On days when I feel uninspired, read: l-a-z-y, I sit on my bed, look at the ceiling and allow myself to stare into nothingness. Before I know it, a germ of an idea starts creeping into my restless, sometimes overactive and often overacting imagination, I get excited and relish the thought of starting a new project. These are moments I call ‘productive unproductivity’.

So it was during one such moment, when I was contemplating on how to dispose of the excess paints from my gate repainting project, that it came to me…wait a sec, I DON’T need to dispose of the paints. Instead of disposing, I should just keep on using them. Yes, it took me at least an hour to reach that moment of epiphany. I should be proud of myself. Lol.

So out of bed I jumped, and checked out some knick-knacks that were just waiting for me to reconnect with them. Things that I have forgotten, or maybe have stopped looking at because really, they have become eyesores. Which items in the house am I actually talking about? These are things we use everyday, things that we’ve taken for granted, those that we’ve overlooked and neglected, because they’ve seen better days and are now screaming for some tender loving attention.

What am I exactly  talking about here? What else but breathing new life into old things through repainting. It’s not always about walls, right?

Here are some everyday items whose use mileage can be significantly extended with just a fresh coat of that excess paint that you may otherwise be throwing away.

Excess paint + everyday stuff that needs painting =
Rocket science of an idea.

1.  Stand-alone clothes racks

Lucky you if you have those stainless racks that need no further maintenance, but a lot of us are Divi aficionados. Yep, I meant those painted metal bars that are customized into clothes rack and are usually sourced in Divisoria. After years of carrying tons and tons of heavy clothes on your body, wouldn’t you start looking tired and shabby too? A fresh coat of paint will surely make them good for another round of clothes hanging festival.

2.  Weight lifting or home gym equipment

Got this idea from the hubby when I saw him painting with black paint his dumbbells and other body-building paraphernalia  — ok, my fitness vocabulary is for now limited to dumbbells– and I must say the outcome surprised me. The whole body-building thingies started looking new again! Wow! That WOW goes out to the freshly painted dumbbells and the better-buffed hubby. 😉

3.  Box planters or pots

Tired of the usual terracotta-colored box planters or ‘paso’, infuse new colors by painting them with the excess colors of your walls! Yellow, green, light blue, purple even? Why not? Your plants might end up happier and more kikay with their OOTD evolution. Try it and paint away. Experiment and be bold.

4.  Bed and cabinet

It may be a little trickier to go DIY repainting for a whole bed or cabinet, but if you have old furniture with small nicks and dings, it may be a good idea to do DIY spot repainting. I once had a queen-size bed I wanted to sell but was hesitant to do so because of a visible nick at the bed’s footboard. Even with the bed’s sturdiness, it couldn’t fetch a good price because of the flaw in the coat finish. I did spot painting on it, and lo and behold, there appeared quite a number of interested buyers. Do make sure though to point out to the buyer any repair or recoat job done on the furniture.

There are more things, more household stuff that can benefit from a session of a fresh coat of paint. Spend a few moments going around your house and eye the items that you can schedule for repainting. The possibilities are endless. Not only are you able to extend an item’s shelf life and usage, even better is that you’re using paint that may otherwise have been put to waste. Now I call that being smart.

Read more here about repurposing things.

Editor’s Note: For the proper preparation of the different surfaces of the items mentioned above, please watch Painting 101 before picking up your paint brush.

Feature Image: Boysen® Countless Colors

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Author

Always in search of bright ideas, practical solutions, and little nuggets of wisdom that make home, and life, just a bit more awesome.

Write A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.