Upcycling - Even better than Recycling

Everyone has heard since elementary school that in order to save the earth you need to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  The new trend - upcycling is taking many of the things we thought COULDN'T be recycled and making them better and more beautiful than the original purpose.

Here are some ideas for upcycling:

1. Mason Jars - we know that the glass bottom can be recycled or reused for drinking glasses, but what about those tops? Those are unable to be recycled! How about turning them into a fun craft for the kids? You can buy a magnet and use general craft items around the house and you have a new personalized magnet for the refrigerator.

2. Broken Glass - You can recycle these, or you can save them up and make a mosaic out of the scraps. You can also use them to make a durable top to an outdoor table or coffee table. Pour a thick lacquer over the top and you'll have a smooth top that is very durable!

3. Extra fabric - sew them in squares and make bean bags out of them for a fun homemade game.

4. Can Tabs - I saw this on the news the other night but a little girl is making can tab bracelets with a small amount of ribbon and can tabs (pictured above) super cute!

5. Many creations can be made with wine bottles as I'm sure you've seen in stores, but the light idea in the second picture above is a really great green idea that will add visual interest.

6. Boxes - when you buy a new coffee maker or pair of shoes, save the box! They'll be useful at Christmas for shipping!

7. Old tee shirts - GREAT dusting rags! Scrappy towels? Use them for cleaning after you retire them as bath towels.

8. Sentimental tee shirts? They make the most amazing and comfortable quilt and they keep those memories alive!

9. Wine Bottles - use them as a candle holder, the wax will drop down and form a neat design!

10. Plastic containers - save your plastic containers that your butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc come in. They make great containers for left overs, for guests that take food away from dinner (grown kids), you can paint them and use them for homemade vases. Baby wipe containers are the perfect size to store handwritten recipes. Use old milk jugs as a plant watering jug instead of buying one for $10+.

11. Soup cans - Do you cook a lot at home? If you fry any food the aluminum and tin cans are great for disposing of your used grease.

12. Scrap paper - use them again on the other side to print off your coupons! Just make sure there is no personal information on the original side.

If you have more, I'd love to hear them! Thanks for reading!