5 Creative Ways to Upcycle your Old Stuff
Feb 27, 2023
5 Creative Ways to Upcycle your Old Stuff
At one point or another, even our favorite items and clothes start to wear out over time. However, that doesn’t mean these items need to end up in the trash. Upcycling is the newest trend in sustainability, and it’s a lot easier than you might think. The point is to creatively repurpose your old, unwanted items by turning them into something with a new function. Upcycling is a great way to give your items a second life while reducing waste to our landfills and creating a cleaner, healthier environment.
Why Upcycling Matters
As fast fashion and other wasteful business practices become increasingly common,resources are becoming more and more limited. We’re having to cut down more forests, destroy more ecosystems, and fill more landfills, which takes a heavy toll on our beautiful planet.
However, each of us can make a difference, and actions that seem small do add up. Taking our old items and trash and repurposing them for new and creative uses can help reduce pollutants in our environment.
Here are 5 amazing upcycling ideas that are bound to spark your creativity and inspire you to turn your trash into treasure:
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Jean Squeaker Dog Toys
When your old jeans are finally too worn out to wear, break out the sewing machine because these upcycled toys will keep your dog entertained for hours!
Lip Balm Ornament
The holiday season is one of the most expensive times of the year, and can be extremely stressful for so many people. Save money on decoration this year by upcycling your old lip balm and making cute ornaments for your tree!
Map Picture Frame
With GPS available at our fingertips on our cellphones, maps have become ALMOST useless. You can turn all your old maps into cute picture frames to hang on your wall. Follow the step by step instructions here!
Paint Chip Wall
You might have to make a few trips to your local hardware store, but you can make your wall POP with any color paint chips you’d like!
Recycled Shoes
Making recycled shoes is a pretty complex process, but thankfully Ponto has already taken care of that. Made from recycled materials and sugarcane plants, Ponto’s sustainable dress sneakers are shoes made with the environment in mind.
And that’s not all, once you're done with your Pontos you can recycle them yourself and save some money. For every pair of Ponto sugarcane shoes that you send to a regional Soles4Souls distribution center, you’ll get a $20 credit applied to your next pair!
Soles4Souls is the largest not-for-profit shoe social enterprise in the US, empowering aspiring entrepreneurs in developing nations to re-purpose shoes to be resold and kickstart someone’s entrepreneurial micro-enterprise.