TRASH TO TREASURE

One of the ways you show your own unique style and taste is by the way you furnish your home, whether your taste is classic, retro, cottage or shabby chic you can do “your look” on a budget, by shopping at flea markets and garage sales,for Trash to Treasure finds  . Sometimes you can get lucky come upon bargain items, or trash to treasure pieces  that are just fine the way they are, items that fit in perfectly with your taste and decor style .But often these trash to treasure finds are  not quite right, but with a little imagination and a bit of creative flair Garage Sale and Flea Market  trash to treasure finds finds don’t have to look trashy. “Trash to treasure” furniture pieces you have altered or repurposed into wonderful one of a kind conversation pieces, for your home or yard ,which are guaranteed to make your friends jaws drop with awe and admiration for your creative skills, not to mention green with envy. With a modicum of DIY talent, a smidgen of artistic ability some savvy bargain hunting skills , you can recreate  trash to treasure items into unique one off pieces, unusual or whimsical, pieces that express you and your individuality ,items not found in everybody elses home, mass produced by the million and sold on every high street.In addition by purchasing used and trash to treasure pieces from local people and second hand vendors you are not further contributing to the seemingly wanton give away our precious dollar to foreign nations for the substandard sweatshop produced junk Wal-mart and other large North American chain stores try to shove down our throats,repurpose ,reuse and recycle it keeps your money in your pocket and not swelling the coffers of some foreign lands economy.If you have to buy new make sure its made in North America.

WHERE TO FIND TRASH TO TREASURE ITEMS

Flea markets
Garage sales
Antiques markets
Charity stores
Jumble/bring and buy sales
Estate sales
Second hand or used furniture stores
Architectural salvage or reclaimed warehouses
Grandma’s Attic
Back streets and alleys behind stores
Curbside on garbage day
Junk yards
Trash bins or yards at homes undergoing renovation, (ask permission first)
Landlords getting rid of items left behind by tenants
Rental Storage units often sell off abandoned goods.

On line on such websites asWhaggle
Kijiji
Craigslist
Adpost.com
Yahoo groups for your local
freecycle or online yardsale group
Any local online classified that displays pictures

Your basic toolkit  for turning  Trash to Treasure

Paint and stain
Sander and sand paper
Screw driver and screws
Small hammer
Scissors
Hot glue gun /glue sticks
Jar or tube of Adhesive
Wood filler
Sewing Machine

My very first Trash to Treasure  project was so simple and easy, but so versatile that I have adapted and utilized it in several ways since. All it was comprised of was a whole bunch of loose draws, from old cabinets, turned on their sides, handles removed and connected with nuts and bolts through the holes that had once mounted the handles. The draws were connected together to form a custom bookcase. The draws do not have to be the same size, however it looks a little bit more uniform if all the draws selected are the same depth, but not even this is absolutely necessary. The draw bookcase can be free standing or wall mounted. Stained or painted to match other elements in your room, one that I made, I painted baby blue and pink for a baby’s room, when the baby became a teen she painted each draw a vivid primary color creating a very modern trendy effect. Another time I assembled two sets of draws placing them back to back to make a wonderful room divider, my favorite though I think was when I assembled several draws into a triangular shape to fit underneath my stairs for storage. My husband copied my trash to treasure   idea and made shelving for the garage out of old draws. The image shown here is one I found on the net unfortunately my digital camera is not working right now, but this picture will give you a rough idea of what I’m talking about.

You don’t need an extensive array of tools and supplies, nor do you require a large amount of artistic talent, the biggest thing you need is a little vision or imagination to see with your minds eye the possible potential in any trash to treasure  piece you’ve taken a fancy to.

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