This 79 Cent Hack Will Boost Your Plants and Your Decorating Game

If I’m going to have plants in my house, they’ve gotta be fake. I do not have what it takes to keep plants alive, but I love a bit of greenery in my house. Every room has at least one “plant” in it, and most have more than that (I have THREE in my tiny bathroom).

But plants, and especially fake ones, come in containers that are often decidedly un-chic. And finding a container for your plant that both suits your style AND fits your plant is not as easy as it may seem. This, as my mom would say, is where a tuna can comes in handy. Often all you need to give your plants the height needed to fit in a specified container is a few inches, and for that you use a tuna can. I, personally am horrified by the idea of having a can of tuna under your plants for… years? Decades? I mean, you’re not using an opened can of tuna, BUT STILL. It grosses me out. But there’s a better solution! And it’s decidedly nonperishable and will set you back a mere $0.79.

Target sells these little plastic bowls in numerous colors, and they’re 79 cents each. I have a grey one and a black one, which I color coordinated with two plants that have a white container and black container. When you’re putting a plant in a basket that you can kind of see through, I figure it’s best to match the colors to get as seamless a look as possible.

Here’s a side by side comparison of the same plant in the same basket, but on the left there’s no bowl boosting the plant, and on the right I’ve utilized the bowl trick. See how the leaves are kind of squished in the basket before the bowl gives it a little lift? This basket was exactly what I wanted for my den but if I didn’t use the bowl, it would have just looked suffocated.

The bowl trick isn’t just quick, easy, and affordable. It also saves you from having random cans of 20 year old tuna scattered around your home.

All items pictured, the fake fiddle leaf fig, the basket, and the miraculous plastic bowl, are available at Target.