Category: Thrifty Things

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Earth Day DIY Round-Up: Rethink, Repurpose, Recraft!

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We can do more than just Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—we can help the environment and ourselves by “upcycling” things we can no longer reuse.  Plastic grocery bags with too many holes become crinkly stuffing for cat toys.  A sad, old pillow is transformed into a pet bed.  A funky, old candy dish on a pedestal becomes a fancy, raised water bowl.  Try using your imagination before you go out to buy new things for your pets.  You might already have something around the house that will work as well or better than something new.  Save money, help save the planet!

Some of my favorite DIY projects that Rethink, Repurpose, Recraft!

Beds & Furniture:

 

Clothing:

 

Poop:

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DIY: Pet Bed Made From Table

I love this pet bed made from an old side table! It reminds me of the suitcase beds I wrote about previously.  More great repurposing of an old object.  Depending on the size of the table, you can make one for a cat or a dog.

Ki Nassauer over at Junk Camp shows how it’s done.  First you need an old side table—look for one with interesting leg details, flip that sucker over, add some touches (finials, a headboard made from trim, feet), paint, and add a cushion or an old pillow and you’ve got a clever new pet bed.  Awesome!

Instructables also has a tutorial inspired by this project. An important tip—use primer before you paint.  Your life will be happier!  Also, you can make feet for the bed from wood scraps or you can buy feet at a building supply store.

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Thrifty Things: Towels & Bowls

I’ve written before about some of the great things you can find for your pets at thrift stores & garage sales and I was reminded today just how much money you can save by recycling or repurposing things you find at thrift stores.

A bunch of the towels we use on the cats & dog had become pretty ragged & threadbare, but the towels we use for ourselves are still too nice to be relegated to the pets. I wasn’t about to go buy new towels for the 4 legged creatures, so I checked my favorite thrift store and found 4 thick bath towels for under $8 total, which is about the cost of one new towel.

I also needed a couple of glass bowls for water and found good sized Pyrex bowls for under $5 total that will be perfect. Pyrex is thick and pretty rugged so these bowls won’t get chipped or cracked.  Sweet!

Here are some of the other things I’d try to find at a thrift store or garage sale before I bought them new:

  1. pet crates (This is probably the best bargain you’ll find. Crates can be pretty pricey ($20-150+), but I see them in all sizes pretty regularly at my favorite thrift store.)
  2. bird cages
  3. glass aquariums
  4. stainless steel pet bowls
  5. Habitrail components
  6. kitty condos (you could recover it pretty easily with carpet remnants and a staple gun)
  7. storage bins with lids (for storing toys or to make your own awesome litterbox)
  8. blankets for pet beds
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