5 Recycled Items That Will Get You Organized

After watching a recent news show regarding the amount of waste that each of us creates that ends up being in land fills (and a lot of that should be recycled!) I decided to write about some of the everyday items that we toss in the garbage that could be re-purposed and used to help keep you organized.

This post is not intended to give you an excuse to hold onto items you no longer need and keep clutter, but as a means to getting you some organizational products at no cost and help the environment at the same time!

Tin Cans

Empty them and throw them out, right? If you need to get organized on a budget, there are literally dozens of uses for these, from pencil holders to can planters to bathroom containers and more.

For the DIY peeps out there, get creative and wrap some decorative paper around the tin cans for a home office pen and pencil holder. You can also decorate some tin cans by glueing some rope around them and you have a holder for toothpaste, tooth brushes or whatever. I have even seen people using empty tin cans for cutting shapes out of dough for baking biscuits and cookies. Get the kids involved and spend quality time creating items for the home and for gifts.

Luggage and bags

I recently came across an old suitcase that belonged to my father. You know the kind I am referring to – the old style hard case with the silver locks. I was going to donate it until I saw where someone had repurposed something similar by turning it into a storage container that rested at the foot of a bed. What a great idea and a great place to store additional blankets or pillows. You could even mount a small one on the wall for decoration or as a guest room vanity.

Ladders and window panes

I have talked about this before but old wooden ladders just don’t get used anymore and a lot of you have them kicking around the house or garage. They make a great storage and organizational system for books and collectibles in the home or even for flowers in the garden.

I myself have taken old wooden window frames and hung them outside around the perimeter of my pergola. Our vines have grown through them and they look great. You could also mount them to a fence for another decorative look and even use them to hang and organize your garden tools.

Old chairs

I have an old chair in my dining room that I have turned into a corner unit to hold a few decorative items for display. Depending on your decor this could work well for you too. I have seen some people shorten the legs of an old decorative chair and used them as night tables too!

Glass bottles

How many bottles do you place into the recycled bin each week? Have you ever thought of reusing them as candle holders or for potted plants? The handyman in us can use our favourite empty bottle of wine and cut the top off to make a candle holder after sanding the edges. Spray painted mason jars make great planters or holders to organize almost anything.

Before tossing items into the recycling bin or trash take a moment to think about reducing and reusing before you recycle. Some of these tips will help keep you organized and can be fun to create useful items for gifts for family and friends.  Remember to be realistic too…….no sense in keeping items around for that project you may get to in the next 6 months……that just cause clutter.  if you have the time to manage a DIY project now, go for it.  But if not, no worries as you will always be able to find any of these items easily and little or no cost.

You don’t always need money to get organized……just a little creativity and some discards around the house.