As you gear up for spring (and spring cleaning!), take some time to look around and see what items in your home you could breathe some extra life into instead of sending them to the landfill or buying something new.
When you give everyday items a second look, you may be surprised by what they can turn into and how much money you can save by repurposing what you already have. The only limit is your imagination.
To help you get started, we've compiled our top ideas for repurposing common items in your home this spring and beyond.
If your workspace could use a facelift, save yourself the surprisingly high cost of desk décor and create your own from common household materials. For example:
You likely have canned goods in your cabinet, so the next time you empty one out for a meal, set it aside to be turned into a pen or pencil holder for your desk. Fully remove the lid (watch out for sharp edges!) and thoroughly clean the inside. Remove the label (hint: a simple combination of soap and warm water paired with some elbow grease will typically remove any residue left behind) and decide how you'd like to decorate the outside. You could do something as simple as painting it (be sure to choose a paint that will adhere neatly to the tin) or something more elaborate like using fabric scraps and a hot glue gun to give it an upholstered look.
Rather than putting a glass bottle into the recycling bin, give it a good cleaning, remove the label, and use it as a vase. You can then display your favorite flowers - whether they're fresh from the garden or fake - in a one-of-a-kind container. If you opt to use real flowers, consider bottles that have a wider opening so that you can easily add water.
Paper clips and binder clips and thumbtacks – oh my! If you're like most of us, your desk is littered with little supplies like these. Rather than going store-bought in your organizational efforts, repurpose glass jars instead. Baby food, specialty condiments, and sauce jars that are smaller with lids work perfectly. If you're a teacher or a crafter, you can use jars of all sizes to organize supplies like crayons, beads, buttons, etc.
Though it's increasingly rare, getting snail mail is one of the simple joys in life, especially when it's a greeting from a friend or family member. Keep the joy going by repurposing the cards you receive. If you're willing to get a little crafty, the options are endless:
Rather than recycling or throwing away an entire card (especially ones that may have materials that can't be recycled), turn the fronts of your favorite cards into gift tags that you can use throughout the year. This gives the cards a prolonged life and saves you the cost of single-use gift tags. You'll want to select parts of the card with images that don't have writing on the back, and then cut out any shape you'd like. To create a ready-to-use custom gift tag, punch a hole in it and add some yarn or other string you have lying around.
If there's a whole card front you love and want to pass on, separate the front half from the message you were sent. Then paste it onto cardstock or other paper you have lying around. Or if the orientation of the image and the size allow, use it as a postcard to pay the friendly greeting forward.
If you receive a lot of holiday cards, you may feel guilty throwing them out at the end of the season. Instead, get creative and turn them into memorable holiday décor. One way to do this is by transforming them into ornaments. Many tutorials on the web will show you how to do this step by step. This can be a fun budget-friendly family activity as well.
Repurposing goods doesn't have to involve being crafty. You can also help the environment and your wallet by reusing everyday items:
After you're done chowing down on dinner from your favorite takeout spot, instead of recycling the containers, clean them and set them aside for future use. Use them when storing leftovers, meal prepping/packing lunches, or packaging up cookies or baked goods for family members or friends. Even if you already have reusable containers you love, it can be good to have some extras on hand in case you want to send a visitor home with food without worrying about getting your container back.
There's nothing glamorous about cleaning up after your pet, but it's something every responsible fur baby parent must do. You can at least save yourself some cash by reusing plastic bags you bring home from the grocery store instead of purchasing bags specifically marketed for pet waste or wasting a large garbage bag just to clean out a litter box.
Many large laundry detergent containers have a spout that allows you to release set amounts of soap. Once you've used up all the detergent, instead of tossing the plastic container, repurpose it into a handwashing station. This is perfect to keep in your car if you frequently hike or take your kids to play outside where you may not find a sink to wash your hands. Give the container a good cleaning to make sure you remove any detergent that could irritate the skin, and then simply fill it up with water and pop it in your car when you're headed out on an adventure.
It's often hard to find a recycling center that accepts textiles, which means that clothing that's not in good enough condition to donate or consign often ends up in the trash. However, there are several ways to repurpose worn clothing, and many require minimal effort:
If you have a home garden, you know some plants grow too tall to stand up on their own. Rather than spending money on mass-produced clips or plastic ties to hold them up, cut strips out of old cotton t-shirts and use them to give your plants some support instead.
If you're like most people, cleaning isn't high on your list of things you love to do. You can likely find paying for cleaning supplies even lower on that list. While you can't get out of household responsibilities, you can save yourself some cash by cutting up old clothes to use as cleaning rags rather than buying them at the store.
Just because one part of a garment is torn or dirty, doesn't mean the whole thing is unusable. If you have more time and sewing talent, take your clothing repurposing a step further and turn damaged or worn pieces into play clothes for your children or outfits for their favorite stuffed animals or dolls.
Repurposing items is just one way to help the environment while also helping your wallet. For more ways to go green and save green when banking, check out some of the posts in our Resource Center.