Monday, April 2, 2012

Guest Post: Exercise Your Pallet

How “ugly” wood can add beauty to your home...


Stress and depression are common ailments these days. Whether it be you job, money, or even having a loved one in the military, avoiding stress can be a daunting task. Though doctors prescribe pills and therapists prescribe sessions, sometimes those things don’t cut it. Some turn to exercise, vacations, long distance phone calls to family members or their man/woman overseas, but who would have thought DYI projects could help lend a hand?

The truth is, adding a little something of your own to your house, gardening, or writing can help take you mind of things for awhile and reduce stress. The confidence boost that comes of completing a project is what enables this. For this article I have decided to talk about making items out of palette wood. It is something I enjoy and is a free way to make some cool things.

Finding raw materials can often be the most expensive part of a new project. A growing trend among the do-it-yourself crowd has been to salvage and reuse materials that have been discarded after their initial use. One of the most popular items over the last few years has been the wooden shipping pallet.

It is estimated that ¼ of the wood harvested in the United States is used for constructing shipping pallets. Used by companies to package and secure large amounts of items, these wooden pieces are forgotten once the shipments are received and the products stored away. Often they are used only once before being stacked in an ally or shipped off to take up space in a landfill.

The solution to the problem is simple and easy. Recycle the wood from the pallets for projects around the house! The Internet is filled with blueprints and instructions on crafting anything from a birdhouse to a bed platform using the wood from recycled pallets. There are endless examples of end tables, swinging outdoor chairs, coffee tables and computer desks that are easy to make and require nothing but the pallets, some screws or nails and a little bit of paint.

Enterprising green thumbs have found plenty of uses for pallets in their backyards. From using them to build compost bins or hanging gardens, the pallets provide an inexpensive way to build an environmentally-friendly garden. Some ambitious builders have even gone so far as to build cabins and storage sheds using nothing but recycled shipping pallets!

Reusing wooden shipping pallets is a fun, inexpensive way to help the environment and create one-of-a-kind projects that can be used for years to come.

About My Guest Blogger:
My name is Allison and I am a fun-loving, adventurous being. When my job doesn’t have me traveling I normally guest blog, ride my horse, or hang out with friends. I normally write about natural health and healing, but I Love writing about projects and eco friendly DYI projects.

Allison can be reached through her blog, Musings of a Curious Mind

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metalstorage said...
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