Recycling and re-using is a great concept but usually not the most glamorous of things to do.

We would rather buy disposable ware or new containers than recycle old jam jars with half peeled labels. Even most of our neighbourhood kopitiams (coffeeshops) are no longer serving us coffee in a recycled milk tins. So mostly,‘re-use’ is being relegated to childrens’ school projects like making propeller boats out of PET bottles or robots out of used cereal boxes.

But what if we could re-use items without looking like it was something the cat dragged in, and still keep up the glam? To do my part for the earth, I scoured the web and even tried my hand at some projects that would hopefully help us be a bit more green and thrifty.

#1 Days of the Week Clothes Label

This is a little project that I’ve done based on an idea that I read a while back. To live a little more effectively in 2011, I’ve decided to cut the stress of figuring out what to wear each morning and pre-plan my wardrobe at the beginning of each week.

Days of the week hanger tags

These nifty little “Days of the Week” labels are made of CD blanks. Presumably to protect the actual disks, these are the unusable blank disks can be found at the top and bottom of each spindle of blank disks.

Materials needed: two disk blanks for each day of the week, A4 coloured printouts, or pictures from magazines, some ribbons.

Using Photoshop or PowerPoint, design and print on regular A4 paper (recycled of course) the days of the week. If you like it to be reversible, print two pieces for each day of the week. Alternatively, you can scout pictorial magazines for nice pictures. The size should be at least 12cm x 12cm in size. Now use your disk as a stencil to trace the circumference and centre of the disk. Cut about 1mm within the outline so the paper doesn’t protrude out of the disk when glued. Using Spraymount or clear paper glue, stick the paper in between the two disks. Tie a ribbon through the hole of the disk and hang it on your hanger. Your Day of the Week Clothes labels are now ready for use!

#2 Individual PET Green House

In tropical Singapore, we may not need to protect plants from the cold winter but this useful little craft is still applicable for fragile plants or seedlings that we want to keep away from the elements.

Materials needed: A PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottle

Find a colourless PET bottle that gives enough space for air to circulate around your plant. Remove the label so you get to view your plant. Using a cutter, remove the base of your PET bottle. Now, cut some ‘windows’ on the walls of the bottle. Depending of what you need to shelter your plant from, cut the sizes of your windows to suit. If you’re protecting your plant from the cold, cut small slits to allow just enough air to come through. For hotter climates, cut larger slits above the height of the plant that allow air to flow through without letting in too much draft that could weaken the seedling.

Once done, push the PET bottle into the soil with your plant in the centre. Make sure you don’t destroy the roots of the plant.

#3 Recycled Vinyl Record Dish

I saw this once in a concept store and thought it looked pretty awesome. The price was also pretty ‘awesome’ so I never bought it. Then I found this video on how to make my own. Here’s to the comeback of my uncle’s Elvis Presley record collection!

How to Turn a Used Vinyl Record into a Bow

#4 PET Bottle Base Decorations

Remember the plastic bottle base that we cut out to make the Individual PET Green House? Hang on to enough of these and you can make your own chandelier, screen or lampshade.  The trick is to sand down the edges with fine gauge sandpaper to smoothen the edges and bring out the clarity of the plastic. Without practice or a massive bottle collection, we might never get as good as Michelle Brand designer of beautiful home and décor pieces out of plastic bottle bases, but we could certainly aspire!

#5 Disposable Chopsticks Soap Rack

I’m not a big fan of soap (disclaimer: I do like cleanliness but prefer to use shower gel) especially after it gets icky and soft after a couple of uses. I don’t like to clean soap dishes either since they tend to collect muck and fungus. A soap dish made of disposable chopsticks is open to customisation and helps to keep soap airy and dry. If the rack gets dirty, just make a new used one!

Materials needed: Disposable chopsticks or any other sticks, colourfast yarn

Tie chopsticks with string to form a stable base for your soap. There are no set instructions for this project. Play architect. Experiment with the sticks or colourful yarn to get optimum stability and aesthetics within the space you have on your sink counter.

Here’s one made as proof of concept from leftover satay sticks from my last BBQ and a wine cork I found on the table.

This is an elaborate sold version: http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/recycled-chopsticks-soap-dish

#6 Deconstructing Tees

If you’ve got a whole wardrobe full of unworn T-shirts, here are a couple of projects to help spark some new wardrobe makeover.

Italian fashion label Compai gives precise instructions on turning a plain white T-shirt into an edgy dressy tank top.

T-Shirt cutting Adam Saaks style − this takes practice so you might want to start out with something a little cheaper than Ed Hardy and check out similar tutorials on Youtube for practice.

Adam Saaks cuts in Stockholm, Sweden

T-Shirt Underwear − display your T-shirt prints on your bottoms. Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to re-make old T-shirts into underwear.

#7 Envelope Accordion Organiser

Since Christmas is just over, I thought this would be a great and nice way to re-use the used envelopes. It’ll also help you to get organised for the new year ahead.

http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/howto/ideas/envaccordion.html

#8 Recycled Glass Chandelier

For tropical Singapore, this is definitely a chandelier that will glam up any BBQ. Made out of a metal grill (you can use a clean BBQ grill too), chains and recycled mini glass jars (from yogurt or baby food), the flickering candlelight will keep the romance burning while keeping the fire safe from drafts and other flammable surfaces.

http://www.casasugar.com/DIY-Recycled-Glass-Chandelier-2463904

#9 Milk Container Carriers

Seeing as my household drinks 1–2 containers of milk per week, this is definitely something we can look forward to making very soon. These containers are lightweight and clean yet tough enough to withstand a kid’s abuse.

http://www.recyclart.org/2010/07/diy-brilliant-pencils/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Recyclart+(Recyclart)

#10 Disk Spindle Wire Rollers

Here’s an idea that doesn’t even require any crafting or creativity and will hopefully help you sort through your techie other half’s mess of wires. This will leave you more clear spaces to beautify your home with.

http://www.recyclart.org/2011/01/diy-what-to-do-with-empty-cddvd-spindles/

Do you have  any recycling tips to share? Feel free to comment below!

* Karang Guni: Malay phrase for gunny sack; local slang for a rags and bone person.