Have you ever imagined what you could make from recycled wood?
When I was a child some of my happiest times were spent with my friends building a wagon,
a scooter, a treehouse or even a secret clubhouse with the wood from new appliance packaging?
Getting our hands on old pieces of wood provided countless hours of fun and fancy for us.
Do you recall similar experiences?
Have you ever had a pile of old wood from a project and wondered what to do with it?
Don’t toss it or waste it!
Reuse it!
There are significant benefits to be gained from reusing reclaimed or recovered wood.
According to GreenBusinessWatch:
“We live in a world of diminishing natural resources, over-forestation and environmental concerns. Using reclaimed wood helps to preserve our forests by reducing the need for virgin timber. Generally, processing this wood has less impact on the environment than felling, transporting and processing new lumber and the varieties recovered can include those not available naturally.
The benefits are not just confined to helping the environment. Reclaimed timber is often from very old structures and vessels which were formed of wood from mature trees….One of the most important aspects of reclaimed timber is its character. Every section has a story and no two pieces are identical, giving depth and unique character to anything fashioned from the wood.”
Sources for Recycled and Reclaimed Lumber
*Old buildings, barns, factories, and warehouses–good sources for oak, chestnut and pine
*Railway sleepers, fences and storage vessels like wine barrels, beer casks and pickling containers
*Old shipping pallets which are often made from exotic hardwoods
*Recovered lumber from trees which have toppled over, died naturally or fallen into rivers
Have you ever made your own playthings or furnishings from discarded wood?
It’s not too late to start now.
Make Your Own Furnishings from Recycled Wood
From a bench to a table to a sofa, here are five ideas for furnishings that you can make with
recycled wood courtesy of Jarrimber, a maker of furniture from recycled wood.
“Shared on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday”
“Shared at the MMM Link Party”
“Shared on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Ideas”
SkipTheBag
Love this! In high school my shop teacher was always impressed that, as a girl (this is how he put it – pretty old school, eh?) I was able to create such straight corners and well-plained surfaces. Alas, that was the last time I worked with wood, but these ideas are great! Thanks for sharing this on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, I’ve pinned it.
I lmake home accents out of reclaimed wood. Great tips on where to find old wood!
Hi Allison,
I am happy to hear that you like to work with reclaimed wood. Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it.
Great tips! I just moved to a new place and I found some old pallets in the basement. Your post gave me some good ideas on recycling them. I now have a great couch project to do and decided not to buy a new one, but to do it myself. Thank you for the ideas. It’s much better to recycle some items then throwing them out. Greets!
Hi Rachel,
I hope you publish and post your recycled couch project. We would love to see it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I appreciate it.