We all know that sustainability at home can seem impractical and far too expensive in practice, especially now that a lot of high-end brands are hopping on the bandwagon and coming out with products to cater to a more environmentally-conscious consumer audience. With the advent of at-home hydroponic systems, residential photovoltaic cells, electric vehicles, LEED certifications, and more, it can certainly feel daunting and intimidating trying to stay on top of it all at times. However, being sustainable doesn’t have to break the bank.
Think back to your projects in elementary school–what’s coming to mind? Is it homemade bird feeders, soda bottle terrariums, and painted tin can pencil cups? While those were meant to be fun and engaging for young students, these little projects can be scaled up for your home use today–the key here is creativity! Get fun with it, because there are no bad ideas when it comes to upcycling, which is one of the most cost effective ways to repurpose household items and the likes while reducing waste that would otherwise head straight to a landfill. Read on for some innovative but easy upcycling projects that you can do with used items in your home today!
Cinder Block Planters
Have any old cinder blocks laying around in your garage or backyard? Or perhaps even a small stack of bricks? Turn them into planters! Cinder blocks are perfect for small plants or flowers because they have a hollow center that can be filled with soil when laid on the ground–plus, they’re nice and heavy, so they’ll stay stable and in place no matter the weather conditions outside.
If you want to go the extra mile and add some flare, paint them! Whether you go for a neutral color to match your landscaping or make some colorful designs, these cinder block planters are a great touch to any yard or garden–they also make for especially great touches around borders or perimeters of garden beds or fenced yards. If you don’t have any cinder blocks on hand, bricks will work just as well. Go ahead and stack them into whatever planter shape you desire; as long as there’s enough space for a plant or two and some soil, you’re good to go. However, with bricks, you have even more freedom and flexibility to make your planter as large or small as you desire–and when you’re done, the plants can easily be relocated and you can use the bricks again for your next project!
Jar or Can Vases or Candles
This idea is especially versatile to whatever you have most accessible on hand–whether it’s tin cans from canned goods in your cupboard, old cups or mugs in need of some love that have been sitting in your storage for years, coffee grounds cans, paint cans, pickle/salsa/jam jars, or anything along the same vein, you can turn almost any cleaned vessel into a repurposed container!
This may be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how few people actually take the effort (very minimal, that is) to save an old jar for future use. This may in part be an aversion to old and used items or a misconception that the lower monetary value equates to lower quality–regardless, upcycling old containers is one of the most straightforward yet effective ways to maximize the life cycle of perfectly good vessels.
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash
Written by Carole Wilay (‘25)
The cinder block planters are a great idea!