Tag Archives: repurposing

Our favorite articles about repurposing and saving money & eco friendly living posted on TexasHomesteader.com

Make A Raised Planter Using A Small Tire

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by Texas Homesteader ~

A few months ago RancherMan & I joined my parents for a quick dinner at a local restaurant.  On the sidewalk outside the restaurant was a cute planter. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a small, thick tire that was painted & then planted. 

RancherMan said it was probably a riding lawn mower or golf cart tire. I loved it! Heck you always wonder what to do with an old tire anyway. And their disposal is always an issue. 

Plus I often worry that planters that you buy just can’t hold up to the rough Texas weather year after year. Spring hail storms can render that cute ceramic planter useless in short order!

These repurposed-tire planters seemed to be the best of both worlds – interesting looks, very durable and using something previously wasted. I decided to give it a try. 

But I didn’t have an old lawn mower tire and I really didn’t want to buy a new one. It seems like such a waste of resources to buy a perfectly good usable tire & paint it!

A cute nearly indestructible raised planter that can endure year after year in challenging Texas weather using a small, repurposed tire #TexasHomesteader

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Repurposing An Empty Coffee Canister: Dried Herbs

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Coffee canisters are easy to repurpose for any number of things. And repurpose them we do!

Y’all know we love our coffee. We prefer Folgers to other brands of coffee. But at least their coffee canister is food-grade plastic. So in addition to other non-food repurposes, I’m able to do even more with it.

I can store large quantities of dried herbs in them.

Use those empty coffee canisters to store dried herbs. I have a huge harvest of dried rosemary stored to use in cooking & soap making. #TexasHomesteader

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Using Natural Materials: Straw In The Garden

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by Texas Homesteader ~

I like to use natural materials in my garden. Things such as straw, wood chips Dry Leaves or even grass mulch after RancherMan mows the lawn and bags the cut grass. (be sure to let that freshly-cut grass cure a bit before adding it close to your plants or it could burn them)

For instance, I have a grapevine that I’ve surrounded with three bales of straw. That straw serves a dual purpose. Its initial purpose is to protect my garden from encroaching bermuda grass.

Using Straw in the vegetable garden to preserve moisture. AND reduce weeds! Come see how a bale of straw does double duty. Nothing's wasted. #TexasHomesteader

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Securing Our Underground Cistern: Use Whatcha Got!

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by Texas Homesteader ~

When RancherMan & I bought this piece of NE Texas paradise we were enamored with the rich history of the property. Apparently over the decades it’s been home to several homesteads, I’m assuming one of the first was in the 1880’s when our barn was built! The most recent home was located at the front of our property but it burned down in the late 1950’s. We’ve discovered whispers of their past lives that they left behind – so amazing!

There were two deep cement cisterns located where we think were either side of the house.  One had to be covered up when we moved here, but we preserved the deeper one to use as our Outdoor Irrigation for my veggie garden.

At the time we were living in the big city. Someone had a small cedar fence that they pulled down – it was almost brand new. That would be PERFECT to frame in our little cistern! So we brought it here and constructed a cute little wishing well with that discarded fencing & some leftover metal roofing. It looked cute & kept the cattle out of trouble when they were around the cistern.

When our cistern enclosure deteriorated we tore it down but we needed a way to keep our mini Schnauzer safe around it. Use Whatcha Got! #TexasHomesteader

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Repurposed Salt Pour Spout Makes A Simple Pour Container

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

I made a cute pour spout sugar jar to more easily sweeten our tea using a repurposed canning jar and an empty box of salt! Work smarter, not harder as RancherMan always says. This is a quick & simple repurpose, y’all!

She uses a repurposed canning jar & a salt container spout destined for the recycling bin to make a convenient pourable sugar jar! #TexasHomesteader

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