We are constantly being told to recycle as much of our waste as we can. Tin cans and cardboard boxes are easy enough to recycle as there are usually recycling stations dotted around town and some counties even pick your recycling up for you. What we don’t generally get asked to recycle however are the larger items. Units such as wardrobes and draws and other things like seating and doors too often end up being thrown on the tip and wasted for good. Right now people are not only watching what they spend more, but also concerning themselves with the state of the planet, so here are a few tips to aid home recycling.

Wood Items. People often throw out things like dining furniture, wardrobes and cupboards without really considering what they could be used for. You would be amazed how quickly you can make a quirky coffee table by screwing a couple of kitchen units together and taking the knobs off the doors. The best bit is that the coffee table will double up as storage space as you can just open the lid and pop stuff in. You can also use wood to make lots of little things such as door stops and chopping boards and even wine racks

Glassware. You might think that you need a kiln in order to recycle glass, but you’d be wrong. Glasses can be used to pot house plants, store knick-knacks in, and even create feature walls with if you’ve got the time to make it. If you put a little thought into it first, you need never have to throw another glass away.

Furniture. This is one of the hardest things to recycle and I’m not saying that you will be able to make tableware out of your old sofa, but sometimes there is scope to get a few more years out of items you thought were at the end of their life. Often the best place to reuse furniture is in the garden. If you take off the padding, most dining chairs can be used outside if given a good coat of varnish. You might also be able to use old carpet to kneel on whilst tending to garden or to line the floor of the shed with.