8 Things in Your Home You Can Upcycle

There are a few household items that, when used up or worn out, seem utterly impossible to recycle, reuse, or throw out. What the heck do you do with an old sofa or those pesky non-recyclable mason jar lids?

If you are striving to keep stuff out of the landfill but are at a loss as to where or even if you can recycle certain items, stop a moment to see if you can genuinely upcycle said item into something useful, desirable, and even better than it was in its intended life.

Check out these OGP articles for great ideas on how to upcycle common household items.

1. Jars

Jars are amazing. With them, we can make a cool collection of gifts that will remind our friends of how wonderfully green and colorfully creative we are, as well as provide thoughtful, useful presents. The following DIY gifts don’t take much effort, and we can save ourselves cash by buying a present, upcycling instead of using more resources, and emptying the cupboards a little. Check out these 6 Quick and Original Gift Ideas From Upcycled Jars

2. Mason Jar Canning Lids

Unfortunately, mason jar lids, those little metal circles that seal in the contents and seal out the air, are not reusable. That means we are left with at least a little trash to deal with. However, that doesn’t mean that said trash needs to be sent to the landfill. There are loads of crafts that can be done with old mason jar lids. Check out these 9 Cool DIY Crafts & Uses for Mason Jar Lids.

3. Terracotta Pots

Non-glazed terracotta pots are perfect for a classic, rustic, no-fuss look for your plants. These pots are made from fired natural clay, making them ideal for many pot plants as the porous clay allows for water drainage. If you have terracotta pots, either broken or intact, that just doesn’t cut it for your plant babies anymore, there are a few fun ideas to give said pot a new lease on life. This will at least keep them out of the bin! Take a look at these 3 Ways to Upcycle Your Old Terracotta Pots.

4. Wine Corks

No one needs a reason to drink more wine, but perhaps we could use a little incentive for not tossing the corks (or bottles) afterward. Wine corks are super handy, crafty collateral damage from fueling our beverage habits, so we should be sure to save them. Take a look at this article that gives you Half a Dozen Reasons Why You Should Collect Wine Corks.

5. Tin Cans

We recognize that there is a growing need for us to significantly reduce what we use and creatively reuse what we have, and within this recognition, we find the inevitable, occasional tin can. Even with all of us trying to eat fresh, local produce, working to steer clear of processed foods, preservatives, and other plunders upon nature, sometimes a canned good just creeps into our lives, and we are left with the packaging. Take a look at these 7 Reasons to Save Tin Cans for Upcycling.

6. Upholstery Fabric

Sometimes the old sofa and loveseat, even the easy chair, just give way. The stuffing in the cushions gets overly flattened. The once-springy seat sinks. The internal framework might break when the kids (or adults) plop too much. Then, we are left with a huge piece of furniture to thwart efforts to minimize our waste stream. Upholstery is tough stuff, manufactured to last, and it often does outlive the furniture it’s covering. In those cases, it seems a pity to throw out a pattern we’ve grown to love and feel comfortable with. Check out these 7 Ways to Repurpose Upholstery Fabric From Old Couches

7. Mesh Produce Bags

None of us is perfect, and sometimes we do end up with something that is not really widely recyclable and may just end up in the trash. One of those items is those pesky plastic mess bags that produce comes in at the supermarket. You know the ones; that usually contain garlic, oranges, lemons, or potatoes. Thankfully, there are a few upcycle ideas for these bags that are genuinely pretty useful and will help to keep at least some of them out of the landfill. Here are 3 Useful Ways to Reuse Plastic Mesh Produce Bags

8. Christmas Sweaters

Perhaps the most responsible thing to do after an ugly Christmas sweater event is to return the item to the thrift store circuit. It would be poor sportsmanship to use it again next year. That said, contestants may not want a particularly dashing sweater to go back into the available pool and challenge them in the next year’s contest. So, what’s an ugly (or even genuine) Christmas sweater wearer to do? Upcycle! Christmas sweaters can be used to create some wonderful and even sometimes useful items. Learn How to Upcycle Old Christmas Sweaters.

Related Content:

• 6 Ways to Make Baskets from Upcycled and Natural Materials
• 8 DIY Projects for Your Garden and Yard Using Upcycled and Recycled Materials
• Fall-Inspired Garlands Made from Natural or Upcycled Materials
• 10 Ways to Upcycle Tired Gardening Tools
• How to Upcycle Plastic Bottles

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