Most of us throw away the things in the home which are slightly old or a little damaged or we simply can’t see another use for. Don’t feel bad about it. Most of us are guilty! Instead of generating this incredible amount of waste however, if we give it some thought, we can put many of these objects to good use. Here are some creative ideas to reuse the most commonly thrown away items in your home.

Bottles

The average household collects a large number of bottles. These are usually made of either glass or plastic. Either way they can be reused quite creatively. Bottles made of colored glass make excellent vases. Even bottles made of clear glass can be dipped into colored paint and will then make very beautiful display objects or they can be used to store small things or odds and ends.

Plastic bottles are even more versatile and can be washed and reused for food or snack storage. Other creative ideas include cutting off the mouth of the bottle, and then painting colorful patterns or faces on them. You can then add color paper, feathers, buttons, beads and the like and give these bottles to your children to play with or to store things.

Another use for plastic bottles is for use in starting your own herb garden. Cut 2-liter bottles in half and cut a few holes in the bottom for water drainage. Add some soil, plant, and grow! These can be kept in a windowsill to start and then eventually transplanted to an outside area. Fresh herbs always taste better in recipes and saves you the time you’d spend in running to the grocery store!

Boxes

Old boxes can be used in a variety of ways. You can store some boxes in different sizes and use these to pack gifts that do not have their own box, for weddings, birthdays and other occasions. Old boxes can also be used by your family to store clothes, shoes, toys and other similar things that are not currently required. Smaller boxes with attractive designs can be used to sort and store the small objects on your dressing table such as combs and brushes, jewelry and makeup.

Books and magazines

Old notebooks and magazines need never be thrown away. You can carefully tear out the blank pages from a variety of notebooks and tie them together with some pretty ribbon or string. This will give you a new notebook with a variety of different sized and color pages, which can be used as a scrap book or a personal diary. Old magazines can be used to liven up a room with the pictures. Depending on the preference, you can cut out pictures of landscapes, animals, birds, gadgets, people etc. and stick them onto a large colored paper to make a collage. You can then stick this on the wall or use it as wrapping paper or to make a card.

As these tips show, there are many ways in which your family can creatively use the old things in your home. Not only will you be saving space in a continually growing landfill, but you’ll be creating useful items for your home and family!

Author Bio: Heather Mitchell writes for the boutique sites Unique Furniture Online which are fortunate enough to provide the most interesting styles of sinks, vanities, and faucets

Category: Advice
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