Creative use of an item for which it was not originally designed

[goosehazel]

Originally Posted by stampit3d

An old wooden pully that is a flowering plant hanger out on the barn.
an old pickle crock is our Christmas tree stand.
A large plastic pretzle jar holds the birdseed in the little gazebo bird feeder my hubby made.
The birdbath, with the top turned upside down in the winter is a "table" for another bird feeder.
Used old shower curtains for drop cloths when painting something.
An old , heavy coffee mug, with the handle broken off makes a wonderful container in your bathroom cupboard for combs, hair brushes and hand mirror.
Pretty twin flat sheets make great tablecloths. (I also buy sheets to make a lot of things out of, as it`s a lot of yardage for the $ , plus it`s great for wide projects.)
2 clear window well covers that are pond covers for the winter.
A rubbermaid trash can buried next to the pond for a pond filter.
A cattle tank for a small pond.
A round fish bowl for the globe on the little lighthouse out by the pond.
Fancy goblets for votive candle sticks.
Silverware trays to organize spools of thread and small sewing items.
Clear display frames for holding rubber stamps.
Plastic dividers from boxes of chocolates for seperating jewelry.
Various sizes of plastic meat trays (from Walmarts) for seperating things in drawers.
A big plastic storage container with entrance hole cut for a litter box.
Plastic film containers to mix and store craft paints in.
Ice cube trays to sort craft beads by colors, size etc. in.
And on occassion I`ve even used my rolling pin as a hammer!
Linda

You need to write a book! You have some great ideas.

Hope you don't mind if I borrow some of them.

 

[evnshawn]

I was thinking, I don't do anything like this, but after reading your lists, I guess I do—just mostly without thinking about it.

The bottom cardboard part of a Velveeta box holds all the really sharp knives in our knife drawer.
Plastic baggies for disposable gloves if I'm messing with shortening.
Canning jars for dry goods.
Terra cotta pot for my pens (I did use a coffee cup but ran out of room and so had to "upgrade").
Telephone table as a tidy way to hide all the remotes in the family room.
Empty kitty litter buckets as step stools.
Body wash pumps for shampoo.
The trunk of my husband's car as semi-permanent storage (sssh, he doesn't know about that one).

 

[catsknowme]

I like that idea!

Don't think my hubby would notice that , either!
here are some of mine:
HARD, PLASTIC LID FOR LARGE ICECHEST [found in the forest, brought home just to keep Mother Nature looking tidy] - excellent chicken feeder! The hens love it, it holds 2-3 inches of feed & they can get in & scractch

DISCARDED "MUD" BUCKETS [used by tile setters] - large, deep litter boxes for JC, with extra 'turn-around' space

EMPTY PAPER TOWEL TUBES - I compact & stuff empty plastic bags in them, amazing how many grocery bags one will hold

SHOVEL FOR A FRONT DOOR LOCK - the opening for the front door isn't square, and 3 different handymen haven't been able to install a front door lock that stays latched, or gets shut so tight, it entraps us. I lay the shovel upside down, the point just under the door, and the handle against the bottom of the staircase.

 

[joecool]

lol, i thought our family were the only ones with the stairs thing!

 

[beckiboo]

We have some toys stored in empty kitty litter buckets. I have an extra toilet brush I keep by the laundry tub to scrub out litterboxes.

Linda, your ideas are amazing!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Originally Posted by stampit3d

Real, dried, silk???? PLEASE DO TELL MORE!!!
Linda

We just painted the bedroom and we have a ledge where I had displayed the flowers. But I do have other silk flowers being stored in laundry baskets. They are one thing I havn't painted yet...but now I'm going to have to try that! In this case they are just silk roses and ivy from my wedding. Our church has colums so we hung flowers from them, then kept them to decorate our bedroom since I love the color.

Which reminds me, I do store my dried roses in big pickle jars. I snip them once they are dry and some of thier fillers and things and layer them. They take up less room and I can see them that way.

 

[dinahcat]

Plastic baggies over my hands when making meatloaf or mixing something by hand.

Old Greeting cards I use when sweeping up something small.

Old shallow cereal bowls for pillar candles to sit in.

Black bobby pins to hold up hems in my black work pants (I know, this one is ghetto... LOL)

 

[zak&rocky]

Let's see: This took some thought:
Cheap bedsheets are used for beach blankets, blocking off doorways to keep the Air Conditioning in one room, and carpet protector from kittens.

Cheap cutting boards as floor protectors from cat bowl spillage.

The built in dish soap dispensor in our house holds hand soap.

Door racks with multiple knobs go on the walls to hold and display mugs.

We have carpet duct taped around a support beam in the basement- it's kittie's climbing post.

Hubby buys drawer handles, nails them to the wall and uses them to hang up swords. He also used one to fix the mailbox when the knob fell off.

 

[missy&spikesmom]

WOW!!! Some GREAT ideas here!

Some of them I've been doing too, but hadn't realized how "creative" I am being!

**I use old litter buckets to store canned cat food.
***An old cheese crock with lid, used now, as a storage container for butter.
****An old styrofoam cooler for a feral kitty shelter. --I've been making them from old coolers a friend gave me. I'll put a section of a Mylar Emergency Blanket (those ones that look like foil) and add some straw to it. I have used old woolen blankets too, and check them everyday, to make sure they are dry. Here's a picture of it

 

[emb_78]

Originally Posted by CoolCat

....Good Question Gail!

....i have to search at home tonight!

.....

....

I'm thinking the same thing!!!

 

[hissy]

When we were spring-cleaning, we ran across a bunch of rusty old faucets. We ended up steel wooling them, cleaning them, and painting them black. Then we mounted them on an old piece of siding from the barn. I have them hanging in my tack room with my lead ropes draped over them.

 

[sillyjilly]

Let's see...
An old sewing table is my desk, a cooler stand is used as a table too, kittys toy box is an empty carnation instant breakfast box without a lid, kittys bed is the top of a plastic steralite container, an empty tissue box holds all our reciepts we need to keep, an empty butter bowl is my pen cup, a tackle box holds my sewing supplies, those little plastic baskets from the dollar store are our silverwear holders, I think that's about it.....

 

[catsknowme]

Originally Posted by Missy&SpikesMom

WOW!!!
An old styrofoam cooler for a feral kitty shelter. --I've been making them from old coolers a friend gave me. I'll put a section of a Mylar Emergency Blanket (those ones that look like foil) and add some straw to it. I have used old woolen blankets too, and check them everyday, to make sure they are dry.

What an awesome idea! And I esp. love the Mylar blanket idea- why haven't I thought of that!

That would be a GREAT article/thread to post in Caring for Rescues & Ferals, esp. this time of year, with winter coming on!
This is such a great idea for a thread! I'm LOVING reading all the handy hints!

 

[lil_axl_gurl]

Old Shoelaces make great cat toys.

 

[jdpesz]

I built a wooden rack in the utility room to hold gallon pickle jars which contain all sorts of dry goods, I.E. flour, sugar, nuts, rice, pasta, cookies, dry beans, etc.
Empty kitty litter buckets are used for anything one would use a bucket for-- storing dry cat food, mopping floors, washing cars, carrying weeds to the compost pile, bailing the fish pond, etc.
An old hospital medical cart in my shop makes a dandy tool chest.

 

[cheeseface]

Originally Posted by stormy

We have the Gazelle exerciser that is currently a coat rack!

-some interesting and creative uses in this thread, but my favorite is Diane's!