The time to start upcycling thrift store finds is now. I know, you’ve been thinking about trying upcycling for years. You maybe even considered opening a business, right? All of your love for home decor and being cheap come together beautifully in upcycling… So what’s keeping you from taking that first step?
Well, if it’s because you don’t know where you start, allow me to introduce you to my good friend, Goodwill.
Goodwill, as you may know, provides training and career opportunities for people who need them, and all of that is in addition to the incredible support they give to low-income communities. They can help you do everything from picking the perfect vintage prom dress to setting yourself up for your dream career. Also, educational support and job training is handed out for free, so that earns superhero status right there.
But Goodwill takes it even further. By shopping at Goodwill, you’re giving a helping hand to the un- or under-employed people in your community, preventing nice crap from ending up in a landfill, and giving yourself a chance to let some of that pent-up creativity out. You’re exactly the kind of person that we need creating beautiful new things out of old, inexpensive junk!
Let’s make a pact to try it. After all, winter is the perfect time to throw the heater on in your garage, pump some tunes, and get creative. (Full disclosure: I’d say the exact same thing about summer, sans heater.) Goodwill and I both want to see what you can do. Here is the one of the quickest, easiest, and most fulfilling DIY upcycling projects to get you started, and a massive dose of support and inspiration from Goodwill.
DIY Upcycled Planters, Goodwill-Style
Houseplants are one of the few shared interests between homebodies of all ages. From millennials and their succulents to baby boomers and their macrame hangers full of prayer plants, we just really like having some flora and fauna around. It makes sense! Not only can houseplants help clean the air you breath, but they’ve also shown signs of making you feel more uplifted, composed, and/or relaxed.
Last month, my local Goodwill actually held an entire friggin’ workshop about building planters out of everything from old shoes to silver tea sets. They took a group of creative, project-hungry people around their local town (which has a special secret) to educate, inspire, and facilitate all of their wildest recycling DIY dreams.
This event was held in Sumner, WA, which is apparently the thrifting, vintage, and upcycling capital of Washington?! How did I not know this? Pretty sure you couldn’t find a more perfect place to learn how to upcycle. First, the group of workshoppers and bloggers went through the local Goodwill looking for adequate and interesting planter options. Like I said, anything goes when it comes to planters! As long as it can hold what you intend to put in there, it’s worth trying to make into a planter. Check out Tabitha’s recap for details on how they transformed their items into plant-ready vessels.
Next, the whole crew went to downtown Sumner where over 100 professional upcyclers work and sell their wares in the town’s boutiques. They met with over a dozen pros who showed their work and made themselves available to answer questions, give tips, and inspire – all because of Goodwill!
They hit up stores like Inta Vintage, which houses over 40 upcycling vendors, and Junker’s Nest to learn about everything from how to restore scruffy looking furniture to how to breathe new life into old fashion.
There were even demonstrations of cleaning techniques and specialized paint products. These are real-life DIY mavens sharing their tricks of the trade – all in the name of supporting your community. Basically, they gave these workshoppers everything they needed to feel confident in moving forward in their projects.
After speaking to the masters, they all headed to a local florist called VanLierop Garden Market to scope out the perfect plants to give their planters life!
I can only imagine how rich and bountiful the Sumner Goodwill must be in the “vintage capital of Washington”… And while that cute little town is about a three hour drive from my rural island life, making the trip down to indulge in all of their retro treasures is highly worth it, and on my list of day trips to do.
Blue, a Goodwill Boutique
As an extra special treat, the group of upcyclers hit up a special store in town – blue. This is where the nicest of the nice fashion and style donations from Goodwill end up. This stop didn’t have much to do with upcycling, but I get why Goodwill took their cohorts there. It’s amazing to know that a small-town boutique not only resells goods instead of throwing them away, but that also uses high end, secondhand items to help people receive counseling and job training. Goodwill has every reason to be proud of this amazing idea, and their boutique is a great example of how those with means can offer help to those who need it.
Don’t forget – you can actually shop Goodwill online, and you will still be helping fuel job training, career advancement, and landfill diversion! If your local Goodwill doesn’t have what you need, definitely head to their online shop to get the rest of your supplies for your next upcycling project.
Have you tried upcycling? What was your first project and how did it go?
If you’ve never tried upcycling, what’s stopping you? Tell us in the comments so we can help you get started!
Thank you to Goodwill for supporting B&B and sponsoring this post. All photos courtesy Goodwill, but 100% of this content, including opinions and emphatic gushing about Goodwill, was under B&B’s control.