Trash to Treasures

I hate throwing things away. No, I am not a hoarder, actually the opposite. But I see potential in little things that most people would throw in the trash or recycling bin. Bits of packaging, old greeting cards, boxes, catalogues.  Perfect art project materials – and all free. So a few years ago I started our very own “treasure box”. In it went all of these fun bits and pieces that I knew could be used again. I was amazed at how quickly I had amassed quite a collection of unique, fun, creative materials to use.

Sometimes, I go into our treasure box looking for materials for a specific project. Sometimes, we pull out a dozen or so things and see what we can create. And when I just need a few minutes (or hours) of quiet time, I pull put the treasure box and let my girl go through and examine and admire each of the treasures in the box. She loves discovering everything, and I love that she is entertained.

The most popular items in our treasure box, clockwise from top left: clothing tags, fabric scraps, egg cartons, paint chips.

A few tips to start your own treasure box:

• Start with a relatively large box.  (We use an old moving box)  You’ll be surprised how quickly it starts filling up.
• Keep your box accesible.  If it is hard to get to you will be less likely to add things to it.
• When in doubt, add it to your box.  You can always throw it out later if you don’t end up using it for any art projects.
• Don’t be afraid of the mess.  This is a big one for my OCD personality.  I was first trying to organize my treasure box.  Scraps of paper all in an envelope, boxes nested together nicely, etc.  It was too hard to keep up.  So now, I just throw things in and try not to think about it.  :)
• You will be amazed at how many treasures are waiting for you in your trash / recycling bin!

Some ideas of what to put in your treasure box:

• toilet paper rolls
• paper towel rolls
• mesh bags
• packaging materials
• egg crates
• milk jugs
• 2 liter soda bottles
• magazines
• junk mail
• water bottles
• old socks
• clothing labels
• business cards
• newspaper
• paint chips
• old calendars
• paint stirrers
• fabric / ribbon / twine / yarn scraps
• buttons
• plastic baby wipes containers
• shampoo bottles (cleaned out)
• cereal / cracker / pasta boxes
• oatmeal boxes
• plastic produce boxes
• starbucks coffee sleeves
• wrapping paper tubes
• ribbons and bows from gift wrap
• used ziplock baggies (washed out)
• aluminum foil
• packing materials
• greeting cards / postcards
• shoe boxes
• stickers
• old art projects / paintings
• little plastic toys
• anything else that catches your eye… think creatively!

Would you be interested in seeing some of the projects that we make using treasures from our treasure box?