert to using it as a utensil holder after your game if you’d like to.

3. Jewelry Organizer

This Ordning hack creates a quick and simple place to hold your earrings. And bracelets and other small accessories can be stored inside.

Again, the Ordning hack here doesn’t do anything to the original product that would make it useless as a utensil holder later on if you decided you needed a place to hold your spoons more than your favorite dangle earrings. And it only took about 30 seconds to put this together!

4. Bird Feeder IKEA Ordning Hack

IKEA itself is often the source of the best IKEA “hacks”. They asked employees to create different uses for their Ordning utensil holder, and I’ve listed a few here. This one? A bird feeder!

When I first saw this idea, I honestly thought, “that won’t work…all the feed will fall through the holes.”

So I decided to try it. Low and behold, it actually worked pretty well! It probably depends on what type of birdseed you use…types with larger nuts/seeds will work best.

There are tiny little pieces of the seed that do fall through, but not much really once the feeder is full. Here’s ours below, hanging by a thin piece of leather strapping.

It’s pretty cute, actually. And it’s SO simple to put together.

The biggest challenge is finding sticks that easily fit. But you could do this with your little ones in less than 20-minutes, and they’d probably love putting it together and watching the birds come to find it!

5. Ceiling Porch Light Ordning hack | IKEA Hackers

There are actually A BUNCH of different DIY lighting variations that are Ordning hacks.

The one below is just one example. I’ve seen pendant lights, chandeliers made with several IKEA Ordnings clumped together, and more.

6. Bathroom Hot Tools Storage | Polka Dot Chair

This is an awesome use for an Ordning. It’s big enough to hold a curling iron, flat iron and even a brush or two.

7. Cufflink Holder | IKEA Hackers

Does you husband wear cuff links? If so, this could come in handy!

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8. Crafting Tote | Heathered Nest

If the Ordning holds utensils, then it can easily hold other items like office supplies and crafting odds and ends! Here I stashed Sharpies, some scissors, foam craft brushes, and pencils in it.

Since the Ordning is pretty tall, I put an empty cardboard spool from some ribbon in the bottom to boost the Sharpies up a little. And I stuck a mason jar in the center as well to keep it a bit more organized inside.

OH…and if you’re looking for more ideas in this vein, be sure to check these articles out!

• 23 Desk Organization Ideas You’ll Want Now
• 53 BEST Craft Organization And Craft Storage Ideas

9. How To Make Your Own DIY Industrial Sconces | Love Create Celebrate

Here’s another take on a DIY light fixture using an Ordning. Painted black gives it more of an industrial look.

10. Twine Storage | Sweet Stamp Shop Blog

Similar to our ribbon storage idea, I like how Sweet Stamp Shop Blog labeled her Ordnings for different colors of butcher’s twine.

11. Toilet Roll Holders | IKEA Hackers

Thrifty and handy way to store extra rolls of TP, right?

12. Lollipop/Candy Tree

This idea was another one that IKEA employees came up with for the Ordning. The image below is the one I made myself. Truth be told, it’s not as simple to put together as it looks. They recommended placing a ball of yarn underneath the Ordning to help hold the lollipop stems.

That probably works really well, but none of my yarn was bunched tightly enough to really hold the stems, and my butcher’s twine was too tight.

I placed some ribbon spools underneath, and that kinda sorta worked…

Truthfully, I think what would work BEST would be a styrofoam cone/florist foam cube from the Dollar Tree. That would work great under the Ordning, and hold the lollipop stems securely wherever you decide to insert them.

Since I didn’t have that on hand, I made do. But those lollipops were a tad precarious, at best 🙃.

13. Vertical Garden | IKEA Hackers

A cool indoor vertical garden idea made from Ordning utensil holders and another IKEA product. Check out all the details over at IKEA hackers.

14. Mini Outdoor Camping Stove | IKEA Hackers

An easy and inexpensive way to create a small camping stove…one person with a slightly different modification said it’s great for scouting trips.

15. Wake Up Light | IKEA Hackers

Ingenius little DIY bedside lamp that a super proficient IKEA hacker came up with. This contributor has dozens of awesome IKEA hack ideas over on that site.

16. Candle Holder Ordning Hack | Heathered Nest

Maybe “hack” is a stretch for this one. I didn’t really do anything except plop a Yankee candle into my Ordning.

But if you don’t love the canister your candle of choice is in, this is a super simple, and inexpensive alternative. Especially for larger candles.

17. Knitting Tote | IKEA Denmark

Once again, IKEA is the source of some of the best IKEA “hacks” around. This awesome little knitting caddy was another IKEA employee creation.

18. Cleaning Cubby Ordning Hack | Tatertots and Jello

Aren’t we all on the lookout for great storage and organizing ideas? So this one from Tatertots and Jello is great!

Inexpensive, easy, and the Ordnings make a great place to hold some frequently used brushes, sponges, or anything else that may get wet and needs some good aeration to prevent mold from taking hold.

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19. Gardening/Tool Belt | IKEA Denmark

Last but not least, another fun IKEA employee creation. A gardening belt or toolbelt craftily created with a leather belt and an Ordning.

And that’s a wrap! 19 great IKEA Ordning hacks for you to consider. Grab one of those “utensil holders” (along with some cinnamon rolls) next time you’re at IKEA, and get hacking!

Pin these Ordning IKEA hacks for later! And if you make any, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try one of these projects, too!