How to Repurpose or Upcycle Items for your home

How to Repurpose or Upcycle Items for your home in a Farm Chic way~

See how to think outside the box and take an item that originally had one use and change it into an entirely different purposed item.

Are you a dumpster diver?  Do you love thrifting or junking? Do you drive around your neighborhood just to see what other people are throwing out because it might be an amazing hidden treasure for your home?  If so this video is for you.  I’ve taken two items that neighbors were tossing out and turned them into something functional for my home.

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The first is an old wooden horse that was a little beat up.  Seeing that it was made out of wood was incredible and unique and I knew I could turn it into a piece of Farm Chic goodness.

I first cut 2 inches off the legs to clean it up and give it a better standing base.  I used my Dewalt Circular Saw

and set it to a 15 degree angle to cut the legs.  Then I sanded it down a little to get any rough or splintered pieces of wood off and painted it Simply White by Benjamin Moore.

But any color of your choice will do.  If you want to keep it rustic looking like I did, don’t be perfect with the paint and leave some wood showing thru.  Next grab your favorite blanket and lay it across the top and put it in a cozy area of your home.

And you have successfully repurposed an old item that was garbage for one person, into a functional piece of furniture for your home!

The second piece was an old wooden ladder, again being tossed by someone who had no use for it.  I show you two options and uses for it in the video.  The first is turning it into a decorative shelving unit by cutting pieces of wood to fit across the rung to the step.  Using my table saw and Dewalt Miter Saw.

I was able to cut the right amount of wood sized for each slot.  Sand the ladder down to get any old paint or debris off, paint or stain the ladder and wood to your liking, and decorate each shelf.  You now have a super functional shelving space and decor piece for your home.

The second option is to take the ladder apart and use the rung side as a laundry hanger in your laundry room.  After separating the rung, sand and paint it to your liking. I kept mine rustic and used the Simply White color again.  Purchase a decorative hook from a hardware store or Amazon, preferably one with an insert or molly bolt included because you may want to hang it in a spot that doesn’t have a beam.

Use your power drill to make a hole a tiny bit smaller then the screw or insert.  Hammer in the insert and screw in the hook.  Measure the distance between the first and last rung to determine where the 2nd hook will go.  After installing the two hooks into the ceiling, attach a rope on each end of the rung at either ends of the ladder.

Take the center of the rope and hang it from each hook.

And you instantly have a repurposed laundry hanger made out of a ladder!

Your clothes will be dry in no time!

If you didn’t want to hang laundry on the ladder you could also try these fun uses:

1. Hang potted plants from it
2. String lights across it and use it as a lighting fixture above the island in your kitchen
3. String lights across it and hang it outside over a patio or inside a gazebo
4. Don’t hang it at all and lean it against a wall of your home. Hang blankets or towels on each rung

The ideas to repurposing tossed away items are endless and I hope this helps you look at junking or dumpster diving in a new way.  Think of all the treasures that are out there just waiting for their new home!