Trash or Treasure? A Beginners Guide to Eco-Friendly DIY’s

It’s never too late to start doing your part in taking care of the planet.  To make an impact and help improve the environment around you doesn’t always mean you have to do large or expensive gestures. There are many creative and fun ways you can help the planet from home while also on a budget. Here are a few ideas to get you started!

Make Your Own Pots for Gardening

Buying pretty flower pots to decorate your home can be really expensive. Got a pretty mug or bowl you don’t use anymore because it’s chipped? What about a plastic bucket you bought with the intent of repainting your room (but never got around to)?  Looks like there’s no need to go out and buy any more flower pots. The only thing required for this DIY project is a sharp tool to create a drainage hole at the bottom. After making the holes you’re done! If you’re using a plastic bucket like the ones from Home Depot, use an X-ACTO knife to make the holes much easier to cut. Once the holes are made, you can add any plant or succulents of your choosing. If you’re not looking to make any holes in your mugs or teapots, not to worry. An easy alternative to this is adding moss at the bottom of the container to help retain the water and nutrients.

DIY Your Own Storage Containers

Have empty cereal boxes lying around? Got any magazines or books that you don’t read anymore? Need the inspiration to create something useful and fun? It’s always enjoyable when you find new ways to upcycle things you didn’t know you could. In this case, it is the upcycle of two large cereal boxes to create a portfolio. With a pair of scissors, some duck tape, paint, magazine cut-out letters, a few pictures, and ripped-out book pages you can make a unique storage solution for papers that has your own artistic flair. Take it one step further and tape on the handles of an old gift bag to make it easier to hold and transport. If you have kids, this can be a cool activity for them to do to store all their art pieces made at school.

Reuse Glass Containers

Glass containers can be easily repurposed. Take The Oui yogurt containers by Yoplait as an example. After washing the glass container, I was able to reuse it to store my own version of a Strawberry Vanilla Gelatin. If you aren’t the best chef, not to worry. They can still be reused to put office supplies like paper clips, pens, or markers inside of them. Ever bought glass milk bottles? These can easily be reused again by refilling them with another liquid like juice or coffee for all my addicts.

Compost!

Thinking about creating your own garden? Composting is a great idea to help richen the soil. The best part: you have everything you need at home. Composting requires collecting three basic “ingredients” – water, browns, and greens. EPA, World Centric, and NPR have a guide for what is able to be composted and what is not. These guides also include the process of how they should be built and maintained. In a few months, you will have your own homemade organic material to use in your gardens.