My boyfriend loves to get me flowers but not the live ones. I specifically told him I don’t really like those because they die and then I’m left with no flowers. But with the “plastic” ones, I get to see them every morning, every day. They don’t fade, they don’t wilt, and honestly, they brighten my space in their own way.
These flowers always come wrapped in nylon and without a vase. So recently, I decided to get a vase for one of them. It looked really nice and it made me so happy to see the flowers properly arranged. But then came the dilemma, I didn’t want to put both flowers into the same vase. I wanted them to have their own little homes.
That’s when the DIY part of me kicked in.
For this week’s Wasteless Wednesday prompt , I thought I’d share what I did.
I took an empty plastic bottle of water, cut it into halves, and threw away the top part. For the bottom half, I remembered I had these flowery cloth designs lying around. Honestly, I’ve had them at home for the longest time and never knew what to use them for. My first idea was to paint the bottle with nail polish (because yes, I have lots of polish just sitting around too). But then I realized the cloth design would be better for two reasons:
- They were just lying around anyway, so this would finally give them a purpose.
- They looked more design-ish and gave off a prettier vibe.
So I grabbed my glue, pasted the cloth all over the bottle, and watched as this ordinary plastic transformed into something worth showing off. After that, I filled the bottom with stones (to give it weight so it wouldn’t tip over) and then arranged the flowers neatly inside.
The end result? A simple DIY vase that looked unique, pretty, and had a story behind it.
Now, to tie this back to the prompt.
Re-purposing old items has slowly become part of my life. If this were ten years ago, I would’ve thrown out that plastic bottle without thinking twice. I mean, it’s just trash, right? But now, I think twice before tossing anything out. I look at it and ask, “Can this be used for something else?” It doesn’t always work out, but when it does, it feels really good. I also watch DIY videos a lot although more than half the time, they never work for me.
I love DIY but DIY doesn't love me.
Anyway, for me, wasting less isn’t just about being eco-friendly or saving the environment (though that’s definitely important). It’s also about being creative with what I already have, making use of things instead of always running to buy something new. It’s about training my mind to see possibility in what seems useless.
I think wastefulness comes from a place of convenience. It’s easier to throw something out and replace it than to pause and reimagine its use. But when we take that pause, when we get a little creative, we often surprise ourselves with what we come up with. Plus it's fun anyway.
My tiny vase might not win an art award, lol, but every time I see it, it reminds me of how simple choices can shift our mindset. And it's just really cool that I didn't eventually throw those flowery cloth patterns away.
So yeah, that’s my little repurposing story for this week. Waste less, live more, and give your “trash” a second chance. Thank you.