With a little bit of imagination, you can turn what seems like “garbage” into brand new functional items you would have bought at the store.
Not only are you saving money by not buying these items from the store but you’re also saving things from ending up in landfills.
“Upcycling reduces the strain on valuable resources such as fuel, forests, and water supplies – and helps safeguard wildlife habitats,” website Heal the Planet states. “Upcycling reduces air and water pollution. Upcycling results in less hazardous waste produced during the manufacturing process.”
Here’s 9 useful things to upcycle.
Minimalist Paik has some great tips on how you can reuse items that you have in your house right now instead of tossing them in the trash.
Unworn boat socks?
Use them to cover your shoe inserts. The sock will help absorb sweat and can be cleaned for reuse. Just slip them back into your shoe and wear them.
Caps and pizza box risers?
Got one of those pizza holders that prevent the box from crushing your pizza?
You can use it as a soap dish to keep your bathroom sink clean. You can also do this with a bottle cap. Just press them into your bar of soap.
Small paper bags are incredibly versatile.
Just cut off the handles and cut your bag along the side folds so you can fold the remaining flaps over.
You’ll have a shorter, reinforced box that can be used to store vegetables on the counter or keep them in your refrigerator to separate and organize your vegetables.
Sturdy department store bags?
You can use the same cutting and folding method to create a box and use it inside a drawer.
Just make sure to place the box inside the drawer before you cut so you can make a marking of how high it needs to be before you cut.
Keep the handles!
Think you were gonna toss those? Nope! Attache them to woven or lattice bins and use them as pull handles.
Plastic handles are even better.
The plastic handles on powder detergent boxes work even better for this type of thing. Glue them to the back or side of a fan or machine to keep your electrical cords tidy.
You can even screw or glue them to the inside of a cabinet door and hang items from it. Attach one to the underneath of a shelf and use it to hang towels from.
Plastic baby wipe dispenser?
Use the round hard plastic piece on a package of soft plastic baby wipes and attach it to a second piece to create a little coin or item purse.
You can also use this to store cotton swabs or any other small items. Or, you can use double-sided tape to attach one to the middle of a bag of chips.
Open your lid and use an Exacto knife to cut a hole into the bag. The chips will stay fresh when you close the lid.
You can use that lid over and over again!
Check out the video below for more upcycling hacks!
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