Unleash Creativity With 25 Unique Uses for Everyday Items
Reorganizing your home doesn’t have to mean breaking your budget on a fancy new container system.
Many everyday objects you already own can be recycled into new storage solutions. Repurposing these can reduce waste and save money, all while creating a cleaner, more organized home.
We focused on selecting common household items for reuse to demonstrate practical sustainability. This approach helps to minimize environmental impact while also making home organization accessible to everyone.
1. Mesh Bags
Mesh bags you get from the grocery store when buying certain fruits, like clementines and avocados, don’t have to go to waste once you get home. Thanks to their tough exterior, these bags make great cleaning scrubbers. Use them to scrub off grime from dishes or to clean tough stains from surfaces around your home.
If the mesh bag is still relatively intact when you’ve taken the fruits out of it, you can also use it to store plastic bags underneath the sink or as an organizer for small items.
2. Containers
Most of us will quickly toss away a container before thinking about saving it for another occasion. The next time you finish a container of something, whether it be sour cream or a container of sauce, give it a good wash and save it to use as an organizer for your home.
You can use it to collect screws, paper clips, elastics, and anything else that needs storing. Label each of your containers to stay as organized as possible.
3. Glass Jars
Glass jars are multi-use items that everyone needs in their home. For instance, once you’ve used the glass jar and cleaned it thoroughly, fill it with water and place your favorite flowers in it. Glass jars make great vases.
You can also reuse them as food storage by filling jars up with homemade sauces for future dinners. If you need to organize your office area, place a glass jar on your desk and fill it with your pens and pencils.
4. Baking Sheets
There are plenty of unique and clever ways to reuse old baking sheets. While an old baking sheet may look rusty and rugged, giving it an excellent clean, scrub, and fresh coat of paint will make it look brand new.
Use a baking sheet as a serving tray for treats, desserts, and other snacks for your family and guests. If you have pets, place your dog or cat bowls on top of it. This will help prevent the bowls from sliding around the floor and making a mess.
5. Broken Picture Frames
If you love an old picture frame but find an unpleasant scratch or crack on it that ruins the look of the photo, don’t throw it out just yet. Picture frames are commonly used to hang jewelry like earrings and necklaces, and it’s an easy DIY project.
Hang a couple of strings of wire or twine from one side of the frame to the other using staples to secure them. Place this repurposed decorative piece on a nearby dresser or table for easy access to your jewelry.
6. Scrap Wood Pieces
Don’t be so quick to toss out your scrap wood pieces. If they’re big enough and have the right leveled shape, take the time to sand and paint them to give them a second life.
Floating shelves are a popular decor trend everyone loves right now, and you can use small scrap wood pieces to make DIY floating shelves for your home. You’ll also be able to free up space and have extra storage with these shelves.
7. Cardboard Boxes
If you’ve ever saved your shoe boxes or other cardboard boxes only to be left wondering how to reuse them, we’ve got you covered.
Place a few small cardboard boxes into your drawers to organize socks and other garments like hats, gloves, and undergarments. Shoe boxes make great storage units for bathroom shelves, where you can seamlessly organize your toiletries and makeup.
8. Tissue Boxes
Do you need a place to store your plastic bags instead of bundling them together in one big mess? Use your tissue boxes to store all of your plastic bags for easy access.
If you want to use the tissue box as a dispenser, simply slide the bottom of the bags into the side handles of the bag underneath to help them easily pop out of the box. A tissue box is also great as a small organizer in your drawers or as a trash bin for your home or car.
9. Wooden Crates and Bins
Old wooden boxes, crates, and bins double as superior organizers around the house, especially if you’re working on mastering the art of cleaning house this season. Hang them on your walls to create a trendy DIY storage unit that will effortlessly hold books, binders, candles, picture frames, and anything else you need to store.
If they’re looking a little old or dull, give the boxes a good sand and a coat of paint. You can cover it with a coat of varnish for a shiny, glossy finish. If you’re a music lover, wooden crates are great record holders — just check your local record shop! You can also use them as extra storage bins under your bed, kitchen sink, or bathroom.
10. Flour Sifter
An old flour sifter is a perfect makeshift vase for your indoor plants, creating a trendy, rustic look in your home. Fill the flour sifter with soil and place your plant on a surface that could use sprucing up.
If you prefer to have the plant outside, place the sifter on the patio or garden to add a unique touch to your outdoor area. You may also choose to use your flour sifter as a utensil holder or as a storage unit for kitchen and house cleaning supplies.
11. Paper Bags
Don’t underestimate the usefulness of paper bags, as you’ll never run out of different ways to use them in your daily routine. Use your paper bags to serve snacks like popcorn or candy (if they’re clean) for kids or guests.
Paper bags can also be used for ripening fruit like avocados, peaches, pears, kiwi, and more quickly. Just close your fruit inside the bag and let them sit for a day or two. The fruit will release ethylene gas, which, when trapped in a paper bag, will ripen the fruit faster. Avoid using a plastic bag, as it will retain moisture and cause the fruit to mold.
12. Tin Cans
Tin cans from sauces or other grocery store items make great storage units. Wash out your tin can and use it as a utensil holder in your kitchen. If you’re displaying the tin can in the open, cover it with a fresh layer of paint or pretty paper to match your decor and elevate your home’s style.
Tin cans are also handy storage solutions, such as holding cleaning items under the sink or in the bathroom when you need them most.
13. Wine Rack
Your wine rack doesn’t have to be used just for wine, especially if you have other storage needs in your home. Use your wine rack to store and organize your reusable water bottles instead. If you’re a mug collector, place your mugs into the wine rack for a cohesive, clean look.
Wine racks are also great for storing towels. Simply roll up the towels and place them into the spaces for wine bottles and the top of the rack to utilize as much space as possible. This easy organization hack will make you feel like you’re in a fancy hotel!
14. Disposable Razors
Once your disposable razor becomes too dull to use, that doesn’t mean you can’t keep using it. Take your beloved clothing pieces from drab to fab by using your dull razor to remove pills from them.
First, we recommend testing the razor in a small, inconspicuous spot to ensure it’s dull enough and removes the pilling well without damaging the fabric. Once you’ve tested it, gently run the razor over your clothing and watch how quickly the pills disappear.
15. Books
Are you notorious for hoarding books and having no place to put them? If you have larger books that need a new home, stack them up on top of one another and use them as a side table. Place a lamp and coaster on the top and any other small items you’d like within your reach.
You can also opt to use it as a shelf for storage or by your bed, placing a few items on top of the stack, like a mug or office supplies.
16. Baby Food Jars
Throwing out glass jars feels wrong, especially when there are so many uses for them. Baby food jars may be small, but there are plenty of ways to use them once they’re empty.
First, sanitize and clean out the food jars. Organize your spices by placing them in the baby food jars. Secure the lids and label them for your own DIY spice storage. The jars also work great for storing small office supplies like paper clips, erasers, and pins.
17. Magazine Rack
Organizing pot and pan lids can be a major pain, especially when they don’t fit easily into storage and don’t stack well against one another. If you have a magazine rack lying around your home, attach it to the inside of a shelf door or cabinet as a storage space for your lids.
Place a lid on each rack from smallest to largest to keep your kitchen essentials tidy. They’ll be easy to find and reduce the cabinet clutter.
18. Shoe Organizer
A shoe organizer, typically hung in the closet or on a wall, can store nearly anything in your home —not just shoes. Hang a shoe organizer in your bathroom and use it to store toiletries like shampoo bottles, perfume, lotion, and more.
It also works well in a home office to store office supplies like pens and paperclips or under the kitchen sink for cleaning products and rags.
19. Magazine File Holder
Magazine file holders are great for organizing papers and folders, but that’s not where their usefulness ends. Hang one of your file folders under the sink or cupboard and place your Tupperware lids inside. Tupperware lids aren’t easy to contain, and this hack will keep them neatly put away until you need to use them next.
You can also use the file holder to store cleaning products, bathroom essentials, or other office items apart from papers and folders.
20. Ladder
Ladder shelves are a huge trend in the home design world right now, and if you have a small to medium-sized ladder, you can make your own. Place the ladder in your home and give it a spruce if needed — a simple clean, sand, and paint job will make it look brand new.
Then, add a few books, picture frames, and candles or vases to curate a cozy, trendy shelf that elevates your home’s decor style while freeing up space.
21. Mug Tree
Don’t throw out your mug tree before you try using it as a jewelry holder. A mug tree has the perfect shape to store and organize your jewelry. Hang your necklaces and rings on each hook to keep the jewelry from getting tangled or lost. Organize the type of jewelry by hook to curate a tidy and organized holder.
If the mug tree is rusting or looking too pre-loved, give it a fresh paint job to make it look like a brand-new household item. Mug trees can also be a useful organizer in a home office. Hang elastic bands, clips, and other small office items you might otherwise lose easily.
22. Wooden Buckets
If you have old wooden buckets in your home, there’s more than one way to use them again. Fill a wooden bucket with soil and plant flowers inside, then place the bucket outside on your front porch or in your garden. Wooden buckets make for beautiful and rustic plant holders, adding charm to your garden.
Many stores sell wooden buckets as planters, so you could be saving your wallet from some unnecessary spending! You can also use a wooden bucket to store garden supplies like shovels, gloves, and soil to help you stay organized while you tend to your plants.
23. Cereal Boxes
With a little bit of creativity, you can make a unique and trendy paper holder with used cereal boxes. Simply trim the top off and cover it with pretty patterned paper to make it look less like a cereal box and more like a store-bought organizer.
It will easily hold papers, folders, and other important documents while keeping everything looking neatly organized. You can also make a few of these and label them for the ultimate organization hack.
24. Window Planters
Plastic window planters make amazing storage units. Hang them on the inside of your cabinets or even outside on a wall. First, clean them thoroughly, and if you’ll be displaying them in your home, apply a fresh layer of paint.
Then, put your spices, spray cans, or other products in the planters to free up some much-needed storage space. Place them in your garage, laundry room, home office, kitchen, or any other area that needs organizing.
25. Cake Tray
An unused tiered cake tray is the perfect caddy you never knew you needed. If you already have a tiered cake tray, clean it up and place your craft jars and supplies on it for the ultimate craft tray. This will also work with your office, bathroom, and cleaning supplies.
If you have individual cake trays, glue the largest tray onto a lazy Susan and then add a small pole or candlestick to connect another cake tray on top until you have at least three levels. This DIY craft caddy is the organizer of our dreams and will completely transform your craft room.
