14 Useful Yard Tools Made From Reusable Household Items
Have you ever thought about using a fork in your garden? Or a 5-gallon bucket as a stool? If you haven’t, you should. These common reusable household items may be more useful than you think! When you love lawn care as much as we do, it’s easy to get carried away purchasing unnecessary items such as fancy leaf bins and weeders. However, there are plenty of items around your home that will function in their place! The best part is, reusing these items is free. Throughout this blog, we’re going to share with you our 14 favorite reusable household items. We’re sure that these household odds-and-ends will help transform the way you take care of your lawn and garden! So what do you say? Let’s get started!
1. Trash Can
Anyone who regularly mows their yard knows to always go through and pick up fallen sticks, twigs or trash before mowing. However, sometimes you miss a few things and have to stop what you’re doing to pick these things up along the way. If you have an old trash can around your home, then you have the perfect solution to this problem! Attach the trash can to your lawn mower and use it as a collection can for twigs. That way, you don’t have to stop what you’re doing to carry sticks off to the side. Instead, you can just toss them in the bin and keep trucking along! This reusable household item is one you’re sure to benefit from.
2. Squirt-Top Water Bottle
Oiling smaller items such as a chainsaw can get messy without the right tools. Instead of dripping oil all over the place, use a squirt-top water bottle to fill these items. The squirt-top bottle will help control the flow of oil, making it easier than ever to oil your machines!
3. Grocery Bags
When you’re doing yard work, there always seem to be a few times when you need to run inside. Whether it’s for a glass of water or towel to clean up a spill, you’re bound to need to go in at some point. The only problem is your shoes! They’re likely covered in grass or dirt, and the last thing you want is to track that inside your home. Instead of repeatedly taking your shoes on and off, use grocery bags as shoe covers. Simply place each foot into a bag, tie it off at the top and step inside without the fear of dirt or mud tracking through your home. We suggest grabbing a few bags from the one bag under the sink that holds every grocery bag you’ve brought into your home—we know you have one, everyone does!
4. 5-Gallon Bucket
The uses of a 5-gallon bucket are endless. You can use it for storage, seating, trash, cleaning and more! We want to talk about how to use it for your yard, though. When you’re gardening or pulling weeds, the constant bending over or squatting down can get a little tiring. To avoid this, use a 5-gallon bucket as a stool. You can even go a step further and use it to hold all of your gardening tools! That way, you have gardening storage and a seat all in one. Pro Tip:The lid of a 5-gallon bucket can be a pain to take off sometimes. Cut off all but two of the plastic tabs on the lid to make it effortless to remove. This will make it much easier to get the items you need.
5. Tarp
If you don’t have a wheelbarrow, no worries. A tarp will do the trick! Use this reusable household item to carry leaves, twigs, mulch and more around your lawn. Simply drag it behind you and go! A tarp will make it much easier to pick up debris around your lawn, or aid in spreading mulch in your yard or garden.
6. Pool Noodle
If you push mow your lawn, then you know first-hand how sore your hands can be after! Give your hands some much-needed relief with a pool noodle—yes, a pool noodle! Cut the noodle and wrap it around the handle of your mower, then use electrical tape to secure it. This is a quick and easy fix that your hands are sure to thank you for.
7. Clothes Hamper
In the fall, picking up fallen leaves is much easier said than done. You try and try to get them in the bag, but the bag keeps collapsing or falling over, making it difficult to get anything done. To sturdy your bag, cut the bottom out of an old clothes hamper and stick it down into the bag. Once the bag is full of leaves, remove the clothes hamper and start over!
8. Recycled Water
If the humidity in your home is a little high, you may be using a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are great for removing moisture from the air—but did you know the water they collect can be used for your home and yard as well? The water in the base of a dehumidifier is purified, making it perfect for watering your houseplants and garden. Simply empty the basin of the dehumidifier into a watering can and you’re good to go! Just be careful not to overwater your plants—it could be what’s harming your houseplants.
9. Garden Hose
Similar to a 5-gallon bucket, there are many ways to repurpose a garden hose. Instead of throwing an old garden hose out, consider cutting it into smaller pieces that you can use to secure a slippery trash bag, or replace the handle of a bucket. If you have a large trash bin, stick pieces of a garden hose around the rim to prevent the bag from slipping into the trash can. Or, if the handles on your buckets are rough or broken, tape on part of the hose to make the handle easier to hold.
10. Berry Containers
Once you eat all of the strawberries or blueberries in your fridge, save the container. A berry container is the perfect tool for seeding your lawn! Place grass seed into the container, and gently shake it over your lawn. Overseeding is especially important in the fall, so empty berry containers will come in handy then! The small holes in the containers will help disperse seeds more evenly, and with any luck, you’ll end up with a lush, green lawn come spring.
11. Tin Can
Need a water break when mowing but don’t have a place to put your drink? No worries! Rinse and clean a tin can and attach it to your mower using zip ties. Now you have a cup holder!
12. Wine Corks
As if you needed another reason to drink a bottle of wine, here it is! To tie up electrical cords and keep them from getting tangled in storage, use wine corks. Begin by drilling two small holes into a wine cork. Next, tie a strand of rope or bungee cord through the holes, creating a loop on the other end. Finally, wrap up the cords and secure them by sliding the cork through the loop in the rope.
13. Fork
If you have an extra fork laying around, use it to remove weeds in your yard. Stick the fork into the soil, and twist it around. The fork will catch all of the roots, and make removing those pesky weeds that much easier. And don’t forget to take a seat on your 5-gallon bucket while weeding!
14. Cereal Box
Emptying the oil in your lawn mower just got that much easier. Cut out part of a cereal box and use it to transfer oil from your mower into a waste pan. The glossy outside of the box will prevent oil from soaking through, making it the perfect oil trough. While there’s plenty of reusable household items and DIY options to help keep your lawn healthy, sometimes you need to leave it to the experts! Here at Killingsworth, we’ve been taking care of lawns and gardens for over 26 years—so as you can imagine, we’ve collected a few yard tricks of our own! If your yard needs a little extra TLC, schedule a service. We’d be more than happy to use our expertise to make your yard the best looking lawn on the block!
