By Emma Melvin
Our planet has so much waste piling up from plastic, textiles, cardboard, and more. So why not make things with recycled materials to save the planet? It’s much cheaper and it can save a few animals’ lives.
Thin cardboard boxes are everywhere. They hold items like cereal, granola bars, packs of sodas, or even small packages from your mailbox. An idea would be to cut the cardboard into 4 by 6 inch pieces to make postcards to send to a friend or relative. The good thing about this is you can either leave the design from the box on there, leaving a blank back to write on, or you can decorate it with stickers or drawings on your own.
If you know how to crochet or knit, you can reuse those lightweight plastic bags from the store and make any shape. It can be big or small, round or square, and use it as a kitchen sponge to wipe the counters or dishes. Alternatively, you can crochet or knit those same bags into one giant new bag that is more durable than what it originally was. You can make the yarn by folding the plastic bag in half and cutting strips which you would tie together to get your desired length of yarn.
With lids of jars or bottlecaps, you can paint or collage the inside of the lid to make a picture, then glue a magnet on the flat part so that it can stick to the fridge. Making a handmade fridge magnet is always a nice and useful gift for friends and family.
Candles are also a nice gift, but they can be expensive. But you can actually make a new one from those old ones with leftover wax. You will want to pour hot water into the candle jar to make the wax rise. Once it cools down, it should pop right out and you can melt down all the wax from older candles then pour it into a recycled container, give it a new wick, and it’s as good as new.
If you like to paint, an alternative to a canvas can be cardboard from a package or old shoebox. You can cut it to any desired size without having to even go to the store. The edges of the painting can be covered with thrifted ribbon to make it look more pretty.
Polyfil stuffing for sewing can be expensive and take up a lot of space. However, all of those fabric scraps from past projects can be cut up small and used to stuff something new, like a pillow or plushie.
Paper towel rolls can be painted or decorated and glued sideways to another one cut down making a stand, leaving you a decorative place to put your bracelets. They slide right on around the holder, and make sure to secure it to a heavier flat surface (like stacked and glued cardboard) so it does not fall.
Now that you have some fun recycled craft ideas, enjoy your new projects with less waste!
