24 Ideas From People Who Know How To Use Useless Stuff

Everyone knows someone in their family or in their friendships that is one of those thrifty Macgyver-types.

Picture this: you’re visiting an Uncle that you haven’t seen in a while and he invites you to check out his back deck. Hanging in the tree are all of your old high school trophies that you thought you sold months ago at a yard sale. What are the old rusty trophies doing now? Why, your Uncle has repurposed them into birdfeeders! Suddenly you wished you had kept them for a similar use, but then you remember that you’d have a backyard full of junky old rusty trophies… but you have to admire his creativity.

There’s always that one person who figures out a use for something that might seem completely mundane, which actually ends up being quite ingenious or useful. The following 24  images are of various objects that might seem completely useless to the naked eye, but when given to a creative person they take on an entirely new purpose!

1) Plastic Bottle Repurpose: This avid cyclist knows what’s up. They have taken an old 2L plastic bottle and recycled it to a completely new purpose. This is now a splash guard which should ensure that the cyclist’s clothes are completely dry and free from mud in the event of a rainfall! Remarkable!

Reddit

2) Backyard Lounge Chair: We can’t say we’d particularly want this in our backyards, but you have to admire this person for their ingenuity. They have taken an old grocery store shopping cart and turned it into a backyard lounge chair. Seems ridiculous, but when you think about it, they’re rust resistant and have their own wheels! Wow!

3) Makeshift Hookah: This person made a Hookah out of completely spare parts. Perhaps hookahs are expensive or this person decided to just believe they could do it. We love the use of a curtain rod as the inner tube portion. We’re completely confused, however, why is this person resting the Hookah on an HP laptop?

4) Makeshift BBQ: Don’t have a nice BBQ lying around? Can’t afford a brand new Grill? Miss your parent’s outdoor stove? Well, have no fear! All you need are some coals, tin foil, and a large can. Cut the can in rays, peel them down, and place any grill type on the can.

Reddit

5) Jack Daniel’s Lights: This is such a fun idea for a Bar or Home Decor. All you need are 7 empty bottles of Jack Daniel’s (sounds like fun!) some metal piping, and a lighting kit. Spray paint the pipes black, clean out your bottles, then rig up the electrical lighting kit through the piping. Once you hook this up to your ceiling, voila!

6) The Crocodile: Notice anything unusual about this plastic croc? Why that’s because it’s made entirely out of old computer mice! This is such a fun idea, and a great way to repurpose old tech. This would work great in an office. How many different custom creatures do you think you could make? The possibilities are endless.

7) Kitchen Lampshades: The idea of using old cheese graters as lamp shades is absolutely ingenious. You could also do the same thing with old tin cans by poking holes through them. Or any galvanized surface for that matter. However, these cheese grater lampshades take the cake. They’d look great in any home or even a restaurant. We do recommend, however, to lose the fake ivy.

8) Suit of Armor: That’s one way to reuse some old tires! In an era where old rubber tires are a nuisance on the environment, it’s great to see someone putting them to good use, rather than dumping them in a landfill. This would be a fun addition to a paintball team or a LARP group.

9) Tennis Rackets: Have one of your parents’ old tennis rackets lying around the house? This is a great way to put it to good use for a long time. Remove the old plastic string lining from the inside, measure out the circumference of the racket, then bring it to a glass cutter. They will cut the exact size necessary to fit the racket and then you’re left with a great wall decoration.

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10) Secret IT fridge: Have an old computer base unit that you aren’t using anymore? Do you work in IT and enjoy drinking on the job? Well have I got news for you! They’ve turned this computer base unit into a makeshift fridge. So now it looks like an important piece of hardware but you can secretly keep your brewskis cold on the job!

Imgur

11) Repurposed Spoons: Have a drawer filled with old spoons that you no longer use? Did you recently replace all of your cutlery and need a use for what’s leftover? Simply wire the spoons together and wrap them around a lighting kit. They make instant lights, and the silver in the cutlery make a great reflective surface.

12) Old Washing Machine: Do you have an old broken down washing machine? The barrel inside makes a fantastic outdoor fireplace. The head that radiates from the drum comes out through the perforations in the metal. It might not look pretty but it’s a lot of fun, isn’t it? Fantastic!

13) Makeshift Lantern: You’re sitting at home when the power suddenly goes out. You don’t have any kind of flashlights around or general illumination. All you need is a styrofoam cup and the flashlight on your phone! This makes an excellent makeshift lantern that can light up even the darkest rooms.

14) Old Drums: Do you have an old broken down drum kit stuffed away in your parents’ basement? Drums make an amazing decorative light fixture for any old room! This would also make an amazing decoration for any music studio, or music store wouldn’t it? Simply wire up a lighting kit, place the bulbs inside the drum, and voila!

15) Cutting Corners: We absolutely love this idea! If you’re anything like us, you want to carry as many bags of groceries to your house without making multiple trips. Use an old Carabiner clip to carry multiple bags without slicing open your fingers with those tight plastic handles! Absolutely amazing idea!

16) Nintendo Masonry: If you have an old Super Nintendo or gaming system you’re no longer using, can you think of any other uses for it that might seem nifty? Well, this brick mason certainly thought so! Here is a Super-Nintendo used as an old brick to fill in the gap of this wall. Unconventional but fun.

17) Funnel Fun!: There’s are always such fun and seemingly infinite amounts of ideas you can do with old antiques. This person found an ingenious use of old metal funnels used for the kitchen and turned them into candlestick holders. It’s a nice touch for any kitchen table and would make a great centerpiece.

18) Toilet Paper Rolls: Not just for craft time anymore, there are a lot of different uses now for old cardboard toilet paper rolls. This person found a way to organize all the extension cords and cables in his house by wrapping them neatly, then stuffing them inside the roll. You could even label each roll for a specific area or use around the house!

19) Shoe-Cycle: This wouldn’t make the easiest or smoothest bicycle ride in your life, but if you’re looking to make a splash at an outdoor festival or parade, this is a hilarious reuse of some old shoes. Imagine attending burning man, and this shoe-cycle starts making its rounds? Absolutely hysterical.

20) Clock Gear Lamp: This dazzling use of old mechanical clock gears makes for an astounding lamp shade. Beautiful when illuminated or on its own, this is definitely a dramatic light source that functions both as art and as a light. Just think of how many different clocks had to donate these old gears to make this work.

21) Nintendo Music: This is seriously the best use of an old game console we can think of. This person took an old Nintendo Entertainment System and refurbished it to house an electric guitar. One can only hope that this person also plays as many famous Nintendo songs as possible on their new guitar.

22) Old Tire Planters: Definitely not the prettiest function, but a wonderful use of tires nonetheless. These would look great in a more rusty, country setting than anywhere else. Instead of throwing old tires away, why not fill them with dirt, hang them on the wall, and plant some flowers in them? Fun!

23) Dino Flower Pots: Succulent plants can grow in almost any environment or surface. Drilling a hole in your old dinosaur toys that aren’t getting played with anymore can give them new life and meaning. Collect a bunch of these toys, cut a hole in the back, fill them with soil and plant your succulent!

24) Soda Sofa: This is easily one of the ugliest things we’ve ever seen, but to a FRAT BRO this is probably the greatest thing they’ve ever seen. Likely the invention of some clever college roommate, this sofa looks like it’s got a few stories to tell. What do you think? Do you want a Soda-Sofa in your living room?

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