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DIY Recycled School Supplies

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Have you started to go a wee bit crazy yet with the Back to School Preparations and endless lists of school supplies needed? We are too! Amanda Greene is here with us today to give us all some helpful tips on a fun craft project you can do with your kids; prepare back to school supplies using recycled materials!  These DIY Recycled School Supplies are fun to make and make Back to School Shopping slightly less expensive. SCORE!

Summer is a time for fun in the sun, but as summer starts to wind down, parents need to start getting their kids mentally prepared to go back to school. A great way to start easing them into the idea of school is some fun back to school art projects! One such craft project is making some school supplies from recycled materials. This will keep costs down and reduce your family’s impact on the environment.

recycled school materials - diy school supplies - organizers

What are good craft supplies to keep on hand for a recycling project at home? 

There are so many household items that you can use. You can use old plastic bottles, a plastic cup, egg cartons, plastic bags, tin cans, plastic bottle caps, plastic water bottles, paper plates, cardboard boxes, paper scraps, aluminum cans, old CDs, old tires, and anything else that can be used in a fun way. 

​Easy crafts like these are perfect to put new life into recyclable materials so that they’re put to good use. A simple project is one of the best ways to do a little project that can have a positive impact. 

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8 DIY Recycled School Supplies:

We hope our DIY Recycled School Supplies ideas make preparing for back to school fun for you and your children.  Here are eight ideas for projects that can work for children of different ages and skill levels.

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Pencil and Notepad Holder from a DVD Case

Photo Credit A Girl and A Glue Gun

This project level is very easy and it can work for almost any age child. These DIY Recycled School Supplies are made from an old DVD case. Use craft paper to decorate the outside of the DVD case and personalize it. Your child can also choose to paint the outside of the case if they choose. Cut down paper to fit inside the left side of the case and then make a pocket on the right side of the case with craft paper, or even leftover scrap wallpaper. Colored pencils or regular pencils or pens can be kept inside the pocket design on the right side of their new, portable carrying case.

Organization Caddy

Photo Courtesy of Controlling My Chaos

This organization caddy or station is a great gift for your student’s teacher or perfect for homeschooling parents to have a centralized organization system for all of your school and art supplies. In the picture example, they used vegetable cans, soup cans, and buckets and painted them. Painting allows you to color code or personalize the containers. Depending on what size containers you need, coffee cans or recycled paint cans will work as well. If painting is not your craft of choice, it can be fun to cover the cans and containers using craft paper, scrapbook paper, or even white paper that the kids can decorate ahead of time before gluing to the containers.

Puzzle Rug

Photo Courtesy of Pinterest

This is another great gift for teachers, especially teachers with younger students that need this type of visual stimulation and still have kids young enough to sit on the floor. This fun DIY Recycled School Supplies project uses scraps of carpets, the more colors the better. Carpet companies often have small remnants like this available for little or no cost.

Pencil Holder

Photo Courtesy of Seasons of Joy

In the photo here, the pencil holder is being used as a vase, which is another possibility for this craft project. Bringing their teacher a back to school gift is always a well-received first impression for any teacher. If you are using this as a vase, a recycled glass jar is best to use for the base. If you are using just as a pencil holder, the base can be an old can or similar container; you can even use a cut paper towel roll. Regular Number 2 pencils can be found in packages at the dollar store, so there is very little expense involved here. Simply glue the pencils to your jar or container and wrap with a cute ribbon of your choice to reinforce the pencils and add a nice design element.

Desk Organizer

Photo Courtesy of Mod Podge Rocks

It is hard to believe that this project is created using old cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, and toilet paper rolls! It is a really cute idea and can be customized for any style or taste and any age design. Use wrapping paper or craft paper to decorate the outside of the recycled cardboard and create a color scheme that will make it fun and easy for your kids to keep their work areas neat and organized at home or at school.

School Tool Box

Photo Courtesy of A Creative Princess

Organization of all the crayons and school supplies is always a challenge. Personalizing their own school tool box will likely encourage your kids to keep everything together in the design they created. This look is achieved with an old tool box covered with wall paper or thick wrapping paper of their favorite design. Stickers or stencils can further personalize the tool box or say whatever message your kids choose to design.

Magnetic Locker Pencil Holder

Photo Courtesy of Crafts by Amanda

This simple recycled tin can makes not only a pretty pencil holder, but it is a space saver too! As we have already shown in this article, the container can be painted or decorated in any number of ways. This look uses letter beads to add personalization, which almost all kids love! What makes this option unique is that it can help you save space if that is an issue for you in your locker. The can sticks to a magnet you have mounted on the inside of your locker or on a wall. This also helps ensure that all of the contents are not constantly knocked off of the desk!

Mint Tin Organizers

Photo Courtesy of Pinterest

If you are into crafting, then perhaps you have already seen the many uses of mint tins. This particular DIY Recycled School Supplies idea does not really show too much decorating, although you can decorate the tins in a number of ways, in addition to using a labeler or stickers to identify the different uses you intend to organize inside, such as small school supplies.

About The Author:

Amanda Greene is the author and Brand Manager for RHL. She enjoys writing about college and dorm life.

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