25 People Who Upgraded Their Homes Without Emptying Out Their Wallets

We may often find ourselves spending enormous amounts of money on things we’ll never use or on clothes we’ll hardly ever put on. Upcycling and repurposing things can be a real helping hand for people who don’t want to rip out their pockets to make something new for their home. Painting the staircase in a rainbow spectrum with cheap paint samples or making your own car organizer using just a rubber band, scissors, and a magnet — all of these alternatives are possible.

We at Bright Side couldn’t help but admire how people managed to create something really handy using the things they had lying around. We would love to share some of their witty, homemade crafts with you.

1. “I painted my home’s stairs using cheap paint samples.”

2. “My mom is learning how to sew. This chair cover cooking set is her latest creation.”

3. “We have fridge magnets that help remind us what we have in stock when making meals.”

4. “I made an underwater jungle that’s almost entirely self-sustainable. I used a floating PVC pipe to create a window into my bowl.”

5. “I made a hidden retractable shelf. It goes in the dead space underneath a corner desk.”

6. “I made cell phone stands for the family out of Legos.”

7. “I made this desk organizer out of old Windows floppy disks.”

8. “This ambient desk light I made from a chicken egg”

9. “I made these resin and alcohol ink coasters on ceramic tiles.”

10. “I built a cat tower that fits in the corner.”

11. “Made this lamp out of my daughter’s stacking toy once she outgrew it.”

12. “I painted clothes with bleach.”

13. “I infuse waste denim with resin and press the wet layers together until they dry. I then handcraft this material into sunglasses.”

14. “Repurposed scrap stair railing as a clothes-drying rack”

15. “Cable management is critical at any workstation.”

16. “My weekend job doesn’t reuse old uniforms so I repurpose them into produce bags and scrunchies.”

17. “I used my broken iMac to make a touch-controlled lamp — even the USB ports work as phone chargers.”

18. “I have a bunch of old film canisters from the ’80s and ’90s. They make great gifts for any film lover.”

19. “An old TV used as a cat chill-a-torium”

20. “Repurposed my David’s Tea sampler set to hold my embroidery thread!”

21. “Thousands of tied fabric and the doggy is happy.”

22. “Took a broken ratchet and cut the loop open to be repurposed as a bottle opener.”

23. “Repurposed this Godzilla Easter egg-holder into my new beauty blender stand.”

24. “Repurposed K-cups for my prop garden!”

25. “I made a table for my zero-waste store from an old cable spool.”

26. “Made this for my car console. Stay organized!”

Have you ever made something using ordinary tools and objects that you had at that moment? We’d love to get some more inspiration from your ideas!