New ideas for dusty kitchen curios

Think Again is a series that provides fun ideas for how to reuse items in your home that you would normally throw out or recycle.  Reusing is higher on the “green” food chain than recycling, because getting another use out of an object is always more effective than spending the energy to recycle it.  Plus, trying to reuse can force us to be creative!

The Think Again series has featured mini projects so far, but sometimes reusing an item literally means just thinking again.  Look at an item that you have in a different way, turn it over or on its side, and think of a new use for it.

So why not start with an area of our homes that needs some decluttering anyway – the back of the kitchen cabinet, home of all those unused kitchen appliances?

Bundt Pan:  While making a cake with a bundt pan is a nice idea in theory, how often do you really use that thing?  The thought that the cake may not come out easily or that there will be a heavy duty clean up after the baking is done usually leads us to just use the regular cake pan (or buy a cake from the store).

But flip that pan over and you’ve got yourself a great little jewelry box that is easy to use and displays your jewelry nicely.  The rim of the pan can be used to hang earings from (as you can see above) and the inside part of the pan works great for storing bracelets.

Coffee Mug: The chipped coffee mug that you’ve been meaning to take out of the kitchen cabinet but couldn’t bring yourself to throw away doesn’t have to end up in the trash.  And it doesn’t have to uglify your kitchen cabinet either.  There are tons of uses for old coffee mugs – the one that comes quickest to mind is the pencil holder.  But you could also “green” your coffee mug and use it as a planter.

Muffin Tin:  Muffin tins, with their already built in compartments, make great organizers.  They could also be used as jewelry boxes, or, for the guys out there, they make great desk organizers.  Most of them can even fit into desk drawers, clearing room on your desk.  (Or you could display them on your desk, adding, a decorative touch.)

Now onto some kitchen reuse ideas that require a little more than just thinking again.  Check out Casa Sugar’s idea for turning an old blender into an energy conscious lamp, Junk Market Style‘s tutorial on how to transform an old metal serving tray into a cute metal memo board, and Craft Chi‘s explanation for how to turn a rolling pin into a decorative print stamp.

Got any ideas for how to reuse kitchen appliances?  Please share in the comments section below!

Read about other Think Again projects::

Think Again: Strike Up a Matchbox Inspired Recycled Notebook

Think Again: What to Do With That Old Pair of Jeans

Author: Karen Chernick

Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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