This TikToker Turns An Old Laundry Hamper Into A Recycling Station That Saves Space
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
If one of your goals for the year is to make your home organization and storage more sustainable, having a dedicated area to house your recycling bins is crucial. While you could run out and buy a sorting system, DIYing is also a feasible option, especially if you want to customize your recycling station to suit your home's aesthetic and available space. One such example giving us serious inspo comes from TikToker @carolina.mccauley. They've taken a small bamboo laundry hamper with shelves and turned it into a stylish recycling station by placing a trash can where a laundry bag would usually go, and containers for cans on the shelves. It's ideal for a small space.
While you might not be able to find the exact hamper they used for the project, there are plenty of bamboo hampers with shelves available on Amazon, such as the Baveke Store Bamboo Hamper with 2 Removable Bags; this one has shelving on top for your containers and then slots you can use for your recycling bins. You could also build something similar out of scrap wood as another savvy way to disguise your recycling bin. Either way, setting up a simple, easy-to-manage system helps you do your part in protecting the environment.
Turning a laundry hamper into a recycling station
Recycling is one of the easiest ways to make your home more eco-friendly, and DIYing your own recycling station couldn't be easier. Use a bamboo hamper that has a cloth bag for clothes on one side and two shelves on the other. Remove the hamper bag portion, replace it with a trash can with a lid, and then place containers on the shelves to hold empty soda cans. Since this hamper already has a clear structure, it makes keeping recycling sorted easier, and the lids keep everything out of sight.
@carolina.mccauley I turned the Bamboo Hamper w/ shelves into a Recycling Station #kmarthacks #homehacks #ecofriendly
If you have multiple people in the house, consider adding labels to the bins so everyone knows what goes where. You can even line the bins with bags to make it easy to remove the recycling and keep everything neat and tidy. Adding wheels to the bottom of the hamper is also a great way to make your station mobile. But because local recycling guidelines vary by city, make sure you're up to date on what your locality accepts so that you're properly sorting your items.