20+ Money-Saving Gurus That Gave Old Things a Second Life

Some people are so good at saving money that we’d like to take a few lessons from them. It turns out that there are lots of things around us that we don’t actually need to throw away. It’s better to use them to make something new. For example, a bag made of old plastic bags, eco-confetti made of leaves, or a cute piece of clothing for your pet made of an old umbrella.

We at Bright Side found some life hacks from Internet users and made a compilation for you.

“My aunt made ginger beetroot wine and stored it in glass jars. She then saved these plastic things to use for travel.”

“A reusable shopping bag I crocheted out of plastic bags!”

“My co-worker uses a Parmesan cheese shaker lid as a cover for her Mason jar smoothies.”

“These felt letters cost $3 and we’ve hung them at every birthday for years.”

“Reusing an old veggie tray and toilet paper rolls for gardening”

“An oldie but a goodie that I’ve been using forever: those plastic bags that linens come in make for excellent storage after the fact!”

“My mom made me a rug out of my old T-shirts!”

“Old socks are the perfect rags to clean your keyboard!”

“Have old wrinkled potatoes in the fridge that are sprouting? Don’t toss them, plant them!”

“Couldn’t get rid of this ugly stain right in the middle of the shirt, so I used some old die to make a cool patchy shirt instead!”

“I have been looking to buy one of these for my morning coffee but ended up making it with items I already had!”

“Found my dad’s unused 1982 planner yesterday. And the days of the week line up with 2021!”

“I have collected all of our printing errors and folded them in half twice. Then I drilled a hole through the corner and put a ring in it for a notepad. If only one side of the paper is used, there is plenty more that can be used.”

“In the process of making my doggy a rain coat from a broken umbrella.”

“I sell clothing online and finally mastered zero waste mailers! Made 100% of discarded plastic and sealed shut with my sewing machine.”

Somebody made homes for street cats to take shelter in out of water jugs.

“Confetti made from fallen leaves! Loved this zero-waste decoration idea.”

“Been buying whole chickens instead of individual cuts and whole veggies instead of precut and bagged ones. Saved the bones/scraps for 3 months in the freezer and decided to make chicken stock!”

“Someone on my street put 2 twin bed frames on the curb. I made one into a trellis.”

“I like to mend jeans. My thimble is the leather rectangle tag from the back of an old pair of jeans. 10/10 would recommend, just fold it like an envelope over your finger and hand stitch through the old holes.”

“My family has been reusing this soap dispenser since 1999.”

Do you know other ways to use old things instead of new ones?

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