5 Fun and Unusual Ways to Reuse Household Items

Sometimes reusing items in the house isn't about saving money or helping the environment: sometimes it's just pure fun. Coming up with new ways to use old things is a creative process that can be a real blast. Especially when it works! You'll have something real that you can touch and use that others would have thrown away.

Here are a few fun and unusual ways to reuse household items.

1. Make Your Own Sprinkler System

Old garden hose. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Don't throw away your old garden hoses, even if they leak! Instead, seal off one end of the garden hose with cement, melted plastic or glue. Then poke holes throughout the rest of the garden hose.

You now have a soaker hose! Thread this hose throughout your garden and turn on the water. Your new soaker hose will spray water throughout your garden while you barely lift a finger.

2. Make Your Own Fridge Magnets

Instead of throwing away your bottle caps, save them up. Go to your local stationary store or eBay and buy a pack of small magnets.

Then grab your bottle caps and glue the magnet to the back. Congratulations! You now have home-made fridge magnets that look really neat!

There are a lot of things you can use besides bottle caps. Your creativity is the only limitation.

3. Make Your Own Drink Coasters

Do you have old CDs lying around that you'll probably never use? Instead of just throwing them away, why not turn them into unique drink coasters?

There are many ways you can do this. You can paint over them then laminate them. You can melt the surface of the CD to create unique textures. You could sand the surface of the CD in uneven shapes to create an interesting effect.

Don't be afraid to experiment - chances are, you've got a lot of these lying around.

"Ball blue" aqua glass home canning Mason jar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. Make Your Own Lamp

Take your used glass bottles and make your own lamp. From your neighborhood shop, just buy a small light that can be inserted into the bottle. Thread it in, then turn it on.

To get even more creative, you can use a light coating of paint on the outside to change the light's colors. You can use several different colors to create a multi-colored light that'll really impress your friends.

5. Turn Your Shoes into a Playground

Did you know that you can send Nike your old shoes and they'll turn them into a playground? They'll literally take your old shoes and melt them down in a safe way, then use the plastic to build playgrounds.

These are a few fun and creative ways you can reuse household items. Unlike buying a lamp or a soaker hose, you'll get to look at these items and know that YOU made them! You get to express your creativity while feeling the pride that comes with making something new, all while doing good things for the planet.

Green Ideas on How to Revamp & Reuse Old Furniture

Whether you have furniture in your home you’d like to spruce up or you’ve purchased furniture at a flea market or salvage yard, there are plenty of low-cost and green ways to make old furniture exciting so you can get more use out of it and keep it out of the landfills.

Furniture conservation - applying paint remover (stripper) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#1.  Paint it.  Dingy furniture can get a whole new life with a fresh coat of paint.  If the furniture is already painted, you’ll want to put on a mask and strip it.  Old paint can contain lead and other harmful chemicals.  Next, head to your local paint store and find your favorite color in low VOC or VOC-free paint. 

(VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds, are chemicals released from the paint.  They can cause illness and disease for many years to come as they are released into the air for decades.)  You can also strip and stain the furniture with natural and VOC-free stains. 

#2.  Reupholster it.  Have a piece of furniture that you like but doesn’t quite match your current décor?  Reupholster it with environmentally-friendly fabric like organic cotton or wool.  And if upholstering is too big of a do-it-yourself job, take it to an expert. It’ll cost less than buying new and is a more environmentally-friendly choice.

#3.  Add bits of finery.  Cabinets, drawers, and armoires can be spruced up with a little bit of new hardware.  You can often purchase the hardware from a flea market or a salvage store. They’re great places to find hardware with personality. 

A Chicagoland Flea Market.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tabletops can shine with mosaic tiles made from hammered porcelain or glass tiles.  You can find tiles at your local flea market or salvage yard and the project of hammering them into bits and then reassembling them on your tabletop into a beautiful pattern can be both cathartic and fun. 

Finally, you can also use sheets of scrap metal or recycled metal to create flash on tabletops or cupboard fronts.  The metal can be used as tiles or as an entire front to add an urban or contemporary touch. 

People have used everything from chicken wire to astro turf to add flair and personality to old furniture.  There are a million green ways to make old furniture new again - it just takes a bit of creativity.  Take a look at what you have around you and how you can make good use of it in an eco-friendly way.

Helpful Resources on Refinishing and Reusing Furniture: