How To Recycle Old Clothes & Furniture
New Year’s is often quickly followed by the need to have a good Spring clean. Whether it’s your home or your wardrobe, you can often find yourself itching to get rid of everything and start again! However, this can lead to a lot of unnecessary waste. So, why not try recycling or ‘upcycling’ your old clothes and/or furniture instead? We have some ideas to get you DIYing and giving your home or wardrobe a revamp without having spend a fortune!
Get Crafty!
There are plenty of ways to recycle/upcycle your old (but relatively in good condition) clothes. You don’t have to be a master with a needle and thread either.
Our favourite ideas include:
Turning an old shirt into a cushion cover.
A memory quilt: This is a cute idea if you have some baby clothes that you no longer need. Make a blanket out of the clothes for your children to keep for life!
Turn your denim into a bag: Old denim jeans make for a great bag. In a time when we need to cut down on plastic bags, recycling your jeans into a carrier bag is a win/win activity!
Cute and cosy toys: Old t-shirts and baby clothes can be made to make cute and cosy toys. If you have older children in your life you can help them make their own by sewing on faces! If you’re feeling extra crafty you could even make some clothes for your new snuggly toy!
Photo by Celia Spenard-Ko on Unsplash.
A New Lease of Life!
It can be easy to get fed up of looking at the same furniture over the years. Whilst it might be tempting to order a skip and toss it all, it’s worth your while looking into upcycling your furniture and giving it a new lease of life!
Some ideas to try when upcycling furniture:
Chalk Paint: If you have wooden furniture that you’d like to jazz up chalk paint is a great solution! You can revamp kitchen chairs, tables, wardrobes; the possibilities are endless! Why not add a vintage feel and opt for pastel colours?
Sewing Cabinet: This idea is super creative! This particular post focuses on turning a wardrobe into a sewing cabinet, but the same design could be followed to make a crafts table for your playroom, or even if you’re pushed for space, a handy way to create room by folding away your table when not in use!
Turn a headboard into a noticeboard: Perhaps you or someone you know is getting rid of an old bed, salvage the headboard and turn it into a cute vintage headboard ala Beyond The Picket Fence!
Don’t bin it just yet!
If your clothes are not fit to upcycle or turn into something new, don’t bin them just yet! There are plenty of facilities that will recycle your old clothes, no matter how worn they are. It’s worth doing your research to find any recycling facilities in your area!
Like clothes, whilst you may think that piece of furniture you’ve had for years is beyond repair, another person might have a great use for it. The saying “one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure” springs to mind! Check to see if any local charity or thrift shops would be interested in your piece of furniture before heading to the dump with it!