“Be responsible for our garbage. From THRASH to FRESH”
Before you drop your garbage or even recyclables to a recycling bin, consider reusing what was once trash into something meaningful!
5 craft ideas on utilizing recycled materials that might otherwise be discarded but are given new life in a useful way.
1) Create-a-Quilt
Textiles make up a huge portion of waste every year. Encourage your child to repurpose old material that would otherwise end up in the recycling bins by putting pieces of fabric from old clothing together and create a cozy quilt.
2) Hanging Planters
Large plastic bottles take on a new life as beautiful hanging planters. You will need scissors, some tapes or paints to create your very own unique plastic planters. Secure with a strong yarn and your planters are good to be hung! Your child will enjoy filling their planters with soil and watching their plants grow.
3) Tin cans organizer
Perhaps you have some used and empty tin cans from your evaporated milk supplies. Instead of throwing them away, give them a good wash and dry them out in the sun. Get your child involved by having them help decorate the cans. They will really take ownership of this, which will hopefully help them want to keep supplies more organized. Using acrylic paints can give you a rich and vibrant result! Or simply get them to paste extra stickers all around and make the tin can organizers more personalized.
4) T-shirt Apron
Don’t let your old t-shirts go wasted. By making gorgeous aprons out of them will encourage children to help out in the kitchen like a pro. Assist your child to cut their old t-shirts into an apron shape and help to sew it again in place. You may also opt for a non-sew apron!
5) Jeans Bag
Children outgrow clothes rather fast especially jeans. Let your child know that their old denims can be the next most durable fabric for them to recycle. Why not get rid of their old jeans by doing some sewing projects with them? Simply download and print out any bag templates that you can find online and supervise your child while they do the cutting out of the fabric. Next, you may help your child to sew the bag and add on their chosen matching straps. Voila, a new bag is born!