Advertisement

How to upcycle household waste into stunning home decor pieces

Watch: How to upcycle your Amazon cardboard boxes into handy household items

Yahoo Lifestyle is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

With the amount of online shopping we’re all doing to avoid cramped and crowded spaces during the pandemic, many of us are stuck with heaps of cardboard boxes from online retailers, not to mention all the tins and jars knocking around from back when non-perishable food was like gold dust.

Many of us have more household waste from simply being at home more, be it working from home, cooking more or doing home based activities.

Chelsey Bowen is a DIY and craft YouTuber and has some handy tips and tricks on how to upcycle items such as cardboard boxes and tin cans rather than chucking them in the bin or the recycling.

She says: “Let’s face it, recently we’ve all been doing a little bit more online shopping and with online shopping it means we get more cardboard boxes.”

“I take old, used things and upcycle them or I take things that are destined for the rubbish bin and turn them into home decor pieces that you would be proud to have in your home.”

Watch: Crafty hacks to upcycle your old tin cans and turn them into cute home decor masterpieces

Chelsey shows us how to turn ugly cardboard boxes taking up much needed space into chic house decorations and storage solutions.

From an elegant toilet roll holder that looks like it cost you a pretty penny, to a homemade cactus decoration to spice up your bookshelf, all made from unwanted cardboard boxes.

She also gives us inspiration into ways we can make used tin cans into super handy plant pots and cosy candle holders that look like they belong in a hipster coffee shop serving matcha tea and courgette cake.

As the climate change crisis becomes more and more urgent, and as winter approaches promising long nights and chilly days, what better time to get creative at home and find a way to do your bit for the planet while saving yourself a few bob too.

Chelsey’s gorgeous ideas are so simple and easy to recreate, she makes the less crafty of us feel reassured that even we can get stuck in and upgrade our homes for close to nothing.

The star of the show is definitely the hot glue gun, so if you don’t have one you might want to think about nabbing one on Amazon here.

Buy it: Hot Glue Gun | £10.99 from Amazon

Chelsey’s glue gun is an adorable baby pink one but they come in all different colours and sizes, and they are quite the essential when it comes to DIY’ing your home into a spectacular show of creativity and colour.

The acrylic paint she swears by also features heavily in her quirky designs as well as paint pens which make drawing your own designs and improvising patterns a doddle with minimal mess.

Buy it: Paint Pens | £13.59 from Amazon

However, be sure to crack a window open while using the paints and glue to keep the room you’re in nice and fresh to avoid any unwanted headaches.

As Chelsey says: “Get out those cardboard boxes, get the tape out, the hot glue gun, get the scissors out, let’s go go go!”

More of Chelsey’s ingenious ideas can be found on her YouTube channel.

Watch: Three easy ways to make DIY face masks using upcycled fabrics