Sometimes you have too many hangers.
Sometimes your hangers are ugly.
Sometimes you have the wrong kind of hangers–plastic instead of wooden. Wire instead of plastic.
Regardless of whatever you hate about the hangers you have, the answer is rarely to throw them away. Trust me–you’ll hate knowing that they’re wasting away in a landfill for all of eternity even more than you hate owning them.
Instead, upcycle those unwanted hangers. Make them cute and keep hanging your clothes on them, or repurpose them into something entirely new. Either way, you’ll be a lot happier, and knowing that you’re keeping more items out of the waste stream will make it even better.
Check out this list of my favorite upcycled hanger projects, and get inspired!
1. DIY ribbon hanger. If you hate the look of your plastic hangers, hide that ugly plastic by covering them in ribbon scraps.
2. Back scratcher. Now you never need to ask somebody else to scratch your back for you!
3. Coat hanger coat rack. It’s a coat rack made from coat hangers. It’s brilliant.
4. Fabric-covered hangers. This is a nice way to use up some fabric stash. If you have any scraps left after sewing a special garment, you could use them to make a matching hanger!
5. Painted wooden hanger. Sometimes all an ugly wooden hanger needs is a fresh coat of paint.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG3EHtJS_qA/
6. Jewelry holder. A couple of extra knobs turns a wooden hanger into a useful wall-mounted jewelry holder.
7. Monogram ornament. Wire hangers are stiff, but you can bend them with some effort, and it means that the ornament you create will resist warping.
8. Hanging reel for cord storage. While I don’t think a wire hanger could support our super-long garden hose, I think it would be just the thing for our over-abundant extension cord collection.
9. Wood hanger dish drying rack. Most store-bought dish drying racks are cheaply made, and it shows. This homemade one, constructed from wood hangers, is sturdier–and nicer looking, too!
10. Wire hanger plant markers. Use found objects, jewelry wire, and wire hangers to give your plants an innovative and moveable plant marker.
11. Belt organizer. If you don’t like your hanger, maybe you’re just using it to hang the wrong thing. Try belts instead!
12. Faux iron scroll decor. You can camouflage wire hangers to look like much fancier, more expensive materials. Nobody will know that this isn’t real iron scrollwork!
13. Padded hanger. Martha Stewart shows you how to give a whole new, way classier look to your typical hanger.
14. Picture frame. Here’s an easy way to get some of your favorite photos up on the wall. For a burst of color, spray paint the hanger before mounting it.
15. Scented padded hanger. Want your padded hangers to be even more luxurious? Add dried herbs!
https://www.instagram.com/p/xt6VCeJSgs/
16. Recipe holder. A child-sized or doll clothes hanger can be upcycled into a hanging recipe holder. No more getting spaghetti sauce all over your favorite handwritten recipe card!
17. Wall-mounted hanger. This hanger is mounted upside-down onto a wall. Twist the hook towards you, and now you’ve got a whole new way to hold your house keys or dog’s leash.
18. Wreath. Probably the easiest way to upcycle a wire hanger is to bend it into a wreath form.
19. Hoop skirt form. You can’t just order a hoop skirt from the Sears catalog anymore. Alas, you’ll have to DIY your own–good thing wire hangers make such good material!
20. Cat tent. The cutest kitty in the world needs the coziest cat tent that it’s possible to make. This is it!
21. Clothespin bag. If you’re like me and often hang your clothes outside to dry, you know how handy this DIY clothespin bag can be.
22. Decorative orb. Nobody is ever going to believe that this woven metal orb is made from old wire hangers.
23. Wall hooks rack. Upcycle the hooks from broken metal hangers into a nice-looking and super-useful rack of wall hooks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/2SBeUYNbwE/
24. Easel. A tabletop display couldn’t be easier!
25. Garden edging. Store-bought garden edging solutions can look so cheap and tacky. Well, this wire hanger garden edging is cheap, too, but at least it’s not tacky.
26. flip-flop holder. You might think that you don’t want any more wire hangers in your life, but that’s before you saw this way to turn a wire hanger into a hanging flip-flop holder. I think you need this!
27. Yarn-wrapped non-slip hangers. Cover wire hangers in scrap yarn and not only will they hold your tank tops and silk shirts without slipping, but they’ll also look a lot prettier.
28. Wire hanger and upcycled sweater butterfly wings. Use the wire from a wire hanger to mold just the right wing shape, then cover it with fabric from an old sweater. It’s a dress-up obsessed kid’s delight!
29. Christmas countdown calendar. This project is deceptively simple, and an unobtrusive way to have a countdown calendar without filling your living room with the typical paper chain that most people use.
30. DIY roasting sticks. Use uncoated wire hangers for this project, along with thick dowel scraps.
31. Sunburst mirror. Sunburst mirrors have been popular for several years now, but most DIY versions are made from plastic spoons, which is a shame. This upcycled wire hanger one is much more eco-friendly.
32. Scarf hanger. Add some shower curtain rings to a hanger to turn it into a useful storage spot for scarves.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ihwKdbGGmL/
33. T-shirt covered hangers. These hangers couldn’t be cuter, covered in fringed T-shirt scraps. And they’re non-slip!
34. Tin can lantern. Wire hangers make the handles on these tin can lanterns, upcycled from old tin cans.
35. Topiary. Don’t you want to train your Boston ivy to grow in a lovely topiary? The trick is to train the ivy to grow up a base that you’ve sculpted from a wire coat hanger.
36.Wall-mounted book holder. You always need more book storage! This quick and easy method turns a wire hanger into a book holder that hangs easily from a nail in the wall.
Do YOU have a favorite way to upcycle hangers? Tell me about it in the Comments below!