In this day and age, there's no doubt that our consumption is through the roof. We use so much "stuff" without realizing the impact they have on our planet. We've been going to fast food chains and using disposable items for decades. In fact, these things have been a way of life for many. Along with increasing consumption also comes a growing pile of trash. In a
study done by the World Resources Institute, the average person living in the United States uses 300 shopping bags worth of raw materials every week. The study adds that if everyone were to consume the same amount, we would need the resources of three planets to meet our demands. If that isn't troubling to you, I seriously don't know what is.
It's about time that we make recycling and re-purposing our stuff a way of living. Given that many of us consume wine, what better way to learn recycling than to build our very own DIY wine rack? There are numerous ways to do it without you putting a hole in your pocket and with common materials that may be found in your garbage bin. On this page, we'll check out some of them.
Vinyl Records
Vinyl records and cassettes have long been replaced by digital music formats such as MP3 and AAC. Very few people prefer them these days. Audio enthusiasts and DJ's may have good use for them, but they're mostly decorative for most of us. With MP3, you can carry your music with you everywhere simply by syncing the file to your device. You certainly can't do that with vinyl records. Due to the rapid changes in technology, these records are either sold in bulk for cheap or thrown away. But did you know that you can turn them into a
DIY wine rack?
Records are typically made of PVC or polystyrene. This means that they conform to a given shape when enough heat is applied. Deformed or warped records are actually a common problem among collectors. They try to fix it by putting the record between two sheets of glass and placing the assembly inside a pre-heated oven with low temperature. Using the same method, you can bend a vinyl record into a shape that can hold a wine bottle. Stack five of them together, and you'll have a wine rack that's stylish and one of a kind.
Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard has a lot of uses. It may not last long, but it can be used as a placeholder for wine bottles in crates. If done well, a crate wine rack can be a living room's centerpiece. Take a look at the photo below and you be the judge.
PVC Pipes
PVC pipes are usually stored indefinitely or thrown away after a house renovation. The size of these pipes vary, and all of them can be used in a DIY wine rack project. The typical wine bottle has a diameter of 3-4 inches. Look for pipes of the same diameter. The smaller ones can be used as adornment.
Used Pallets
Old wooden pallets are often thrown away or sold at a substantially reduced price in factories, cargo ports or manufacturing plants. There's actually a whole new sector that formed within the pallet industry because of the growing demand for used pallets. Nowadays, there are retailers selling used pallets at a slightly marked up price. Regardless, the price is still considerably better than brand new wood.
Who would have thought that these things could be turned into a DIY wine rack? A little bit of creativity can certainly go a long way. If you have other wine rack ideas in mind, don't hesitate to post in the comments section below.
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