I've always hated to throw things away, particularly things that I think I might find a use for someday. It was no different when I made a bunch of suitcase shelves (https://www.instructables.com/id/Suitcase-Shelves/). After all, I only used the top six inches of the suitcase for that project -- and there was so much left over! It seemed like such a waste to throw away the majority of an old suitcase, so I decided to put it to a good use.

The container I built is simple, and can be used as a wastebasket, a magazine holder, a plant holder (if you line it with plastic) -- pretty much anything that requires an oblong container. This is a very easy project and can be completed in less than an hour or so.

The materials used for this project were minimal: the leftover part of the suitcase from the previous instructable (mentioned above), about 5 feet of outside corner molding, a few brad nails, black paint, and glue.

Step 1: Prepare the Lower Part of the Suitcase

The first thing I did was glue the remains of the old suitcase shut using some epoxy glue.. I mixed up the epoxy, smeared it along the channel where the suitcase closed, and let it cure.

Next, I painted the inside with some flat black enamel.

Step 2: Prepare the Trim

I used some outside corner molding to line the cut part of the suitcase. After measuring and cutting the molding, I pre-finished it with stain and tung oil before installing.

Step 3: Install the Molding

Once the molding was dry, I attached it to the suitcase using small brad nails and glue.

That's all there was to it! Now instead of toting this thing out to the trash can, I can use it for something practical. I'm thinking I'll use it as a trash container in my office, unless of course my wife steals it for a magazine holder......