How to Repurpose or Upcycle Items for Your Home

Allison Kohmann
by Allison Kohmann
8 Materials
$40
4 Hours
Medium
Are you a dumpster diver? Do you love thrifting or junking? Do you drive around your neighborhood just to see what other people are throwing out because it might be an amazing hidden treasure for your home? If so this video is for you. I've taken two items that neighbors were tossing out and turned them into something functional for my home.
The first is an old wooden horse that was a little beat up.  Seeing that it was made out of wood was incredible and unique and I knew I could turn it into a piece of Farm Chic goodness.
I first cut 2 inches off the legs to clean it up and give it a better standing base.
I used my circular saw and set it to a 15 degree angle to cut the legs. Then I sanded it down a little to get any rough or splintered pieces of wood off and painted it Simply White by Benjamin Moore, however any color of your choice will do.  If you want to keep it rustic looking like I did, don't be perfect with the paint and leave some wood showing thru.  Next grab your favorite blanket and lay it across the top and put it in a cozy area of your home.
And you have successfully repurposed an old item that was garbage for one person, into a functional piece of furniture for your home!


The second piece was an old wooden ladder, again being tossed by someone who had no use for it.  I decided to take it apart and use the rung side as a laundry hanger in my laundry room.
After separating the rung, I sanded it down and painted it white. I kept mine rustic and used the Simply White color again.  I purchased a decorative hook from the hardware store, preferably one with an insert or molly bolt included because you may want to hang it in a spot that doesn't have a beam.
Use your power drill to make a hole a tiny bit smaller then the screw or insert. Hammer in the insert and screw in the hook.  Measure the distance between the first and last rung to determine where the 2nd hook will go.  After installing the two hooks into the ceiling, attach a rope on each end of the rung at either ends of the ladder.
Take the center of the rope and hang it from each hook.
And you instantly have a repurposed laundry hanger made out of a ladder!
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Allison Kohmann
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