The Art of Repurposing
Giving things you love, but no longer need, a new lease on life
Hi everyone,
In the spirit of repurposing, I thought it would be fun, and maybe even illuminating, to create a little end-of-summer series where I roll out a few of the more popular posts from the past year.
Like the piece below that I had so much fun creating.
In my experience with clearing journeys, there are benefits to circling back around: revisiting a concept, idea, or tool that may have inspired us (or even mystified us). As we change, so does our outlook and our ability to take in information in a new way. May that be so with this series.
What is something that could use a fresh look in your home or life? What have you repurposed in your home that could inspire us all?
Ahhh 🏡
The Art of Repurposing
Giving things you love, but no longer really need, a new lease on life
For those of you who have read my books or taken my courses, you probably know my simple rule of thumb to determine if something is clutter or not:
If you don’t love it, it’s clutter.
If you don’t need or use it, also clutter.
If you do love or use it but it doesn’t have a home (as in: a dedicated place for it to live): sorry, clutter.
Pretty simple, of course, until you get stuck on those snaggy gray-area situations like this one:
Those things you still love (really love, can’t let go of, “reminds me of…”) but have no home for.
Technically still clutter.
But if we gave it new home, gave it a new lease on life, gave it a new reason for being…
even beautiful.
Not clutter.
It was cartoonist Liza Donnelly’s humorous take on the multiple uses of yoga blocks that got me musing — thinking of ways I’ve repurposed beloved objects in my own home. It also led me on a hunt through my travel archives for photos that show how others have repurposed or made art out of found objects.
So I put together a few images and ideas below for your consideration. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to think outside the box, have a little fun, and maybe share some of your favorite repurposing ideas in the comments thread.
The last one (a 7-second video clip), granted, is over the top. But if you love it and it floats your boat… who are we to get in the way?
Ahhh 🏡
PICTURE THESE (with a wink and smile)
Ways to take things you love to a whole new level…
Got lots of one thing? Hang them together…
Or place them together in such a way that you can see and appreciate them, as I did with my beloved matchbook collection gathered from years of travel…
There’s always the turn the old bathtub into a planter trick…
Got an old ironing board? Turn it into a console table (when covered, it hides nicely behind a sofa) and makes a great place to put your house plants. We did it for years. (No photo available.)
Bring the outdoors in by adding a decorative feature, like this antique shutter we placed in front of our kitchen window…
Too big to move? Work with it.
Too much “beloved” stuff? Roll with it… 😜
Feeling blocked (as it were)? Repurposing old yoga blocks (or just moving them around) could do the trick. 😉
In case you missed it
The basket wall makes me smile!