How To Repurpose Items From Each Room In Your House


 

Consumerism; the word that evokes an involuntary reaction of guilt in the consumer. This prick of guilt is, particularly in a social setting, compensated for by a shy smile and a subsequent polite defence as to why you ordered yet another candle for your bathroom. Your defence of “I like the smell of vanilla” is not technically a defence.

The very essence of repurposing does not lie in forgoing the items that you enjoy the most but lies in your attempt to utilise at least one item in your house to replace as little as an element of the good that you wish to buy; after all, making candles at home is not everyone’s cup of tea but repurposing the container in which your previous candle came in, is not too difficult a task.

Simply put the glass container in the freezer for a few hours to harden the wax, rendering it easier to scrape off the remaining bits. Then, wash it out with soap and warm water, and your candle stand is ready for you to use, once again. 

The following points, categorised by each room in your house, explore some other means for repurposing items that you may be about to throw away. 

The Kitchen-

A plethora of items can be repurposed from your kitchen. From broken plates to containers for your little herb planters; the kitchen is an ideal place to start if you are new to the practice of repurposing. 

  • Use your extra whiskey and shot glasses to regenerate small herb plants.

  • Use your food tray as a ‘portable desk’. Work from home can get tiresome especially if one is constantly attending Zoom calls from one specific location in their home. This ‘portable desk’ can allow you to have more liberty over the choice of your workspace. 

  • Use the pasta sauce glass jars as containers for bulk pantry items, desk organisers, or bathroom containers. 

  • Use old plastic containers as bird feeders.

  • Reuse good quality and durable takeout containers in your kitchen. 

  • Use broken china to re-tile outdoor tables, flower pots, or paths.

  • Plant small plants in old stained coffee mugs.

  • Repurpose wine corks into floating keychains.

  • Use cleaned and sanitised glass bottles as soap dispensers. 

  • Use empty wine bottles as flower vases.

The Bedroom-

Even that one lost sock sitting in your closet is ideal for repurposing into a dusting rag. Some bedroom items you can repurpose include-

  • Use old shutters and door frames as headboards. Repaint them and install them on the wall behind your bed.

  • Use old pillows as a dog bed. 

  • Use an old ladder as a bookshelf.

The Bathroom-

Apart from cleaning rags that old towels and bedding can be converted into, there exist a variety of methods for repurposing items from the bathroom, including-

  • Use old toothbrushes to clean spaces that have limited accessibility such as places underneath the fixtures on faucets and the nooks and crannies of shower heads or hair driers.

  • Use the old leather suitcase that you have in storage as a medicine cabinet.

  • Use cardboard toilet paper rolls as cord wranglers.

The Garden-

The open space of the garden imposes one fewer constraint while repurposing items that may occupy too much space indoors and thus, would be needed to be thrown or donated. 

  • Use old tyres as planters. 

  • Save the seeds from fruits and vegetables for the next season. 

  • Use eggshells as seedling starters. 

  • Use shower caddies as vertical planters.

Though information regarding reusing and repurposing may seem overwhelming in terms of its sheer volume and also possibly in terms of the effort that it may entail, we need to remind ourselves that consumerism is a rampant phenomenon. From a societal perspective, it is one which often employs problematic means of production and on a more personalised note, implores one to become blindly dependent on it.

These constant reminders will allow for a sense of accountability in terms of reusing old or broken items to you and your family and friends. Therefore, make an activity out of repurposing, and then, make several.

Written By - Saumya Seth

Edited By - Sravanthi Cheerladinne