Recycle in Style!

My youngest daughter has been interested in recycling since she learned more about it in school last year. Now, she looks on the bottom of just about every container to see if it has the triangle label showing that it can be recycled. But, instead of throwing it in the recycle bin, she has found ways to recycle items throughout the house... such as cereal boxes, jars, and milk cartons. I'm amazed at her creativeness, and I'm positive it didn't come from me.

For example, she has recently found an interest in surfing, and has always loved Barbies. So, combine the two and you've got a Barbie surfboard! I'm seriously thinking about patenting this idea. My husband (who also has a love for surfing) drew a surfboard on the inside of a cereal box, and my daughter cut it out and decorated it with craft paper.

And so began my inspiration... I thought it would be fun to look around the web for some other ways to recycle the items we typically would throw away, and here are a few I particularly liked.

 

(Photo courtesy of BuzzFeed)

Take a clean lotion bottle and carefully cut out the shape shown above. Paint or stencil the outside and tada! you have a handy all-in-one-place phone charger. No more cords all over your counters, floors, or desk. I love this idea and will be making my own very soon!

 (Photo courtesy of ThriftyFun)

A bird feeder out of a milk jug! This is a simple and fun activity to do with your kids. At some point, I'm guessing we've all had a milk/water jug that we were done with. You could make this fancy or just cut the holes and place it outside on a post or hanging. I've priced out bird feeders before, and they can definitely be a little pricey. This one is practically free! You'll need to add birdseed, however... Go HERE for directions to make your own.

(Photo courtesy of CraftyNest)

Hanging (or not hanging) glass jar lanterns. I love this idea of using your glass jars as beautiful lanterns for entertaining outside! If you have a deck or patio, you could place your clean jars out with beautiful votives and have a nice evening outdoor party or get-together.

I often have jars from pasta sauce, peanut butter, oil, etc and don't know how to use them, so they usually end up in the recycling bin. When I was a little girl, I remember my mom using mason jars for glasses to drink out of. It added a country feel to our kitchen with very little money.

TIP: In order to clean your jars from the labels that are usually hard to get off, soak them in hot water for at least 5 minutes (or run them through your dishwasher cycle), then use a product such as "Goo Gone"and you should be able to get it right off.

I'd love to know how you recycle in your home!