In a bid to reduce our carbon emissions, carbon footprint and the amount of wastes or pollution that we produce in our day to day lives, we are being encouraged to recycle as many items as we can instead of throwing them away. It is a common dilemma that affects the entire world.
The great thing about upcycling is we can get started no matter how little we know about it or no matter how small your project is. Almost any object in your house or office can be used in creating a meaningful and wonderful outside space.
If you want wonderful ways to put your personality across your living and outside space in a highly creative way, read on and find out some tips on how to be successful with your upcycle projects.
What is upcycling?
First of all, let us start with the basics. Recycling is the process of changing waste materials to create new products. It prevents potentially useful waste materials from being thrown or dumped into landfills and incinerators. Recycling allows us to reduce our need to consume new materials and our need to use conventional waste disposal.
Upcycling is a form of recycling. The items produced from this type of recycling creates a higher value and quality from the waste materials or original items being recycled. Unlike recycled items, upcycled items can retain or enhance the look and feel of the original waste material.
Today, we will be giving you some ideas on how to improve your outside space without having to spend many extra pennies. We hope you are ready because our ideas can help you unwind on a day off or weekend.
What can you upcycle?
The possibilities of upcycling are limitless. You can upcycle almost any object in your house or office. To get you started, you can check out what items you have that are no longer of use.
After identifying items that you are no longer using, give them a clean over making sure you remove any dirt and dust. You can start creating a simple plan that you can do over the weekend or on your day off. Group your items based on the upcycling ideas you have made.
What materials do I need to get started?
If you have a considerable outside space available to spruce up, why don’t you create a small outside office? Not only does an outside office help you get vitamin D, it helps you get lots of fresh air too. What a great way to break the monotony of being stuck indoors!
To create an outdoor table, you can use two unused wooden ladders to serve as legs and a wide leftover plywood or an old entry door that will serve as the flat surface where you can write or work. You can fasten these items with nails to create a more stable furniture. Aside from ladders and plywood, you can use pallets to create a simple table.
All you need now is a place to sit. Aside from making upcycled tables, pallets are also great for creating very simple but economical chairs.
You can create an ottoman out of unused car tyres too. You can either use it as is or paint it with your favourite colour then place a circle plywood on the top. You can add a foam for added comfort. Instead of paint, you can use brown rope to create a more rugged look. If you get tired of it, you can remove the plywood and foam then transform it into a gorgeous planter!
Now that you have got a table and chair to work with, you can place it under the shade of a tree or an umbrella. A reasonable amount of sun exposure is fine but too much may have untoward effects to your skin. Do not forget about that.
To add colorful planters in your garden, you just need a little imagination. You can use many household items as planters. Aside from used tyres, think about unused work boots, old bowls or mugs, empty kitchen jars or tin cans, broken drawers, rusty buckets or colanders just to name a few. Do not forget to poke holes underneath them to let water out.
Now that you have an idea on what items to use and how you can upcycle them, it is time to let your imagination run wild. Keep your ideas very simple and always add fun into the equation. If it is no longer fun, chances are, you will stop doing it.
The idea of upcycling should be fun and easy that your children will not be intimidated to join in. Just like with other things, it is best to teach kids the value of upcycling while they are still young and eager.
After reading about our ideas on how to upcycle old items into something useful, what wonderful ideas have you thought about for your outside space? Have you made an idea for an outdoor bar? How about a cozy nook or man cave?
If upcycling isn’t your thing, then talk to experts at Enterprise Works for your garden needs! They still hold the core values and principles that were implemented in 1963 when Enterprise Works was founded. The site runs at over 95% supported employment training, developing, enhancing skill sets and abilities whilst delivering high quality best value products and services to multiple sectors and industries! Why don’t you give the experts of Enterprise Works a call on 07392 109 856 or email on EnterpriseWorks2@swindon.gov.uk today?
