Shopping at thrift stores, secondhand boutiques and garage sales in your area is a great way to avoid buying new items – saving both cash and virgin resources. Buying secondhand also helps prevent useful items from heading to the landfill, which carries obvious environmental benefits. But, as any thrift store addict will tell you, secondhand finds can often pile up quickly before you find a way to repurpose them. To give you a helping hand in your reuse revolution, Earth911 assembled this list of 12 common thrift store finds, along with more than 100 clever and crafty ways to reuse them.
Homepage photo: Sibylle/Funkytime
1. Mason jars
Antique Mason jars are a common thrift store find with troves of potential for creative reuse.
In addition to pretty storage solutions, Mason jars can find new life as eye-catching herb gardens, lovely luminaries and even this darling sewing kit from Funkytime blogger Sibylle.
Use the DIY maven’s photo tutorial to attach a handmade pincushion to the lid of your Mason jar and add some personality with a silhouette stencil. Then, simply fill with your favorite craft goodies, and your stylish creation is ready for the sewing room.
To bring you even more stunning reuse ideas for your thrifted Mason jar stash, Earth911 raided a few of our favorite DIY blogs and uncovered some of the most fab and functional ideas on the Web.
So, break out the Mod Podge, and head to our list for a bit of inspiration.
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