You don’t have to throw everything away! With a little creativity, you can turn old stuff like jeans, egg cartons, and glass jars into something new and useful. Here are some fun ideas:
1. Old Jeans
Instead of throwing away jeans that are still in good shape, you can:
- Make Pillows: Cut your jeans into squares and sew them together to make a strong and cool pillow.
- Create a Tote Bag: Turn old jeans into a tote bag by cutting and sewing the fabric into a new shape. It’s great for carrying things!
- Make a Quilt: If you have a lot of old jeans, you can cut them into pieces and sew them together to make a cozy quilt.
- Plant Pots: Use the legs of your jeans to make cute plant pots. Just sew them into a circle and fill them with dirt and plants!
- Create an Apron: You can use the tough denim from jeans to make a cool apron for cooking or crafting.
- Donate or Sell: If your jeans are still in good shape, donate them to a charity or sell them to someone who could use them.
2. Egg Cartons
Paper egg cartons can be used in lots of fun ways:
- Bird Feeder: Fill the little cups with birdseed and hang it outside. The birds will love it!
- Gift Boxes: Turn egg cartons into small gift boxes for special presents.
- Christmas Ornaments: Cut and paint the egg cartons to make fun decorations for your Christmas tree.
- Donate to Farmers: Many local farmers can use empty paper egg cartons for their own eggs. Donating them helps reduce waste and supports local agriculture!
3. Glass Jars from Food
You can reuse glass jars from food in so many ways:
- Storage Jars: Clean them and use them to store things like snacks, buttons, or even school supplies.
- Flower Vases: Use glass jars as vases for flowers. You can decorate them with paint or ribbons.
- Candle Holders: Fill a jar with wax to make your own candles.
- Mini Gardens: Create a little garden inside a jar with dirt, rocks, and small plants.
There are so many fun ways to turn things you might throw away into something new and useful! Just use your imagination and see what cool ideas you can come up with!
As a city boy who is currently trying to set up my own homestead, you are providing me with a lot of good tips for reducing waste. Jeans are certainly a staple of modern farmers and giving them a new lease on life is just perfect! Your idea about making them into plant pots is especially helpful as fabric pots are more expensive today than they have ever been. I also love the idea of an apron made out of denim jeans as this would prevent most messes and spills while cooking. I always throw away egg cartons and turning them into Christmas ornaments or bird feeders prevents them from ending up in landfills. You are not only preventing damage to the ecosystem, but you are taking active steps to reverse the damage and I love it. I often throw away so many glass jars as well and then complain that I don’t have enough money for flower pots so turning them into mini gardens is a great idea. This is absolutely going to be something that I will start doing now thanks to your post. Thanks. I already have jars of lentils, beans, and other dry foods in glass jars already.
As someone who throws away many things, do you have other creative farm or ranch ideas to turn more trash into treasure? Like maybe cardboard, paper, or plastic? Seems like these are the bulk of common, everyday, garbage and that would help MILLIONS of people including me!
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m glad you found the ideas helpful. Repurposing items like jeans, jars, and egg cartons is a great way to reduce waste. I get a lot of donated egg cartons since I pick up eggs from my chickens, so it’s nice to put them to use. Glass jars are also so useful; I use them for things like storing food or even as mini gardens. For other ideas, cardboard can be turned into compost or used as garden mulch, and paper makes great seed starters. Let me know how it goes. I’m happy to share more ideas anytime!
I love the creativity in this article! Turning old jeans into tote bags or aprons is such a practical way to repurpose sturdy fabric—I’m inspired to try making a plant pot with denim scraps now. The egg carton bird feeder idea is not only fun but also a great way to help our feathered friends during winter. And those glass jar mini gardens? Perfect for adding a touch of green to small spaces.
Can I add one to your list. Take paper egg cartons, dryer lint (any dryer lint will do), and wax from old candles and even crayons. You stuff each egg cup full of lint, then melt your candles in a makeshift double boiler, a tin can sitting in a pan with heating water. After the wax has melted, pour it over your lint, completely covering the lint. Let that cool and set, then cut the 12 egg cups into 12 individual fire starters. Whether you are starting a fire in the fireplace or a firepit, set your waxy lint fire starter in the middle, stack up some small dry branches and light the egg carton. Once the twigs catch start adding some split logs and poof, your fire will soon be roaring.
Repurposing everyday items into treasures not only saves money but also feels so rewarding. Thanks for these inspiring ideas, Angela! Time to raid my recycling bin and get crafting!
Mark
Thank you so much for your kind words Mark! I’m so glad you enjoyed the ideas in the article. Your fire starter suggestion is fantastic, what a clever way to repurpose everyday items! I’ll definitely be adding the egg carton fire starters to my list for the next content. Thanks again for sharing such a great idea and for your support. Time to get crafting!