You finally ditched your dirty carpet for new hardwood floors. Problem is, now you have a bunch of old carpet! You could just throw it away, but not only does bulky carpet take up a lot of space in a landfill…it could be there for 20,000 years! (Mannington Commercial)
It may have overstayed its welcome as flooring, but that’s no reason to toss your carpet in the dumpster! That’s why we’ve compiled a list of crafty ways to use your old carpet so it doesn’t spend the next 2,000 decades surrounded by trash (although that may be where yours belongs).
1. Use strips as mats at every door. You want to protect your new hardwood, so to avoid tracking in dirt and mud, wipe your feet every time you enter the house!
2. You know how quickly that spill absorbed? “…old carpets make great oil and grime catchers for cars and gardening equipment that may have a nasty habit of dripping oil onto your garage floor. The drip may seem like a small problem but it can cause a lot of damage by permanently staining your garage floor.” (Oxi Fresh)
3. Protect your car doors from dings and scratches by attaching a strip of carpet to the wall of your garage (This Old House)
4. Your pets loved to use it before you ripped it up, so why not line a dog house to keep it warm and cozy, or make a scratching post for your cat! (This Old House)
5. To clean window screens, “Dip a clean piece of carpet into warm, sudsy water, and rub the pile side onto screens to get rid of gunk, dust, and buildup.” (This Old House)
6. While you’re painting or patching, wipe your brushes, scrapers and putty knives on carpet scrapes to keep tools clean and efficient! (This Old House)
7. Place a strip of carpet between your washer and dryer. When you drop a sock, you can simply pull the piece out and the sock will come with it! (Reader's Digest)
8. If you keep live plants indoors, place a small piece of carpet underneath the pots to absorb overflowing water (Reader's Digest)
9. When gardening, cushion your knees by rolling up a scrap of carpet and kneeling on it when spreading mulch, planting flowers, or weeding. (This Old House)
10. Keep pieces of carpet for exercise! Make your own yoga mat or exercise pad for stretching or working out at home. (Ezine)
11. Cover the floor of your attic or crawl space for insulation. (Ezine)
12. For the holidays, one Pinner uses cut up carpet and glitter to make Santa foot prints her daughters love! What other fun projects could you do? (Pinterest)
13. Cut a piece to fit the bottom rung of your ladder and secure it well. You can wipe your shoes before climbing to reduce the risk of slipping! (Yahoo)
14. Convert carpet squares into coasters. (Pinterest)
15. Finally, if it really is that bad, (we’ve read your Carpet Catastrophes so it’s understandable…) RECYCLE IT!
