How to make the most of recycled materials for your home DIY projects

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When it comes to home DIY, using recycled materials can be a good idea for many reasons. Here is how you can incorporate recycled materials into your home DIY projects.

Why should you use recycled materials for your DIY projects?

By doing this you can give materials another life. Of course, using recycled materials is an excellent contribution to the environment and can reduce landfill problems, since it reduces waste.

But the costs are also an important factor that can make you decide to reuse materials for your next project. Since buying new materials such as fabric or wood can be very expensive and you may not even use the leftovers, buying second-hand materials can be a good option, since they are cheaper than new ones.

You may find other creative people who enjoy working on DIY projects are willing to sell their spare parts. Using spare parts is often free, since many people would like to get rid of them and don’t mind helping people with their own projects.

How can recycled materials be used?

Source the materials. Search for things like scrap metal in your home or in a shop that may have some unwanted leftovers that they could offer you for free.

A real-life example demonstrates how valuable reclaimed materials can be is the U.S. company Sons of Sawdust. When Matt, Ben and Shayna Hobbs first started building farm tables to sell online, they decided to use reclaimed wood for the process. Since Ben’s former colleague is part of a demolition crew, he had access to a large amount of wood and other valuable materials for free. Together the three were able to create a successful business with low start-up costs.

Other options are to recycle plants, ask friends for old materials or to buy cheap recycled materials.

Sort through your materials

Sort through what can be used and what can’t. Is the material structurally sound? Is it safe to use? Can you find any mould on it?  Is it strong enough for your application? If its wood – is it dry enough?

Repair

Not all recycled materials will be perfect. However, you can do your best to fix them and make them usable. For example, you can use a hydraulic press to straighten bent metal and return it to its original shape ready to be used.

Use

Always double check when using recycled materials in your home DIY project. Make sure it is safe for use inside and can be used for the application needed. You could even use a mix of new and recycled materials. This also helps cut costs and reduce waste.

Now that you know how to use and find recycled materials it’s time to get creative. You may even start small and build a much larger project such as a whole cabin over time.

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