5 Upcycling Ideas To Turn Household Trash Into Treasure
Decluttering your home doesn’t have to mean throwing things away in bulk.
Old items often still have value – but they need your help to gain another lease of life. Rather than discard them, upcycle them instead.
Upcycling can minimize wastage and prevent spending on things we don’t necessarily need. Every time you choose to upcycle, Mother Nature gets to breathe a little easier too.
Not sure how or where to start? Let these 5 easy upcycling ideas inspire you.
Transform your old lampshade into a Pendant Light
Have an old lamp with a still-pristine lampshade?
With a few alterations, you can have a brand-new pendant light. Simply follow these steps:
- Remove the lampshade from the old lamp
- If dusty, rinse and clean the lampshade first.
- Attach the wireframes of the lamp shade from end to end using strong tape.
- Place a pendant light cord through and insert a light bulb. LED is most environmentally – friendly.
- Hot-glue jute cord to the top frame and wrap it around until it covers the top frame entirely.
- Repeat for the bottom half.

Credit to: https://inhabitat.com
You may choose to include some patterns when weaving the jute cord in. Jute cord also isn’t really necessary, so feel free to replace it with another material of your preference.
Turn cans and bricks into artisan flower pots
Here’s another upcycling classic – use old cans and bricks as planters.
Bricks are quite straightforward. Simply rinse the brick, fill the holes with soil or potting mix and you’re pretty much set.
For cans, be sure to:
- Rinse them clean to avoid soil contamination and
- Remove sharp edges
To enhance their visual appeal, you can also wrap the cans with wrapping paper or more durable wallpaper.

Credit to: https://www.woohome.com
Mix and match Paper rolls to create a wall organiser
From kitchen towels to toilet paper, you’d likely accumulate quite a number of differently-sized paper rolls pretty easily.
While they’re equally useful as biodegradable planters, you may find them even more useful as a creative wall-organiser.
Simply glue a few rolls of different sizes together and store small trinkets, your kitchen must-haves and even air plants if you like. You may want to toy with the idea of having a vertical garden at home using paper rolls too.

Credit to: https://www.handimania.com
Broom Bristles to desk organiser
It truly takes a creative mind to find new purpose for worn broom bristles.
Naturally for this to work, you’re going to need hard and sturdy bristles. Bristles on most standard and push brooms should work well.
To transform broom bristles into working desk organisers, simply follow these steps:
- Remove broom head from the broom.
- Wash the bristles. Make sure not to soften the bristles with any cleaning solution.

Credit to: https://www.manmadediy.com
You can also improve your new desk organiser’s look by giving it a fresh coat of paint or adding some small accessories.

Credit to: https://www.thekpoptify.co
Soda Cans to Art pieces
If you’re feeling a little artsy, why not assemble an art piece from empty soda cans?
Aluminum has a particular shine to it. With some acrylic paint and chalk, you can create an eye-catching centrepiece for your home.
To do so, you’ll need:
- Empty soda cans (washed)
- Pen knife
- Glue gun
- A sizeable canvas
- Acrylic paint / chalk
And it’s not just soda cans that can be upcycled. If you’ve collected enough can lids, you can join them together to create more art too.
Too much to upcycle? BUTLER can help.
Upcycling is a fun way to reinvent everyday trash, but sometimes there’re just too many unwanted items — and other household chores — to deal with.
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