There are so many things that I use for much more than their original purpose. Here are twenty different items that you can easily repurpose.
Old socks: these can be used as sock puppets or dolls. They can also be cut into strips or tiny pieces and used as “pillow fluff.” They make great dusting mitts.
Old candle jars: I love candles and buy them often. When the candles have gone, I was the jars out and use them as vases. The jars are usually pretty so I use them as storage (for cotton balls, q-tips, etc.) on my bathroom counters. Lastly, I always have one sitting on my stove to put old cooking grease into. The jars are able to handle the heat and are easy to dispose of once full.
Broken crayons: my children get crayons for nearly every holiday. They are still young so the crayons become broken all the time. When I have a good size bag of crayons I melt them down in an old pot (don’t use a nonstick) and pour the liquid crayon into chocolate molds. They make new crayons in fun shapes; my kids like these better than the regular ones.
Egg cartons: I love to use egg cartons to start seeds in for my garden. I can never get seeds to grow when I start them outdoors, but when started in egg cartons indoors, they have time to seed and then I transplant each small plant into my garden. You can also use them to make firestarters.
Food storage lids or containers (you know such as tupperware): My daughter loves to paint, so I often use old lids for paint palettes. The containers can be used as sand box toys or to put beads (or other craft items) into when doing projects with kids.
Scratched or unneeded CDs: I cover these with a piece of material and glue in place with a glue gun, and turn these into coasters. I have also heard that if you string a few of them around your garden that they keep unwanted birds out.
Old clothes: I have used jeans for patches for other jeans. Old t-shirts for tote bags. I’ve made purses and pillows and almost any other thing you could sew.
Wood scraps: When I was little, my dad used to build all kinds of things. He had a trash can specifically for wood scraps. This was our bucket (me and my siblings.) We made everything with these; my favorite was making Barbie furniture.
Old magazines: Kids love to do art projects and magazines are great for these. I have one drawer set aside for them so whenever they need pictures, they have plenty to choose from. Once the magazines are cut up and most of the pictures are gone use the scraps for paper mache projects.
Newspapers: I used to make paper out of old newspapers. This is a fun and simple kind of project to do with your kids or even on your own. I have put newspapers through a paper shredder and used it for lining a pet’s cage or confetti for a birthday party. Put vinegar in a spray bottle and crumple up a sheet of newspaper; spray the vinegar on your windows and wipe away with the newspaper. This is a great way to clean your windows. They are also great for protecting work surfaces from crafts and interior paint jobs, gift wrap, use as packing material when moving or shipping.
Old wires: I have tons of wires around the house that no longer have a use. I cut them into strips of about 3–4 inches and use as twist ties. They also make great craft items.
Tissue boxes: I like to keep tissue boxes after all the tissues are out of them and put in crayons for road trips. My kids are able to have an activity for the car, but if the box falls on the floor, you don’t have crayons everywhere.
