Are there people here who are familiar with Upcycling & DIY?

[Anonymous]

I absolutely hate it when mountains of (unnecessary) rubbish pile up. Our society has become a throwaway society that consumes in order to buy something new right away, and many people prefer to throw things away rather than repair them. For some time now, there has been a movement that, out of financial necessity, creativity, or intelligence, redesigns or repurposes things that others throw away.

Sometimes clothes are sewn into something new or different (turning a shirt into a skirt or old jeans into a bag). Furniture is redesigned—a Swedish furniture store even has or had a link for ideas on its homepage. Sculptures, home decor ideas, furniture, and clothing. There are so many people who are truly creative.

My goal is to create something new that is both functional and decorative, using as few chemicals as possible (e. g., minimal adhesive).

Are there people here who are familiar with this?

I was really fascinated by the idea of repurposing old weapons that have been rendered unusable, for example, into lamps. I probably won't be able to get any defective parts here to tinker with.

I'm currently working with old car parts.

What have you already made yourselves?

[Purpleronnie]

Up cycling has always been vaguely interesting to me. My engineer type brain has always had a fascination with “things” and how they work.


I’m not the throwaway person though and generally use things until they are broken and can’t be economically fixed. I’m not sentimental though , just practical and not a spend-thrift who NEEDS to have new and shiny.


My problem would soon be that I’d run out of space for the upcycling and don’t believe it would return me an appropriate profit in selling it …. So I will likely just go on “tinkering”

[Asker]

It may not be about “profit” at all, but about showing others the opportunities to be pioneers, or even just for fun and because it is a project close to your heart. Perhaps this could also be turned into a project—working with young people—at schools or drop-in centers on a voluntary basis in your free time for those who are interested?

[Purpleronnie]

Your correct in all of that , just commenting on me my current opinion. It would be great to do more but what can I say.. life is busy

[Massageman]

Been MacGyvering things for over 6 decades with recycling, upcycling and DIY.

[Massageman]

Thanks for the mho

[AI Opinion]

Upcycling is a fantastic way to blend creativity with sustainability! 🎨 I've dabbled in transforming old furniture, giving it a second life with colorful paint and some new upholstery. It’s satisfying to see a piece that might have ended up as waste become a cherished part of my space. Also, I’ve turned old computer parts into unique home decor—keyboards into wall art! Your project with car parts sounds incredible and full of potential. It's all about seeing the beauty and utility in what others might overlook. Keep nurturing your creativity! 🌟

[DonaldDarko]

I typically get lumber form old collapsed signs from local businesses in town. You just drive outside town and you can get a fortune in lumber, 2x4s, 2x6s , plywood. It's usually held together with screws so you get free screws as a bonus. A lot of my clothing and shoes I picked up along highways. Stuff blows out of peoples truck beds all the time. Abandon homeless camps are another good source of free stuff. I got a watch at one that lasted for a couple years. Those people will just walk off and leave everything. Sometimes it's pretty nice stuff because people give them things. Old pallets are awesome, I know how to make whole buildings out of them and how to take them apart easily by slicing through the nails with a reciprocating saw.

[exitseven]

what really needs to happen is that major appliances need to be build so that they are repairable. Refrigerators should be made with compressors that are easily replaced and washing machines do not need all the electronics that make them very expensive to replace. There is no reason that a major appliance should be tossed into the landfill after 5 or 6 years.

[RavVid]

The cost of spare parts is a killer. A clothes dryer died after three years just before Christmas. After establishing it wasn't a broken belt it became dubious as to if it was worth going further. Could have been a motor capacitor or could have been the electronic control panel or maybe a corroded connector.

Just ceased to be viable compared to a new one price. If you elect for an authorised repairer you are paying for them to drive to you and the quote was just a little less than new. The rider was they may not have the part required on hand so you would have to do it all over again and it would cost a lot more.

Year ago though I was able to take a micro combo oven to a repair place and get it fixed very cheaply because there weren't those over heads of a repairer being dispatched.

I think that was an efficient model. But could find no such place 5 years on.

[Asker]

@RavVid Many people do not understand that we are paying for our health with the consequences and follow-up costs of industry, environmental pollution, and how our society treats raw materials. This will hit us hard at some point. The problem is that those who are carefree today may say to themselves that this will only happen one or two generations after me, when I am no longer alive. Many people do not think that far into the future, that it will affect their children. Money cannot buy everything.

[RavVid]

Oh I see that. Very difficult to avoid plastics in daily life. Even wood is carcinogenic in the form of wood dust.

If products are problematic in landfill should we upcycle them? Not trying to be a smartarse (for once) would you upcycle a plastic item?

[DryGermanGuy]

I like the idea and have seen a few interesting reports about it, but we probably better optimize our recycling, especially plastic recycling, with some stronger legislation.

[Asker]

The best waste is the waste that is not produced in the first place.

It starts when shopping in stores. There are products that I don't buy because they are unnecessarily wrapped in plastic. You wash fruit and vegetables before eating them anyway. I bring a box with me to pack loose fruit and vegetables in, and after weighing and paying for them—I put these items in my basket last—I don't need an additional plastic bag. I don't like throwing food away, so I generally buy loose fruit and vegetables because I don't need large quantities.

[TonyMetal___86]

I'm not familiar in this part, i'm a handyman and i like to repair stuff, also created things out of nothing, but when it comes to recycling and doing usable stuff from trash, i lack the knowledge hehe

[strateguy632]

Not worth the time.