14 Common Items Repurposed

I love, love, love to find uses for things other than their intended purpose. I don’t know why, but it brings me great joy to creatively repurpose things.

Here are some ways I’ve found alternate uses for common items:

1.  Loofah sponge as a toothbrush holder – I do love this one. I have a love/hate relationship with toothbrush holders, I must admit. They seem to require constant attention.

This sponge absorbs moisture but dries out quickly when stood on end. Wa-la! Perfect toothbrush holder. Just stand on end and stick your toothbrush in one of the holes.

It’s also easily tossed in the trash and replaced periodically without hurting your budget.

2. Homemade “potholders” as coasters – Do you remember those looms you used to make potholders on as a kid? You can still buy them and you definitely should. They are inexpensive and good for manual dexterity. They tend to intrigue children and I recall hours spent sitting with my kids making these things. However, the loom I remember as a child actually made potholder sized squares – the loom my kids had produced coaster-sized squares. We made about a billion of these things and we use them as coasters to this very day.

I don’t know if this is a genuine REpurpose or if it’s just a brilliant purpose, but anyway, kids love when the things they make are put to use.

3.  Use a ladder as a table or display shelf. I’m sure I’m not the first person that thought of this, but for the record, I’ve been doing it pre-Instagram. 😂

One old wooden ladder that was my husband’s grandparents’ has served as an end table, a book shelf, and currently holds a collection of seashells and colored glass bottles that catch the sun and reflect the colors of my beach themed bedroom.

A small blue step ladder was a gift from my best friend – it comes in handy when I need to reach something on my book shelf but it mostly serves as an end table for the couch.

4.  Tree branches or bamboo as curtain rods – Use tree branches from your yard or bamboo stakes from a garden center as conversation worthy curtain rods.

I use bike hooks to hold my bamboo curtain rods. (In the picture above, the curtain is draped over the hook.) You can purchase bamboo stakes from most garden centers. Or you may know someone who wants to thin out their bamboo since it grows rapidly once established.

5. Use sheets as couch slip covers. One of my favorites.

I wrote about the perks of using wooden furniture and this trick works really well with those, but I have used sheets as couch covers on upholstered furniture as well. As a matter of fact, I had so much trouble with the actual couch cover sliding down when you sat on the couch that I began using sheets and was able to maintain a neater couch longer.

There are many reasons this is one of my favorite re-purposes. It’s so cheap, for one thing. Also you have so many color options. And then there’s white. For anyone who has wanted white furniture but thinks they can’t have it because of kids or pets or just life in general, enter white sheets. They are easily removed and bleached! And if they get too dingy or stained, they can be replaced without breaking the budget. So for white couches a family can actually use, sheets are a great way to go.

6. Use towels as pillow coverings. There are some beautiful towels that can be found for reasonable prices at discount home goods stores, like TJ Maxx or Ross. So beautiful, in fact, that I wanted to find another purpose for them.

I easily turned towels into pillow covers. They wash up great and are very sturdy. They are easily sewn (or you could use fabric tape). No hemming required because the towel edges are already sewn.

7. Use stools for everything! I love stools. They are cute, they are small, they fit anywhere, they come in lots of different designs. And the simple wooden ones are inexpensive and easy to paint.

They make great plant stands, end tables, bedside tables, lamp table, sit one at your entry door to hold a catch-all basket….and of course, there’s always seating. They’re great for their intended purpose as well!

8. Bi-fold door as a shutter. Bi-fold doors used to be quite popular on closets. Several years ago, someone I know was redecorating and gave me the two they took out.

I used a crackle glaze to paint it two colors: sage green and cream. I bought two wooden appliques, painted them sage green, and used wood glue to attach them to the top. I could have painted both doors to match and bought hinges to join them together as a standing room screen or divider. However, I just use one door as a decorative shutter.

9. Fruit holder as a bathroom accessory holder. The bathroom counter is a catch-all for toiletries. Or at least, mine is. Some people may have incredibly organized drawers or cabinets in the bathroom to house all of their products, but I’m not some people. And one thing I’ve learned is if you want an organized house, organize the house to fit your habits. This may sound like a cop-out to creating good, new habits, but sometimes you have to choose your battles in order to save your sanity. One thing I know, my husband and I will not put things in the bathroom drawers or cabinets, no matter how organized or roomy. We leave stuff on the counter. It is what it is. Instead of losing my mind about it, I added a tiered fruit basket.

It’s easy to move to wipe down the counter, it doesn’t look too bad even when things are thrown in in disarray, it could be set in the cabinet under the sink if I wanted it out of sight, and it holds a lot of stuff!

10.  Old muffin and loaf pans as drawer dividers for your junk drawer or craft drawer – or any drawer that has a variety of small or multiple items that could use some organization.

I don’t remember where I first saw this idea, because if I did, I would send them my love and thanks right here. This has been the difference between feeling guilt for even having a junk drawer and feeling satisfied that I have a drawer where I can store all the little things that I may need one day but never knew where to put them (and didn’t want to throw them in a jumbled, messy junk drawer).

11. A bench as a coffee table. My husband made a bench for me from boards that came from the side of a building on my grandparents’ farm. Needless to say, it’s a treasured piece of furniture for me. I love that the boards are old and imperfect.

A bench as a coffee table is pretty indestructible. It makes a great foot rest or a nice space to creatively decorate, and it can be pulled to the side for extra seating for guests when needed.

12. Turn small items you want to keep into bookmarks. You can buy laminating sheets in various sizes. You don’t have to have a laminating machine; use self-adhesive or self laminating sheets.

Some items that you could laminate to use as a bookmark to keep for yourself or give as meaningful gifts: Movie ticket stubs, receipts, excerpts of a letter or a handwritten note, small pictures your children drew, recipe cards in your grandma/mom/aunt’s handwriting, someone’s signature, a pressed flower or four-leaf clover, and photographs.

13. Wreath hanger for pocketbook and dog leashes. I love over-the-door hook racks. I use them for bags, extra pocketbooks, belts, and hats. However, none of mine will fit over an exterior door. Enter wreath hangers! I bought three silver wreath hangers to hang inside my front door. They fit perfectly, don’t inhibit the ‘peephole,’ and didn’t cost very much.

I bought mine in the Christmas section of Walmart near the holidays. They were cheaper than the ones in the craft section (I paid around $2 a piece for them) and came in a variety of colors. You could probably buy them on clearance after the holidays in some stores. Now my dog leashes, harnesses, and extra collars are easily accessible but also neatly displayed. 

If your pocketbook doesn’t weigh a ton (like mine does), a wreath hanger on the back of the door would be a good place to hang it as you come in the door.

14. Uses for a favorite (or odd) dish or bowl.  Maybe the colors or the design caught your eye at the garage sale. Maybe it was your great-grandma’s. Maybe you only have one dish (of a collection) and you don’t want to display it as an odd loner, but you don’t know what to do with it.

I embrace the idea of not saving things for a “special occasion” and using these items, even at the risk of breaking or wearing something out.

Here are some ideas: the prettiest cat or dog bowl ever, soap dish, jewelry holder on a nightstand or dresser, kitchen sponge holder, butter dish, display/hold travel sized toiletries in a guest bath or bedroom, key & change collector inside the front door, spare change collector or laundry fragrance disk holder on top of the dryer, candle or potpourri holder.

I hope this has given you some ideas, or inspired you to think of other things that could be repurposed! I’d love to hear about some of your best repurposed projects in the comments.