10 Things to Do With Used Aluminum Cans
Aluminum cans are one of those extra waste materials that have been around for quite some time now. We see them lying around in garbage cans, on the sides of the roads in the poor areas, we see them flying away when the wind is hard. I personally admire drinking out of the can than out of a glass bottle, I am not sure of the exact but cans seem much more macho! Even most of the energy drinks come in cans!
The real question is, what should one do with them once they are empty. Being an avid admirer of hand-made crafts, I bring to you a few ideas as to how you can put aluminum cans to use!
1 Protect Young Plants
If the majority of you are those who like to plant gardens or flowers and are avid admirers of nature then surely you would love this particular idea. See what you can do if that for all those small plants of yours that need protection from worms and other tiny insects of the earth, you can now make protection round for them.
What you need to do is cut out the top and the bottom of the cans and press the cans into the earth around the plants.
This will create a protective barrier within the earth for the plants and will not let random insects and worms to reach the plant. Do remember that this only works for the tiny little plants and not for the big ones! A very handy idea that I myself have tried quite a few times especially in the kitchen garden!
2 Create a Decorative Snowman
We have seen all kinds of snowmen before and most of them are made out of snow. The sad thing about such snowmen is that they hardly last. Well, I have an idea that might as well spike up the snowman outside your front door and if all goes well, it might just last the whole winter for you. Not if you live on the Arctic Pole though!
So what you need to do is wrap an empty can with white tape and use a foam ball for the head of the snowman! You will then have the basic structure which you can design as per your will. Wrap it with a white cloth so that it remains durable or else you can cover it with ice. The aluminum can provide a strong base for your snowman to stay intact!
3 Project Ideas
If you are the kind of person who likes to try out different ideas, hand-made decorations, and carious ornaments for your house with the stuff that is lying around then you can certainly attempt this!
Trust me, aluminum cans can be used to ever from handbags, wallets, painting, and what now. You just need to have the interest and the patience of a saint!
4 Create a Simple Chinese Lantern
This is one idea that I came up with on my own. So what you need to do is cut off the top part of the can and then make incisions into the can itself! (I do admit that I do kind of sound like a doctor when I sat stuff like this, anyhow) After making the incisions (and yet again!) you need to put a tea light inside the can! Now it depends on your own skills what kind of cuts you make on the can because those will be the only points from where the light will escape!
Make a lot of them and hang them onto a string. Tie that string up across your room and turn off all the lights after lighting the tea lights of course! The ambiance would throw you off-balance, I can guarantee you that much!
5 Soda Can Mini Golf
This is another very interesting idea that you are certainly going to adore especially if you are a golf fan! This can be tried over regular get-togethers as well as holiday afternoons! What you need to do is remove the top and bottom lids of the cans. You will need several cans for this purpose.
Push them into the earth in your lawn in various spots and remove the dirt from the middle! You have your very own golf pots in your own backyard! Play with your pals, your kids, or your neighbors and enjoy the evening away! No need to go to that expensive golf club!
6 Make Planters More Portable
If you are a person who is very fond of those huge ceramic potters that looks absolutely lovely on the sides of the gate, the corners of your lawn, or somewhere near the front door, or even around the rockery, then boy do I have an idea for you!
The biggest strain of the big potters is that they are not that portable since they are so heavy and need to be filled completely bore they can be planted otherwise the plants will not be visible (Duh!) Instead of filling them up with soil and making them even heavier, you can fill the base up with empty can which act as excellent drainers as well!
7 Repoussé Christmas Decorations
Like I said before, old and used cans can be used for a variety of home decoration ideas. I have another one for you for which you might need to use more than one cans which is the actually good cause what else would you do with them anyway right? So start by taking out the top and the bottom of the can. Then you need to flatten them out completely and on the printed side, draw out various shapes, for example, Christmas Repousse’.
You can cut these out using a carving knife and then hang them around to make Christmas decorations. You can even re-decorate them after cutting them out like painting them and then glittering them for the shimmer shiny effect! Cool eh!
8 Kitchen Pots
Another idea for plant lovers! I personally am one so I know how much I adore potting little plants and putting them up on the kitchen sill or my bedroom window, or even along the railing on the terrace! So what needs to be done is that carefully cut out the top of the can and wash it clean.
Fill it up with fresh earth and fertilizer and then pot the plant. Put it where ever it is that you want to place it. They are easy to maintain, they are not messy, and they are easy to water! What more would you ask for? These little cans are a blessing in disguise!
9 Pencil Holders
Being a study and book freak myself, I admit that this my personal favorite usage principle for the empty cans that are lying around in my house! What you do is, you take off the top of the can (apparently I have no use of the top of the cans – the poor things) and wrap the whole can with a decorative sheet, lace cloth, or paper of your choice!
Then you can tie ribbons around it or even paint it, whatever you desire actually! You can even turn around and convert them into makeup brush holder!
10 A new whole new take on aluminum siding
This idea on the number is actually one that has been tried out and can even be googled so I just took inspiration from it and decided to share it with you! There is an Architect who goes by the name Richard Van Os Keuls, living in Maryland! He did the entire side of his house with aluminum cans cut-outs and it actually did look pretty ok!
Then again it is entirely your own choice, you can experiment as much and however, you want and come with a design of your own!
