Transform 16 Common Household Items From Trash To Garden Treasure

Gardening can be expensive. If you find yourself spending a lot of time and money in the gardening section of your hardware store, then you — and your bank account — would love some cheap ways to refresh your garden. Finding new uses for discarded or broken items not only saves you money, but it also helps reduce your carbon footprint and keeps more trash out of landfills. Reusing and upcycling also saves a whole lot of clean water. Did you know that it can take almost 560 gallons of water to make a single T-shirt? Water is used to make all kinds of other products, so save that water for the plants in your garden instead. 

Whether you're transforming an old plastic jug into a planter or a bird feeder, or finding new uses to turn an old bicycle tire into a garden trellis, we've got some DIY recycling hacks for you that will help turn garbage into gold in your garden. Plus, these upcycling projects are a fun way to showcase your creativity and get the kids involved. Keep little hands busy transforming common household items like yogurt containers into useful seed germinators. You're only really limited by your own creativity and your imagination. So dig into the trash can or recycle bin for items that you can transform into new treasures in your yard. The environment and your bank account will thank you.

Instead of tossing old tires, transform them into colorful planters for your flowers. All you need to do is clean them thoroughly with a degreasing cleanser, and then grab a can of spray paint. Be sure to use outdoor acrylic paint that can hold up to the elements. You can stack them to create large planters or even hang them with strong rope like a tire swing — but for plants.  Just make sure you don't plant fruits and vegetables in them due to chemical-leaching concerns.

Put old eggshells to work as fun little planters. Eggs can be great places to grow seeds, and when they're ready to be planted in your garden, you can plant the entire thing in the ground. Just crack it a little so the roots can grow, and your plant will be ready to go. Kids can add googly eyes to their eggshells to make a fun face. And don't toss the egg carton, either. You can create your own DIY flower pot with this genius egg carton hack. 

If your kids outgrow their rainboots seemingly overnight, why not recycle them as colorful planters? All you need to do is drill drainage holes in the bottom, fill with your favorite potting soil, and then add your favorite flowers or plants. Tuck them around your garden. Since they're lightweight, feel free to hang them on your fence or trellis for an added splash of color. You can nail them to a fence, or even just use the loops on the boots themselves to hang them by rope or wire.

Glass bottles can make a pretty pathway edge in your garden, or you can even use a glass bottle wall for your raised flower bed. Clean out used bottles, making sure to scrub off any labels. Then, put the bottle necks facing toward the flower bed, and layer dirt on the top half. Add another layer of bottles and more soil. The soil will help keep bottles in place. You can also place a single line of them, necks down in the soil, as a border for a flowerbed.

Little tin cans can make perfect planters for a small vertical garden. Just drill a hole in the bottom of your planter and use rust-resistant paint to decorate it however you'd like. Nail or screw the empty cans to the fence, wall, or pallet. You can also drill holes in the upper edges of the can and hang cans from a string. Then, add soil and plant your seeds. You can even try starting an herb garden. This repurposing hack works perfectly for patios or balconies with limited space.

An empty plastic bottle can make a great bird feeder. Just cut a hole for your bird. It might be a good idea to tape or dull any sharp edges to protect a songbird's feet since sharp edges can hurt them. You can also drill holes through the bottle and stick a pencil or a stick through it as a perch. If you happen to have more popsicle sticks than plastic bottles and want to attract more birds to your yard, try this easy popsicle stick hack to make a bird feeder.

Old soda cans can be cut to make a fun wind spinner or chime for your yard. All you'll need is a soda can, an X-Acto knife or a pair of sharp scissors, and bells. You can slice into one can, or you can put two cans together to give your wind chime a more lantern-like shape. Bend the wire hanger to make a cage for your new wind spinner, or simply thread twine through them and hang them from your tree. Add bells for a chime. 

You can buy seed starting trays at your local gardening center for around $5, but why pay for them when you can upcycle trash? Grab an empty egg carton or an empty yogurt container. They're perfect for germinating seeds for your garden. Many seeds need smaller containers to grow because small containers help regulate soil temperature, boost root growth, and improve the chances a seed will germinate. Kids can help decorate the new containers, and if you let them pick a few seeds to plant, it can be a fun family project.

Nighttime in the garden can be a magical time, especially with pretty twinkling yard lights. You can make your own by repurposing mason jars and filling them with battery-operated fairy lights. Just grab a jar and string lights (such as a 20-pack of Mumoxi battery-powered LED fairy lights). Or use a battery-operated tea light. You'll need wire or string to hang the jars. You can paint or decorate them with cut-out patterns, too, if you'd like. Put a cut-out silhouette of a fairy or a hummingbird inside for some added whimsy.

An old bicycle wheel can help vining vegetables in the garden. To transform it into a trellis to help vines grow vertically, just remove the plastic tire. Bury the wheel a fourth of the way deep, right in your vegetable garden near vining vegetables. If you want to create a taller trellis, you can stack old wheels on top of each other. Use metal or wooden stakes to secure the wheels to the ground. If you have enough bicycle wheels, you could make an entire fence and garden gate. 

A chipped teapot can make a fun little birdhouse. All you need is a teapot, some wire or a wire hanger, and some pliers. The teapot can be an adorable shelter for birds, and all you have to do is bend some wire around the teapot lid and handle to make a nifty little roof for your bird shelter. Not all birds use bird houses, but those that do want one look for cozy homes with good air flow that's sheltered from the wind and rain. 

File cabinets can find new life in the garden as a raised garden bed with this nifty hack. Just take out the drawers, set it on its back, and drill holes in the bottom for drainage. You don't have to fill up the entire container with soil, either. You can break down some of the drawer pieces and lay them at the bottom. Or remember the clever reason you should be using pine cones when filling planters, including that that they keep your planter lightweight and provide good soil drainage.

A decorative garden trellis in your yard or hung over your garage can cost hundreds of dollars. Why not save the money by repurposing an old ladder as a fun garden trellis? If you have a single wooden ladder you can add some brackets above your garage door. If you have three ladders, you can anchor two in the ground and use the third as the top portion, for a decorative trellis arch in your yard. The rungs on the ladder can support plants, hanging planters, or even bird feeders.

Milk jugs can have a lot of uses in the garden. For one, you can make a DIY watering can. The handle is easy to grasp for young and older gardeners alike. All you'll need is a drill and the milk jug. Drill several holes in the screw-on cap, and one in the handle to release pressure. You can also create a slow-drip irrigation system with milk jugs. Just poke several holes in the bottom of the jug, fill it, and then set it near plants that need continual watering.

There's nothing more annoying than a leaky garden hose, but rather than toss it in the garbage, repurpose it as a pretty garden decoration. Cut a length of hose to the size you'd like. Loop it 2 or 3 times, and then zip tie it at a few key spots. Grab a glue gun, some wire, or ribbon and attach your favorite artificial flowers, bows, or even garden gloves. Now, you've got a festive summer wreath for your fence or back door.

Grab your old plastic water bottles and transform them into a hanging garden across your fence. Simply strip the labels, and poke holes in the base to run twine or wire through, and cut out part of the middle to make room to plant. Paint or decorate as you see fit, and then add soil and some pretty annuals to tuck on fence posts. You can hang your bottles vertically or horizontally, whichever you prefer. Just make sure there are a few small drainage holes at the bottom of the planter.