Upcycled decorations for your room

How to turn waste into beautiful decor on a budget

One of the exciting parts of moving to university halls is decorating your room. On a student budget, this may seem hard to do, but there are ways to avoid buying expensive decor and instead, you can make your own for much cheaper!

Tins & jars

Forget buying a pricey vase or pencil pot holder - you can use leftover tins and jars! If you're a baked beans lover or just cook with tinned foods, always save them! Make sure you give them a good clean before using them. You can either leave them with their brand logo on or peel the label off and have a painting session. Unleash your inner Bob Ross and invite your flatmates and friends to join in a craft session. 

This is such a great way to recycle and reuse items, and it'll save you so much money!

You can make things like:

• Flower vase
• Pencil/pen pot
• Storage for jewelry/small items
• Meal prep & salads - overnight oats or layered salad dressings.
• Fairy light lantern - works best for jars
• Mini terrarium - layer small stones, soil and a tiny moss plant or succulent
• Layered cookie mix - pack dry ingredients like flour, sugar and chocolate chips and tag a recipe on top. It's a great gift idea.

Grow your own garden

You can reuse old egg cartons and clean yoghurt pots to create your own windowsill garden. If you cut each cup from the carton, you have your own mini planters! Fill each cup with soil and seeds, and you're done! If you're leaving them like this, make sure you place them on a tray on the windowsill, as the water may leak through.

You can also fill an empty jar with soil, make a small hole in the centre and slightly bury the paper cups so you don't have to worry about any water leakages on your windowsill, and it makes them look pretty!

Small bits and bobs

If you have lots of small bits lying around, before you recycle them, you might be able to turn them into some useful crafts too!

• Bottle caps: Glue old bottle caps (you may have some from Freshers' Week) to small magnets to hold notes on the fridge. You can display photos of you and your friends, things to remember and event posters you may be going to.
• CDs: You can find CDs and DVDs in charity shops for £1 or less. Cover them in loose fabric (you can even use an old T-shirt) to make cheap coasters!
• Egg cups: Another use for egg cups, if you like to paint, you can use them as a paint palette for your art projects.

Upcycling items isn't just a way to be sustainable. It's also a way to save money and add a personal touch to your generic room. It's a great way to get crafty, either by yourself or with your flatmates, as a first-week bonding session ❤️