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Are you on a mission to become greener? You deserve kudos for your efforts. Taking care of the planet is everyone’s responsibility. You can make a difference in the amount of waste deposited in landfills by finding a new use for things instead of tossing them in the rubbish bin. Here are six tips for repurposing household items that can save you cash and frustration while helping the planet.
While you can’t recycle toilet paper or paper towels, you can toss the cardboard roll in the recycling bin. However, why make that your knee-jerk reaction when there are so many cute and useful crafts you can make with this resource?
Are you sick and tired of creases in your pants from where you loop them over the hanger? Please try this hack. Cut a slit in a used paper towel roll so that you can fit it over the bar where you rest your khakis and voilá. No more wrinkly knees.
You can also use these objects to make a sheath for that knife that doesn’t fit in your standard rack. You’ll no longer risk cutting your hand when you pull it out of the drawer. You and your children can redecorate your respective home office and study spaces by decorating old toilet paper rolls into desk organizers.
You look on the back of an item that came packaged in plastic, like so many do. You see the recycling symbol, and you toss it in the bin without checking the number. You might have just created an issue for your sorting center.
Plastic isn’t created equal. While those labeled “1” or “2” are widely recyclable and belong in the bin, those labeled “3” through “7” often don’t get recycled, although more places now take “5.”. These products often get incinerated or end up in the landfill because there isn’t yet a cost-effective way to reuse them. Such products include things like clamshells that many items come packaged in to deter theft and preserve freshness.
However, you can do what recycling facilities currently can’t in reusing these goods. If you love to garden, you can use single-use plastic produce containers to start your seedlings in the spring. If you also want to reduce food waste, save the seeds from your produce and prevent the need for future plastic-wrapped purchases.
You can also use these containers as free organizers. That junk drawer filled with random batteries and paper clips becomes a tidy supply center when you sort your rubber bands and twist ties.
Repurposing an old tee is often as easy as keeping it for when you need to get messy. Adult sizes often make the ideal art class smock for the elementary school set.
That’s not all you can do to keep your worn clothing out of the landfill. You can stitch old tees into a quilt or cut off the sleeves and make a workout shirt. You can also make cute stuffed toys for children or pets or new covers for your throw pillows.
You know better than to accept those plastic bags at the grocery store, but invariably, you end up with a stash in a cabinet somewhere anyway. Unfortunately, these fall into the single-use plastic category — it simply isn’t cost-effective yet for recycling centers to reuse them. As a result, they end up in landfills.
It doesn’t help that many people use these as trashcan liners. While you do get one more use this way, you can put this material to a longer-lasting purpose. If you are a knitter, learn how to make plarn — it’s tough enough to make a reusable tote bag that won’t break when you carry heavy cans home from the store.
Socks are another item that you can repurpose into something even more magical. Sock monkeys delight children from toddlers to teens — you can make an entire family for your little one over the years. If you have a big enough pile of holey pairs, why not open an Etsy shop for extra cash?
Does your dryer gobble up socks, leaving you with a stack of unmatched ones? A little stuffing and stitching transform the singles into catnip mice for your feline. You can also ease aches and pains with a single long sock and a tennis ball. Place the ball inside and use it to roll away those knots you so often get in your back.
Magazines are a snap to repurpose. If you have a child, their teacher can use them for multiple learning activities — ask if they could use a donation.
These glossies also come in handy for at-home craft projects like collages. You can also use the pages as wrapping paper for small gifts or make paper flowers you can turn into pen toppers.
Saving the planet is everyone’s responsibility, and you are a champion for doing your part. You can go further by embracing these six tips for repurposing household items and upping your eco-friendliness.
