How to Decorate a Home With Recycled Things Around the House

Decorating your house with recycled materials is economical and trendy.

Recycling and reusing things to decorate your house isn't just environmentally responsible, it is also a money saver and a trendy way to update your home environment. Used packaging, broken or outdated possessions and leftover materials from other projects can be re-imagined in countless ways, showcasing your creativity and providing you with shelves, floor pots, furniture and even original works of art.

Things You'll Need

• Packaging
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Scissors
• Tin snips
• Table
• Decoupage medium
• Magazines and newspapers
• Plastic bags
• Jars
• Buttons
• Sequins
• Candy
• Cake sprinkles
• Hammer
• Wall anchors
• Screws
• Screwdriver
• Brackets
• Boards

Instructions

1. Reuse packages to grow indoor plants. Use egg cartons to sprout seedlings. Cut the tops off milk jugs and soda bottles and cut holes in them to form planters. Use coffee tins and spent tin cans for more planters. Paint them in different colors to brighten up your room, or leave them unpainted for an unvarnished DIY look. Once your plants grow in your planters, stack them in pyramids to create a cascade of greenery and blooms.

2. Decoupage old or unattractive tables to give them new life. Paint the table a solid color and allow it to dry. Cut out pictures, newspaper clippings and other images you like. Paint the back of each picture with decoupage medium and stick it to the table, then cover the top with more decoupage medium. Create a neat display of selected images, or completely cover the table for a more chaotic look that will cover up imperfections.

3. Recycle old plastic grocery bags into yarn for crochet or knitting. Cut off the handles of the bag, then cut diagonally down from the top of the bag. Cut the whole bag into a single strip of plastic 1-inch wide. Use strips from plastic bags to make decorative bags, coasters, place mats and other items for your home.

4. Use small glass jars as drink glasses for rustic decor. Fill other jars with buttons, candy, sequins, cake sprinkles and spices, and place them on an open shelf for a colorful and functional decoration.

5. Hammer or drill anchors into your walls. Use screws to mount shelf brackets into the anchors. Place boards from broken furniture, old bookshelves and home improvement projects on top of the brackets to use as shelves.

References

• Recycling Revolution: Reuse Craft Ideas
• Gothic Martha Stewart: Decoupage Table

Resources

• Nezumi World: Preparing Your Plastic Bag for Crocheting