The benefits of upcycling your household items

Upcycling (verb): 'Reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.'

The majority of us are looking at ways to save money and be more resourceful, but have you tried upcycling your household items?

Upcycling is a fantastic way to give your home a new look, without having to replace items.

Reupholstering cushions, or repainting and varnishing a set of drawers is an affordable way to improve your home, whilst saving money. You can also purchase affordable secondhand items from charity shops or Facebook Marketplace and give them a new lease of life, saving up to £000's than if you were to buy brand new.

Here we have combined a list of the many benefits of upcycling your household items...

Finances

When scrolling through an Instagram 'home' feed, looking at Pinterest Boards or browsing through websites such as Made.com, you will see big price tags attached to items you could possibly make yourself for a much lower cost.

If you have a furniture item which needs a bit of tlc, rather than replacing it, you will save money by putting a bit of time towards improving it's stability and look.

Fun project/hobby

Upcycling is a great pastime and a good way to develop new skills. Starting with smaller items such as a side table will be good practice before you move on to bigger items. You'll learn a lot along the way and Youtube videos/online articles will provide you with useful tips to make the projects easier and the end result better.

Adds character to your home

Upcycled projects are a good talking point when you have visitors. You can really add character to a room in just one item of furniture. Shops will often sell basic colours such as beach, pine, oak, white, black or grey wood, but if you're upcycling it yourself, what is to stop you from adding a pop of colour? You could paint a shelf unit bright orange, or add a funky wall paper to the inner wood to really give your home some personality.

A challenge to be proud of

There's something very exciting about being able to say 'I made that!' when someone compliments an upcycled item. You will put a lot of time and creativity into upcycling and the biggest reward will be knowing at the end of the finished project that you achieved this yourself.

Environmentally friendly

In 2019 the British Heart Foundation reported that a third of UK adults throw away furniture which could be recycled or reused. Upcycling furniture is a great way to help the environment by giving household items a second chance rather than sending them to waste.

Extra income stream

Once you've enhanced your basic skills, upcycling could even be a good second income stream. Many upcyclers' are making huge profits by selling on upgraded furniture items on Gumtree, eBay or Marketplace.