What is the most creative way you have used an item instead of throwing it away?

Question

I had a broken wooden futon frame that I did not know what I should do with. I thought about throwing it away but then a friend of mine said she used things like chairs without the seats to grow vines in her garden...

This got me to thinking and I figured it could be used as the frame for a compost bin. I covered it in short pieces of wood that I had left over from another construction job. Most people would have thrown away these pieces since they were only a little over 2 feet long. It's now a beautify compost bin that matches my fencing covering what would normally have been unsightly.

If we all had this mind set to look how to reuse something instead of sending it to the dump just think of how much manufacturing and hence energy and material we could save thereby reducing our carbon footprint.

Answer 1

Used motor oil can be re-used to prevent chaffing.

Answer 2

best way without wastin stuff recycle

Answer 3

Old exterior shutters + yellow Xmas lights + a few 1X2s = really cool wall hangings that look like an old timey street scene.

Juice containers as plant planters.

An old kitchen cabinet as a TV stand.

Answer 4

I have used old shoes as planters.

My husband took scraps from my sisters new built house and made a large hand cart.  Each piece was about 2x12x16 inches - so lots of biscuit joining.

Pant legs (cut off) into lunch bags

My favorite trash to treasures was taking an old glass container/jar shaped like an old car out of someones junk day pile, cleaning the stickers and paint off, putting $8 worth of plants and a $3 ceramic frog in it - and sold it at a plant auction (for charity) for $95.

We use empty Ovaltine canisters as meal portions for the dogs when we leave and the dog sitter is coming.

Aluminum can bottoms as picture frame-Christmas ornaments.

BTW - I Like the question!

Answer 5

I'm sure this isn't the most creative "reusing" around, but it works for me and saves me money.  I make my own Cedar Oil (it's an Ojibwa tradition--the oil is considered sacred, and used in ceremonies).  Anyway, the oil must be kept in dark, glass jars.  I have several large dark, brown glass jars (I think the coffee creamer I used to buy came in those jars).  Anyway, I store my large quantities of the Cedar Oil in the jars.  I give the Cedar Oil away to people in need--in smaller, brown glass jars--the jars my nutritional supplements are sold in.  Works great!