Waste to wonder! 5 domestic waste products that can be used to beautify your home

Written By: Sanya Kaushik

With so much emphasis being laid on the protection and preservation of the environment, it is only fair that we do our bit to help clean up Mother Earth in any way we can. By recycling and reusing everyday non-biodegradable items around the house, you can help reduce the release of ecologically incompatible waste into the environment. Not only do these things help in trimming down the alarmingly high carbon footprint currently threatening the future of the natural world, they also make for excellent ornaments.

Here’s a list of some of the non-biodegradable things you can use to give your home a face-lift:

1. Glass and plastic bottles: Glass bottles, especially empty wine bottles, can be used as tiki torches, candle holder, fairy light holders etc. You can hang them off the ceiling, place them on tables; you can even place photographs in them to create inventive photo frames. Plastic bottles can be used to grow money plants and other small shrubs. 
2. Cardboard: Cardboard from old shoe boxes, drink cartons etc, can be painted over and used as provisional book cases. You can cut out flowers from them and make an artificial bouquet. You can cover it up with printed paper and make a bowl out of it. 
3. Shampoo bottles, juice boxes, and other plastic containers: You can slice empty containers in half, paint them in pretty colors and use them to grow money plants; as utensil holders, key boxes; to keep spare change and other small objects, bird feeders, etc. 
4. Old T-shirts and shirts: Instead of throwing out your old Pink Floyd T-shirt- which, let’s be honest, is nothing short of sacrilegious- just make it into a pillowcase or cushion cover. You can even put it in a nice frame and turn into an eternal memorabilia. 
5. Cracked mugs: Don’t throw out mugs unless they’re completely broken. You can use cracked mugs as toothbrush holders. You can keep your make-up brushes in them. As decoration, you can put small shrubs in them and place them on the dining room table. You could put colorful stones in see-through mugs. They’ll liven up your home and at the same time, spare the environment the trouble of breaking out synthetic compounds. 

Every single object has immense potential for beauty. You just have to be willing to recognize it. Don’t throw away anything till you’re absolutely sure it’s beyond salvaging. Who knows, today’s dirty orange peels could be tomorrow’s make-shift bouquet.