Have a look at some of the ideas below for repurposing common household waste items in creative and/or practical ways. Perhaps you’d like to try your hand at one of these ideas or maybe they can serve as inspiration for an original idea of your own. You can also explore the links to the right for additional ideas for upcycling items headed for the trash.

Self-watering planters made from plastic two-liter soda bottles

Cellphone speaker made from a toilet paper tube and two paper cups

Decorative tin can art supply organizers

Birdfeeder made from a cardboard juice carton

Birdhouses made from two-liter soda bottles

Tea light luminaries made from tin cans

Picnic carrier made from a 6-pack carton

Biodegradable seed starters made from cardboard toilet paper rolls

Cord organizing box using toilet paper tubes

Birdfeeder made from a detergent jug