A bucket caddy stably holds a bucket or container above a horizontal support surface or ground for easier access to the contents of the bucket or container. The bucket caddy has a retainer with slots into which at least three legs are movably joined. The legs each have a shelf surface and a hook (U-shaped or crimped) or upstanding wall disposed at their proximal ends. When splayed apart, the shelf surfaces point radially inwardly toward the retainer with their top surfaces in a common plane onto which the bottom of the bucket may be positioned. The hooks receive straps or elastic bands, each of which has a fastener at its opposite end adapted to join a portion of a rim of the bucket. Length-adjustable means are associated with straps that are not elastic. Alternatively, belts or screws provide three point connection between the legs and the sidewall of the bucket. After the bucket or container is separated from the caddy, the legs rotate so that their central axes are parallel or substantially parallel to one another in a storage configuration. A hook and loop fastener tape wraps around the legs in the storage configuration.