Did you know most scrap wood leftovers end up in landfills? While wood is biodegradable, most wood used in DIY household projects is chemically treated. When this type of wood is sent to the trash, chemicals can leak into the ground and eventually the water table.
If you have leftover scrap wood from that remodel you did last summer, or from the reclaimed wood headboard you created for your bedroom, don't throw it away. Use it to make something unique and beautiful. Here are some fun ideas to get you started.
This is an easy project that you can have done in no time but will add a rustic charm to your home for years to come. It just takes three scrap pieces to make the wall plate, support piece, and shelf. You can use your sconces to hold candles, showcase favorite knickknacks, or even show off your green thumb with small plants like succulents. These sconces also make great gifts for family and friends.
A great project for 4x4 or 2x4 scrap wood, tea light candle holders make beautiful gifts or can add to your décor. You'll need a spade drill bit to create the hole for the tea lights and paint if you want colorful candle holders. If you want a more rustic feel, you can stain the wood. Either way, this is a fun project that will have friends and family asking where they can find their own candle holders.
This is the perfect project for the person who is always losing their keys. Two wood planks, four screws, three super magnets, some wood glue and a drill make up the materials you'll need to create a DIY key holder.
The magnets go on the bottom of the shelf to hold your keys, and you can put just about anything on the shelf, like your wallet or sunglasses. You could even put a small bowl on the shelf to hold spare change. If your keys are too heavy for a magnet, you can use hooks instead.
To make this project, you'll need a piece of scrap wood and paint sticks as well as numbers for your address. You'll need to pick out your numbers first. This will make it easier to determine how large the piece of scrap wood needs to be.
Once you have the right size piece of wood, cut the paint sticks in various sizes and lay them out on the piece of wood. Play with the layout until you like the pattern and then trim where necessary. You can paint the sticks different colors to create a colorful mosaic or stain the sticks (like in the tabletop project above) for a more rustic country look.
Use wood glue to adhere the sticks together, letting them dry completely, then glue them to the scrap wood and attach your house numbers. We can guarantee you'll have the only one-of-a-kind house number plaque in your neighborhood!
If you can't find the right size piece of wood or can't find the right project for the scrap wood you have, stop by one of the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations. We take donations of building materials like plywood and lumber, so you can donate that scrap wood you can't use or find just the right piece for your project.
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