On Monday, I talked about responsible ways to get rid of things. But my favorite way is not to get rid of it at all, but rather to find a better way to use it. I am a shameless repurposer (is that a word? Well, it is now).
Here are 5 things that I can almost always find a use for in my home:
- Any shelf or shelving system. I’ve constantly got books and mementos and baby plant cuttings that need to be given a permanent home, so a shelf has to be thoroughly useless before I will get rid of it. I have a short shelf in my living room that is literally half the shelf it used to be. The top was too damaged to salvage, so I sawed it off, and now it’s three shelves instead of five, and it works just fine that way. If a shelf doesn’t fit in my home, it will probably fit in my office at work, or I know someone else who can use it (ah, one of the many benefits of having bookish friends).
- Jars. Whether they’re Mason jars I bought when I was going through my canning phase or random jars that held sauce or some other pantry staple, I tend to accumulate a lot of them. They’re handy to use as vases or twinkle light holders. They help me organize by corralling pens, buttons, nails, or other small objects. They also make great to-go containers that I don’t need (or want) to get back (which also takes something off the to-do list of the person who uses it).
- Coffee mugs. Again, there are so, so many. Of course, the best use for coffee mugs is holding coffee, but I don’t really need more than one of those at a time (usually). I use them as pen/pencil holders. They personlize my bookshelves. There’s one on my desk at work that holds little knick knacks that people give me that I don’t want sprawled all over the desk.
- Heavy objects. These inevitably become door stops or bookends. Several of my shelves are open on the ends, and they are still able to house my books without peril due to a jar of pennies, a decorative box filled with mixed tapes from my childhood, and other assorted heavy objects. My closet door in my bedroom is held open by an old boot with a leftover brick from my patio in it. It may be unconventional, but it does the trick.
- Random cute items. I am not exactly a minimalist (although I really love Cozy Minimalist Home and all things Myquillyn Smith. Life goals, sort of), but I’m not a maximalist either. As in life, I also need some breathing room in my home. But then there are the random cute things. Cow salt-and-pepper shakers. A miniature plushy of Lucky the Squirrel (UNT’s unofficial mascot). Felt roses that a friend made. So many things make great decorations. I’m ten times more likely to display the art my friends make as I am to put up things that were store bought (although I have been know to repurpose those in my own art projects). If I love something, but I already have a more functional option that I actually use, I can still use it to make my home cozier by working it into my design plan.
I hope you have a great weekend, friends!
