Real homesteaders know that part of the lifestyle is making do with less and minimizing waste. Whether it’s necessities or just things that you’d like to have, doing it yourself saves money and brings a certain satisfaction you can’t get any other way.
And if your homestead is anything like mine, there’s no shortage of things to get done or make. To help inspire you and, hopefully, let you have a little fun along the way, I’m bringing you a list of zero-waste projects
From property necessities to useful tools, decorative items to clever repurposing of existing items, there are projects on this list for all skill levels. Read on and we will get right into it.
Make Compost
It’s only a chore if you’re not doing it right. Compost is awesome for your garden and potted plants. You can make it from soil, yard waste, kitchen scraps and a little bit of manure if you have it. Turning garbage into rich food for your plants is the perfect way to eliminate waste!
Jar Storage System
You know you are truly a homesteader when you start assessing empty jars for their suitability in the house or in the garage. You can keep nuts, bolts, office supplies, sewing supplies, small tools and a whole lot more in jars.
Whether you leave them loose or screw the lids into a strip of wood to make a convenient overhead storage system at the workbench is up to you. Give it a try.
Scrap Fabric Stuffing
If you need to restuff a couch cushion, seat cushion, pillow or anything else, don’t waste a trip in a whole bunch of money going into town for some polyfill. Instead, grab all of your scrap fabric, cut it into strips about 2 in long and 1 in wide, and use that as replacement stuffing.
Plastic Bag Crochet
Don’t call this hobo chic! Plastic bags can be cut open and into long strips anywhere from 1 to 2 in wide before being wound into thin strands. These strands can then be used to crochet baskets, pot hangers and a whole lot more!
This isn’t a move of desperation; plastic yarn made this way is surprisingly tough and long lasting, and perfect for outdoor applications.
DIY Rain Catching System
Every homestead should have a good store of water ready to use for animals, irrigation and more.
You can easily make your own rain catching system for the purpose by using things like kiddie pools, reclaimed rain barrels, corrugated plastic paneling and other materials. A spigot, a few fittings and other odds and ends and you’ll be in business.
Wood Pallet Run Fencing
Every homesteader’s favorite, pallets! Pallets are useful for all kinds of projects, both intact and disassembled for lumber.
My favorite by far, though, is to make simple, sturdy and semi-modular fencing for a chicken run or for smaller species of goats or pigs. You may have lots of pallets already, but if you don’t just ask around and you’ll find at least one business that would love for you to take theirs!
Pallet Compost Bin
Pallets are also perfect for making a functional compost bin. You can make a three-sided or four sided bin, leave the bottom open and then fashion a top from scrap wood or plastic. This ensures that air can get in and moisture can get out.
Sock Dusters
A classic cleaning hack used at surreptitiously by dads around the country. If you have a lone sock that lost its mate in the wash or to wear and tear, drop it in your cleaning supplies tote to use as a detailed duster.
Simply slip it over your hand and you can use your fingers for getting into nooks and crannies with ease. It looks silly, but it works like a charm.
DIY Sawdust Fire Starters
The perfect way to get a fire pit, cook fire or campfire going is with fire starter. Make your own using any kind of leftover wax, sawdust or wood shavings and small muffin wrappers. Simply place the sawdust or shavings in the muffin wrappers inside an old muffin tin and then pour the melted wax over them. Let them cool, then you can pop them out of the wrapper and light up whenever you need to get a blaze going. Here’s the “recipe”.
Quilt Denim and Canvas
Old jeans and denim jackets along with canvas tarps typically get an unceremonious end in my house. Or at least they did until I learned about this trick!
Denim can be cut up into squares and stitched together to form a fashionable, durable and comfortable quilt. If you want it to be warmer you can sew this on to thicker, fluffier fabric too.
Cardboard Box Weed Suppression
Far and away my very favorite upcycling garden hack. Do you have a bunch of old cardboard boxes stacked up somewhere?
Drag them out and lay them down in your garden, under your raised bed sites or anywhere else you need weed suppression before you lay down dirt or mulch. The cardboard will smother the weeds and break down over time, adding carbon back to the soil.
Coffee Ground – Eggshell Fertilizer
Certain kitchen scraps can prove very valuable as a fertilizer and soil amendments. Two of the best, and most plentiful, are coffee grounds and eggshells. Grind up the eggshells into a fine, sandy texture before mixing with coffee grounds and then working into the soil in your garden or potted plants.
Repurpose Patterned Cloth Into Napkins
Thicker, absorbent cloth scraps left over from other projects, or aborted ones, is perfect for fashioning into cocktail or dinner napkins. A few clean cuts and a little bit of stitching around the border is all it takes to make these! They make a great gift, too.
DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
An effective multi-surface and all-purpose cleaner can be made by steeping one or two fistfuls of orange peels in distilled white vinegar for a couple of weeks, trashing the orange peels after that. It adds a marvelous scent, kills germs and won’t taint your house with any creepy chemicals. Get the “recipe”.
Make Wine Bottle Lights
An oldie but a goodie. Whether you want to make a lamp, a chandelier or pendant lights, you can cut the bottoms off of wine bottles using a specialty cutter or the old trick of soaking twine in lighter fluid and then tying it off around the bottom neck before lighting it and then dousing it in cold water. Then you can wire up a light socket kit and plug in!
Bottle Cap Garden Stakes
A cute and easy fun project that’s perfect for the whole family, little kids included. Glue bottle caps together into flower or other shapes, glue those onto skewers and then paint to your taste. Great for adding a little bit of charm or color coding your plantings.
Cable Spool Table
Another time-honored upcycling project, and another one of my favorites. If you can snag an industrial cable spool from your local farm supply or big box store, it makes a wonderful table when it is stood up on its side. It will look even better after cleaning and refinishing!
Plastic Barrel Feed Troughs
A perfect way to quickly and easily make feed troughs for goats, cows, pigs and even chickens. Take an old barrel – one that never held harmful chemicals! – cut it in half and then bolt on some wooden legs or bury it slightly in the ground to keep it upright. Very tough and easy to clean!
Stump Side Table or Stool
If you want some real rustic charm in your home, find an old stump or log on your property, cut off the ends parallel and clean it up. Then set it wherever you need a convenient stool or end table and enjoy. If you really want to go all out you can coat the ends with resin or give them a flame treatment. Here’s how to do it.
Homemade Bandanas
Something you’ll need over and over again on a hard-working homestead. Wiping away sweat or grime, as a sweatband or protecting your head from intense sun, bandanas are awesome. You can make effective, and cool, ones yourself from old cotton clothes or the leftovers from a bolt of fabric.
Scrap Wool Dryer Balls
Instead of reaching for questionable, chemical packed dryer sheets, make your own old fashioned wool dryer balls from leftover wool or old wool clothing. It will help your clothes dry quicker, smell better and avoid wrinkling. See the project here.
T-Shirt Yarn
Lots of clothes that are ready for the trash can can be given a second life if you know what to do. Cotton t-shirts, for instance, are perfect for cutting into long, thin strands that can be used the same way you would use yarn. You can make trivets, placemats, rugs and a whole lot more if you’ve got the skill.
Kitchen Mini-Composting Bin
Get a jump on your composting activities by installing a kitchen composting bin. A 5 gallon bucket or other plastic container with lid is the perfect designated spot for all the beneficial vegetable peels, egg shells and other scraps that will benefit your pile outside.
Handmade Kitchen Scrubber
If you are seriously handy with a needle and thread, you’ve got to give this project a try. You can use nylon netting, ribbon, thread and some polyfill stuffing to make a tough and super cute kitchen scrubber.
Old Tire Planters
Just the ticket for making compact raised beds near high traffic areas. Stacking up a couple of old tires and filling them with dirt will give you some extra space to plant while saving your back.
Tire Jungle Gym for Goats
Here’s another time tested and goat approved use for old tires. Stack them up vertically, horizontally and in combinations before bolting them together or connecting them in some other way and then let your goats have at it. It’s tough enough to stand up to their attention, and much safer for them than other surfaces
Feed Sack Totes
You know how most animal feed comes in those fabric sacks that have a sort of plasticized coating on it? Turns out it’s the same kind of material that many reusable shopping bags are made from!
Thoroughly wipe out the inside of the bag with a damp cloth, cut the sack in half and then make straps from the same stuff. Those can be glued or stitched on at your preference.
Upcycled Flannel Handwarmers
Take some scrap flannel, sew it into a little pouch that’s about 4 in square, then fill that up with dried rice or beans. A sewing machine helps here. The hand warmer can be heated in a 350°F / 175°C oven for 5 minutes, or in a microwave for about 45 seconds. It will stay piping hot for a surprisingly long time!
Recycle Old Sweaters and Scarves Into Felt
Have you run out of felt? Do you have some old ratty wool clothing you never wear? Then you’ve got what you need to make felt!
Give them a hot wash with maximum agitation; if using a washing machine, add some tennis balls to the bin. Then dry them really hot. The clothing will be ruined, but it will be well on its way to transforming into felt. Repeat until you reach the desired loft and thickness.
Turn Old Window Frames Into Mirrors
Here’s a classy move if you are replacing the windows on your home, especially on a vintage home. Keep the window frames and use them to frame a panel mirror for installation in your home. Spruce up your decor and honor your architecture at the same time!
Scrap Gutter Vertical Planter
If you’ve got a few sections of gutter, drain piping or similar materials just lying around along with a little bit of lumber, you can quickly and easily fashion a vertical planter perfect for ornamentals, herbs and more.
Paint Bucket Tool Tote
I think every handy person has already figured this one out, but just in case you haven’t you can clean out an old 5 gallon paint bucket or other hardware store bucket and use it as a convenient tool tote for your many chores and other tasks around the property.
Draft Stoppers
A classic craft project that will serve you well when the weather turns colder. You can take leftover fabric, old pants and any other scrap cloth you have along with some dry, uncooked rice or beans to stop cold air from seeping in under doors and windows.
DIY Solar Oven
It’s possible to make a shockingly effective solar oven using nothing more than mirrors, scrap wood and a few other materials. It’s perfect for homesteaders who want to go completely off grid or just want a backup in case their primary oven goes down for the count.
Ice Tray Seed Starters
One of my favorite ways to start seeds in the off season, and certainly one of the most convenient.
Old ice trays, or cheap new ones for that matter, are perfect for getting your seeds going and very easy to transport or reposition. It’s also easy to scoop out dirt from them when it’s time to transplant.
If you have a flexible silicone ice trays, so much the better, because you can just invert the individual cells to pop out the seedlings.
Boot Bird Nest
Is it a bit tacky? Yes. Is it effective and even a little charming? Also yes! My great-granddad used to do this with his old, worn out boots.
You can nail or tie an old shoe or boot to a tree or post, toe down and ankle facing outward, to make an attractive nesting place for all kinds of songbirds. It’s fun having birds around your yard, but it can also help keep your property pest free which is always a benefit.
Tin Can Vase or Tabletop Planter
Take a tin can, remove the label, clean it out thoroughly and then decorate it with a wrap of scrapbook paper, paint, leather, cloth or anything else you like that matches your spirit and your decor.
Bam, you just made a cute and classy vase or table top planter that you can put anywhere! If you need drainage just set it in a saucer
Scrap Paper Notebook
Pocket notebooks are the best. Yeah, I know, you can just use an app on your phone. But it’s not the same! Instead of spending on flimsy notebooks that fall apart in no time, make your own complete with a custom cover!
This is another fun project that the whole family can get behind and whenever you need to take notes or write down something important you can just whip one of these out.
Playhouse Chicken Coop
If you have just a handful of chickens, you can get by with a small coop. If your little ones have outgrown one of their childhood playhouses, or you can get one free or very cheaply, they can be turned into a pretty good coop! This is a great opportunity to customize it, paint it and show off your creativity, too.
Homemade Tea Sachets
Crave a hot cup of good tea? Why not get the convenience of store-bought with the quality of loose leaf by making your own homemade tea sachets and loading them yourself?
All you need is a few minutes of work, some coffee filters and a little bit of string. You’ll never go back to store-bought and you won’t have to slow down your morning or evening cup, either!
Milk Crate Nesting Boxes
If you want to get a steady supply of eggs from your chickens, you’ve got to give your girls somewhere to lay. Nesting boxes come in all shapes and sizes, and if you are building them yourself it can be challenging to nail the dimensions while keeping the structure safe, stable and appealing to your birds.
So much of the time I found that they love nothing more than milk crates laid on their sides. Cheap, available everywhere and very easy to stack and secure. Can’t beat them!
Soaker Hose
One of the best ways to get water to your plants, be they in the ground, in raised beds or elsewhere is by using a soaker hose. This gets water right onto the root zones but keeps it off of the foliage which can lead to mildew and other fungal problems.
If you have an old garden hose and are willing to drill a few holes in it, you can make your own soaker hose and save a lot of money versus buying one off the shelf at the hardware store.
Bolt and Fastener Chess Set
Sometimes projects can be just for fun, and this is one of them! If you’ve got a good collection of various bolts, screws, washers and other fastener hardware you can make two sets of chess pieces quickly and easily.
A board can be made with a little layout and a wood burner, carved into leather or on any other surface you can think of.
Scrap Wood A-Frame Coop
Building a chicken coop from scratch is seen as a rite of passage by many homesteaders. And with good reason! But just like the nesting boxes above, if you aren’t skilled at construction or have any experience framing it can turn into a nightmare.
A better bet: build an A-frame style coop. It uses little material, is very efficient and much easier to build than other kinds.
Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder
Need a quick bird feeder to dispense seed for visitors to your yard? A 2 l or other large plastic bottle might be all you need! A few minutes work with a cutting tool and you’ll have them lined up to get a snack.
Repel Birds of Prey with Old CDs and DVDs
Birds of prey are likely the biggest threats that your chickens will face. They can also be hard to spot and harder to stop before it’s too late.
If that’s the case, keep them any distance with this windchime-like repeller that is strung together with old CDs and DVDs. The highly reflective surface will make them think twice before attacking. Reposition regularly for best results.
Make a Book Safe
Keep valuables and other sensitive possessions safe from prying eyes and snooping hands with this classic bit of spy tech.
Any sizable book can be hollowed out and turned into a hiding place with a little elbow grease and diligence. You can make it as nice as you want, but even quick and dirty it’s plenty functional.
Use Wood Ash in the Garden
Don’t get rid of all of your wood ash from the fireplace or fire pit! It has many uses in the garden, including adjusting soil pH and repelling certain insect pests. It can be applied directly or mixed into soil as needed.
Irish Spring Deer Repellent Pouches
Insects might be bad, but nothing will devastate a garden as badly as deer. They have big appetites! Luckily, they are easy to keep away with some Irish spring soap shavings placed in an old sock.
Old Wheel Hose Reel
If you have an old wheel off of an automobile, lawn tractor or similar vehicle just hanging around, you can bolt that to a post or even to the side of your house and use that as a convenient and durable hose reel.
Use Cheap Paint Brushes for Detail Dusting
Struggle no more to get dust out of every nook and cranny on cleaning day. Grab yourself a cheap pack of soft paint brushes, the kind used for household painting and trim work, and set them aside with your cleaning supplies.
They have just the right size, shape and stiffness to dig dust out of trim, furniture, light fixtures and more.
Tim is a farm boy with vast experience on homesteads, and with survival and prepping. He lives a self-reliant lifestyle along with his aging mother in a quiet and very conservative little town in Ohio. He teaches folks about security, prepping and self-sufficiency not just through his witty writing, but also in person.
Find out more about Tim and the rest of the crew here.