5 Affordable Decorating Tips That Are Zero Waste, According to Reddit

updated Apr 12, 2021
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Credit: Lauren Kolyn

When planning a home renovation, there are many places to gather some excellent tips and tricks — and surprisingly, Reddit is full of them. In fact, if you’re looking to spruce up your space in an eco-conscious way, there are plenty of subreddits to help you out, with over 490,000 members in the r/ZeroWaste community.

Whether you’re wanting to make some big changes or you’re just looking to be a little more sustainable in 2021, we’ve narrowed it down to some of Reddit’s best eco-friendly and zero waste decorating tips.

Using old and ruined jeans, Redditor SquirrelAndPeanut made their very own one-of-a-kind rug. The eye-catching creation was weaved together using only five pairs of jeans. “To maximize fabric use I sliced the threads around the back pockets with a razor blade to remove them,” the creator wrote. “It was quick, and I got to use all the butts.” The Redditor, who shared progress photos from start to finish, said that the statement rug is “soft and flexible, but strong.”

Credit: Chamille White/Shutterstock

Have your bunch of flowers seen better days? Use wilted flowers to create gorgeous wall art. Redditor SomeInvisibleHand suggests pressing flowers or leaves and placing them into a picture frame to create a beautiful and unique wall hanging.

Next time you’re enjoying your favorite glass of wine, remember to save the cork. Redditor UpbeatBasil pointed out that wine corks are extremely versatile, with many ways to reuse them. “There are so many good things you can do with wine cork, and most people will save them if you ask nicely,” the user noted. “They make good trivets and cork boards (obviously).”

Get dinner party ready and make your own cloth napkins

Redditor Talazws announced that they DIYed cloth napkins for the first time by using pre-owned fabrics handed down from their grandmother. They cut the fabric down to size before using an iron to make a hem around each piece, sewed the two squares together inside out, and then reversed them before sewing them closed. The result was high-quality, elegant looking cloth napkins that can be reused with every dinner party.

Instead of buying a jewelry holder, why not display your accessories with a DIY jewelry rack? Lady Primmspan took to Reddit to share this handy hint and it’s ideal for those with a lot of trinkets and not much storage space. “I have seen people use old cooling racks to hang earrings,” they commented. “You can paint them or put some fabric behind it before hanging.”