Summer 2020 and the world is standing still. We are all in situation of confinement and isolation - so crafting is the new going out. The options are endless; sewing, knitting, embroidery or even découpage.

However, if you didn’t make it to Hobby Craft to buy a glue gun before the lockdown, I have the answer; up-cycling your household rubbish into objects of desire! No equipment required, just your imagination. Call it Blue Peter for grown ups.

In these challenging times of lockdown we are all looking to food for comfort so don’t pretend that you haven’t stockpiled jars of Nutella. That thick chocolate spread reminds us all of lazy breakfasts in the Mediterranean. The holiday starts with good intentions, fresh fruit and yoghurt for breakfast followed by an hour of ashtanga yoga. Unfortunately by day three the carbs have found us and we’re in a ‘Nutella on a crusty baguette’ shame spiral! Anyway I digress.

The thing is, you’ve bought the Nutella and you’re eating the Nutella like there’s no tomorrow, so what to do with the empty jars? I have the perfect solution.

Nutella jars are so identifiable, iconic even, that they make the most stylish storage jars. Simply fill them with different types of pasta (if you can actually find some in the supermarkets) then label up the jars with Dymo tape and voila, you’ve given your store cupboard a quirky little refresh.

In times of crisis, little indulgences can go a long way. Posh bath products may seem an unnecessary expense but nothing soothes quite like a long soak. Aesop and Neals Yard are two luxury beauty brands from the 1980’s designed for and aimed at the more discerning eco warrior who cares about the environment but not at the expense of style.

The brands have very different approaches to their packaging aesthetics but both have stood the test of time. Neals Yard with its distinctive bottles designed using blue glass to protect the contents from damaging sunlight. Aesop with its simple utilitarian packaging based solely on typography - what can I say I’m a sucker for a Helvetica font!

These beauty brands are aspirational and expensive so it would be a crime to throw away the empty bottles. They are prime up-cycling products that can be used to display flowers, be reimagined as a fragrance diffuser, or transformed into a tea light holder! Handy hint - IKEA tea lights fit the Aesop hand cream jar like a glove.

Reinvention of everyday rubbish can even extend to the creation of art works! Displaying discarded clothing swing tags, restaurant match boxes or beer bottle tops can look so fabulous and who doesn’t love the challenge of collecting things. This is cheap art at its best and the swing tag collection in particular can help justify a serious shopping habit, so silver linings and all that!

I am guilty of an acute love of aesthetics so I lean towards packaging that is either beautiful or iconic but this shouldn’t be a given. I may favour a Farrow & Ball paint tin as a plant pot over B&Q own brand, or wrap my presents in the FT rather than the Daily Mirror, but up-cycling shouldn’t be restricted to tasteful packaging. A Pringles tube can be reinvented as a spaghetti storage jar or a Pot Noodle container transformed into a pencil pot holder - the quirkier the better. A little niche maybe but it still works.

In our modern throw-away society, recycling really matters and these are simple up-cycling projects that anyone can do in their own home. This isn’t about being worthy or trying to save the world, but even so every little helps.

Gabriel García Márquez gave us ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’. I’m giving you ‘Up-cycling in the Time of Corona’. Not quite as highbrow perhaps but in this time of lockdown it passes the time, it’s sustainable and it’s fun.

Words and photos by Tanya Taylor © 2020