We’ve had an email from Sharon:

We’ve got a ton of old paintbrushes. They’ve gone stiff and hard. Any suggestions?

If the brushes have gone hard because they weren’t cleaned properly, you might still be able to revive them by giving them a good clean with turps or the like. Failing that, or if they were clean to start with, apparently a ten minute soak in some hot white vinegar can revive ones used for water-based paints (soak it then wash it out with soap and warm water and leave to air dry).

Even if you don’t get them back to perfect softness needed for a nice, smooth paint job, once clean, they can be used for cleaning hard-to-reach areas around the house or on a car’s dashboard – in fact a little stiffness might help them getting into tiny nooks and crannies easier.

Charities that collect leftover paint for redistribution in the community also might be interested in them.

Any other suggestions?

We’ve had an email from “The Hirst”:

We put wooden floor down and have about two boxes left over. The shop won’t taken them back because we opened all the packs by mistake and it’s not worth ebaying them because it would be enough for a full room or whatever. Can’t burn them because they’re MDF and laminate but I don’t want to just sling them into landfill. Any other options?

Don’t under estimate what people will buy on eBay – and to a greater extent, what people will use if given it on Freecycle. Two packs might be enough for a small bathroom or an narrow hallway.

If it was just a few slats though, and you didn’t want to keep them for spares, I bet you could do some fun things with them.

My father-in-love has mentioned people using it to make wood-effect table tops and I suspect there are loads of other places where you could use it in place of real wood in crafts/woodwork – it would create a strange but fun effect to have a number of different items in the same room (clocks, table-tops, coasters, picture frames, hell, pictures) made from the same pattern of wood.

Also, unless it’s really thick (and most of the laminate I’ve seen isn’t), it would make an awesome hardback cover for a notepad too.

Any other suggestions?

(Photo by Enoch Lai

We’ve had an email from Abby:

got lots of ice cube trays. don’t know where they all came from since we hardly ever make ice! ideas?

To speak like a marketeer for a moment, you have to think outside the box. Or outside the cube as it is in this case.

Don’t just think about freezing water, lots of other things freeze well and are useful in cube size quantities. I’ve made frozen grated fresh ginger in the past – to stop it going off before we could use it and also because it’s useful for dropping in stuff – and I know other people make concentrated stock cubes too. Any other cool things to freeze in cube shapes?

Other than that, the little compartments would be great for sorting beads, or small screws or the like. Novelty shapes could be fun jelly moulds too. Ooh, the square ones could make jelly bricks and imagine the construction fun!

Any other ideas?

(Photo by Prattflora

We’ve had another email from Agata:

Hey, it’s me once again :P I love jewelry: bangles, charms, earrings, bracelets, broaches and so on. Do you have any ideas, what can I transform into this bling-bling stuff?

I already know about waterbottle beads and paper beads, but what else?

As I’ve said before, I love fun, DIY jewellery too – making it as much as wearing it.

I’m not sure whether Agata is asking for ways to transform/revamp old jewellery or make new stuff so ideas for both are welcome.

My favourite earrings at the moment are ones I made from salvaged buttons – the buttons dangle on wires but I’ve made small buttons into cute studs before too.

I also love Jane Eldershaw’s junk jewellery and the great stuff Alison Bailey Smith makes out of old wire from televisions.

As for renovating old stuff, I’ve got a wooden bangle that’s a lovely shape but has got a weird pattern on it – that’s ripe for wrapping in wire (just as soon as I find some suitable stuff), and I’m always taking apart old necklaces to salvage their beads for new projects.

I suspect this is a pretty wide topic and it comes down to personal aesthetics in the end about what you make but what’s your favourite thing to recycle into jewellery (or beads etc)?

(Oh, and Agata: once you’ve made all your new stuff, you might want to check out this post: how to make jewellery organisers by recycling stuff?)

(Photo by sloopjohnb)

We’ve had an email from Helen:

Hi, I cleared out my work’s first aid kit this morning and found all the bandages are out of date (no longer guaranteed sterile). We’re replacing them for safety reasons but I wondered what we could do with the old ones since they’re still in their packages just no longer sterile.

If it was at home, I’d be tempted to keep them around for times when sterility isn’t an issue (for example, just providing support to a sprain or something) but I can understand in the workplace, where numerous people might be using the kit, that might cause confusion and problems later on.

I remember using a number of different shaped bandages when I did my first aider training – I wonder if there are any groups that could use them for that purpose (am I right in thinking Scouts/Guides do some basic first aid training? Could they use them?).

As for a sillier idea, someone could use them to make an awesome mummy costume next Halloween.

Any other suggestions? Is re-sterilising them a possibility (at an industrial level if not a household one)?