Clever Ways to Repurpose Everyday Items Into Your New Favorite Home Hacks

Monica Gray - February 14, 2023

Photo: Make It Love It

Use Broken Or Old Jewelry As Magnets

Even though having broken jewelry is upsetting, it doesn’t have to be. You can repurpose broken jewelry into magnets and use them on your refrigerator, or around your house. At the craft store, use a hot glue gun to adhere a magnet to the jewelry. You can also repurpose jewelry to make picture frames or art. This is a fun thing to do with your kids and a great way to repurpose old jewelry that’s no longer of any use. Those stylish earrings from the 80’s will look great on a picture frame (Pinterest).

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That Last Piece Of Paper Towel Is A Good Thing

That last piece of paper towel means you have a paper towel roll to repurpose, not throw away! You can use it to keep cords organized. Wrap up the cord and put it into the cardboard roll, which will keep it straight. Use a marker to label which cord is for what, to make yourself extra organized. This will prevent guesswork from having to figure out where the cords go. That would be another hassle in itself, and no one has time for that (The Kitchn).

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Use Egg Cartons For Everything

Egg cartons are one of the best home hacks out there. They’re versatile and can be used for a multitude of things. Repurpose these to organize beads, nails, office supplies, or other small items like earring backs. You can decorate the egg cartons so they look cute and match the other decorations in your home. You can also use them as seed starters. Place seeds in the bottom of the egg carton and watch your little plants grow! (Hello Homestead).

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Repurpose Old Picture Frames As An Earring Display

Having too many earrings can get messy. And if you happen to break the glass out of a picture frame, it can be equally as messy. But it doesn’t mean it’s game over. You accidentally made yourself an earring display! Repurpose the broken picture frame by stringing and securing wire across the frame, and then hanging your earrings on the wire. Paint the frame to give it a chic look that matches the side table you’ll place it on (Pinterest).

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Use Cereal Liner Bags To Frost Your Cakes

Cereal liner bags are a wonderful item to use to frost cakes. You can turn it into a piping bag and use it to frost your cake or dessert. Rinse and dry the bag, and then scoop the frosting into one of the corners at the bottom. Snip the corner and use it as a piping bag. You can also use liner bags to keep burger patties from sticking together by placing them in between the frozen patties (Parent Hacks).

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That Broken Terra Cotta Pot Still Has Life In It

If you accidentally dropped your terra cotta pot, don’t fret. All of that money isn’t wasted. You can use that pot in your garden. Use the bits of the pot as garden markers for your fruits and vegetables by writing the names on the broken pieces. You can also decorate your garden using the broken pieces for a chic, bohemian look that’ll give your garden that extra pop (The Woodland Wife).

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Your Empty Tissue Boxes Can Be Used As Storage

Once you use the last tissue in your tissue box, don’t worry. You can use the empty boxes as storage for your plastic grocery bags. If you don’t use plastic bags, then you can use these tissue boxes as drawer dividers. Do this by cutting off the top and placing them in between the smaller items in your drawer. Better yet, use an old tissue box as a trash receptacle in your car. When it’s full, you can toss it out or reuse it again. Tissue boxes can also be used as towel holders (How Does She).

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Use Fabric To Fix Your Flip Flops

If the straps on your favorite pair of flip-flops broke, don’t worry. Your summer isn’t ruined. You can still wear them by finding cute fabric and threading it through the holes. This will secure the straps right back onto your shoe and prevent them from breaking again. To do this, fold the fabric in half and stuff it through the hole where the strap previously was. Tie the other end of the fabric through the two bottom holes, and then cut the excess fabric (Pinterest).

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Santa Loves Your Broken CDs

Even though it seems like you should toss those old CDs into the trash, stop right there! You can repurpose those old CDs and use them as Christmas decorations. Do this by purchasing plain ornaments. Then, you can glue the fragments of the CD onto the ornament. You can get even more creative and turn them into a mosaic ornament by breaking up the pieces unevenly and gluing them onto the ornament in random places (Creme De La Craft).

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Repurpose Broken Crayons

It may sound like a surprise, but you can repurpose your broken crayons by creating new ones! All you have to do is take the broken crayons, put them in a muffin tin, toss them in the oven, and let them cool. The crayons will melt together in the oven and will form a new crayon. You can use the old crayons to make fun, multicolored ones. To do this, preheat the oven to 275 degrees, peel the paper off, and put them in the oven for 7-8 minutes (Little Bins For Little Hands).

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Pack Your Boxes With Unused Grocery Bags

Instead of throwing away plastic bags and contributing to the pollution problem, reuse the plastic bags as protective packing material. It’s a lot less messy than protective packing material and is better for the environment. For example, if you have small bowls, you can easily wrap the bowls in plastic bags and place them in the box. You can also do this with picture frames and mugs (Instructables).

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Turn A Broken Entertainment Center Into A Play Kitchen

Your children will love this one! If you have an old, inoperable, or broken entertainment center, you can turn it into a play kitchen for your kids. Do this by painting the entertainment center, and adding necessary decorations and accessories to it to make it look cute. This is a great way to repurpose an item that would end up in the trash, while also giving your children a gift. They’ll love their mini kitchen as much as you love your actual kitchen. You could even decorate it to match your kitchen, so they have a mini replica (eHow).

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Turn Your Floor Tiles Into An Art Project

Using floor tiles is an excellent tool for making art projects. Create a fabulous mosaic masterpiece using broken or old floor tiles. Glue this onto a large canvas and hang it up in your room. You can also glue the pieces onto an old nightstand to give it a brand-new mosaic top. If you have multicolored tiles, you can strategically place them to make a beautiful design that’ll add some personality to your living room (Pinterest).

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Turn An Old Dresser Into A Bench

Most of us have an old, outdated dresser somewhere in our house that doesn’t fit with the rest of our furniture. Instead of tossing it into the trash, you can use some of your artsy, handy skills and turn it into a bend. Best of all, you can use the t-shirt pillows you’ve repurposed to decorate your brand-new bench (Photokapi).

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Use Your Shoe Boxes For More Than Just Shoes

Just because you used your shoe boxes for shoes, doesn’t mean they have to stay like that. They’re the perfect size for storing a multitude of items, like toiletries, jewelry, and other small things. You can decorate the shoe box with paint, markers, or craft paper to give it a special pop. These will look great on a shelf in your room. You can also use them to store Christmas lights, create wall shelves or decorate the walls of your bedroom (Inspiration For Moms).

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Turn Mesh Vegetable Bags Into Scrubbers

The mesh bags that vegetables came in don’t have to end up in the trash. Repurpose them to clean your kitchenware. You can turn them into a scrubber by wadding them into a ball and cleaning pots, pans, and countertops. They’re great at getting dried food off of pans that don’t seem to come off with a sponge (My Frugal Home).

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Broken Chairs Into Funky Hangers

Just because your chair is broken, doesn’t mean you have to throw it out. That’s an entire piece of furniture waiting to be reused. You can do this by breaking down the chair and cutting the pieces into funky hangers to hang items on your wall. Paint them for an added touch of color and flavor (Prodigal Pieces).

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Repurpose Broken China Into Art

Dropping fine China and watching it smash could ruin your entire day. But just because your heart and that piece of China are broken, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. You can repurpose China, glue it back together, and use it as kitchen art. Place the pieces into a picture frame. This is also a fun project you can do with your kids, especially if you accidentally broke a bunch of China. Something good may come out of something bad! (DIY N Crafts)

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That Old Wicker Basket Is Perfect For Recyclables

If that old wicker basket is falling apart at the seams, you could easily upcycle it and use it to store recyclables. It’s a lot nicer than having a brightly colored recycling bin. You’re also reusing an old item in your home, which means you’re saving on waste. If you have multiple wicker baskets, you can use one for cans, one for glass, and one for plastic. If you still feel like using the wicker basket, you could paint it to turn it into something bright and beautiful, or cut it and use it as a headboard (Bob Vila).

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Cardboard Tubes Make Great Fire Starters

Instead of buying fire starters, repurpose old cardboard tubes and toss them into the flames. They’re great as fire starters, as the flame catches quickly. Stuff them with wax paper so they burn for longer. This means you’ll have a fire for quite some time! If you don’t have a place to make a fire but ended up with tons of cardboard tubes, you can use them to keep pants crease-free (15 Acre Homestead).

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Bicycle Wheels Are Wonderful Wall Decorations

Old bicycle wheels are fantastic vintage decorations you can hang on your walls or use to hang other items. If you stick them on your ceiling, you can hang pots and plants off of them. Spray them with white paint to give them an extra special touch. The more bicycle tires you have, the more creative you can be. With multiple bicycle tires, you can hang them in a pattern across your wall and paint them in different colors (Pinterest).

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Butter Wrappers As Burger Patty Separators

You’ve probably never thought twice about saving a butter wrapper. We’re here to tell you that you need to save them! You can use them to separate burger patties. The buttery residue will prevent the paper from sticking to the meat, and give them an additional buttery flavor. You can also place the butter wrappers in the fridge and save them for later use (Women World).

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Use A Dish Soap Or Ketchup Bottle As A Pancake Batter Dispenser

Once you’ve finished your dish soap or ketchup, you can clean it out and fill it with pancake batter. The other side of the soap bottle is perfect for dispensing pancake batter onto a pan. This is a mess-free way of making your favorite breakfast. No more having to spend half an hour cleaning the kitchen after making chocolate chip pancakes! (Cubby At Home).

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Shower Curtains Turn Into Tablecloths

You may wonder why we added shower curtains to this list. That’s because you can turn easily shower curtains into outdoor tablecloths. Once you’re done with that old, raggedy tablecloth, bring it outside and use it for a picnic or an outdoor barbecue. Make sure to give it a good rinse before eating it (Pinterest).

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Use Your Umbrella As A Reusable Grocery Bag

If your umbrella breaks, don’t fret. You can repurpose it and use it as a reusable grocery bag! This is a fun way to turn trash into treasure. Easily sew on cloth handles to make it into a bag you can carry on your shoulder. Simply cut the fabric into the size of a bag and sew the open ends and handle (Everyday Crafty Goodness).

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Turn Bottle Caps Into Mini Candles

Don’t throw away those bottle caps anymore! You can easily repurpose them and turn them into mini candles or tea lights. This is a fantastic party or event decoration. If you’re having guests over at your house, you can clean up the bottle caps, add them to a wick, and melt crayon wax over them. The more bottle caps you have, the more mini candles you’ll get. You can place these around your home for a warm, cozy atmosphere during the winter months. Paint them white or black to match the other furniture in your house (Pinterest).

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