I live in an area that does not have street lights and at night it is difficult to "see" my driveway. I checked on red reflectors and they are quite expensive.
I have now placed old computer disks on my mail box post and they reflect great. We arranged them in a "pattern" so they look attractive all the time.
I also placed some in my trees at Christmas and these are really neat with some outdoor lights shining in their direction.
My granddaughter had a party and used some for indoor decorations and everyone liked this idea.
I am sure there are lots more uses for CDs, so start using the old ones sitting on a shelf!
By cybergrannie
This page contains the following solutions.
My students leave me a file of CDs after every semesters as part of the compilation of their projects. After reviewing the contents, all of them go up on our trees, trellis, or around the garden.
We always seem to have a lot of old CDs laying around, so I used them as party invitations for one of the kids' parties. We wrote on them with permanent markers and the kids decorated them with stickers.
I have 2 apricot trees that I started from seed. They are now over 7 feet tall, after only 5 years. When they start to bloom, I hang old CDs from a string on the branches.
Used CD/DVD disks make great paint palettes for acrylic or oil paints, or even the oil sticks used for stenciling.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does anyone have lots of ideas or a source for lots of ideas on how to recycle those CDs we all get in the mail almost daily? I will appreciate any help.
I gave several thousand to a friend for a theme party. She used them as coasters, put holes in them and strung them like a bead curtain (as a backdrop to the buffet table, and used them as reflectors for outdoor Christmas lights.
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Does anyone know what to make out of all those Internet CD's that arrive in the mail? - Andrea
Editor's Note: The more creative the better!
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I have a hard time throwing out anything, I can see something in every piece of junk. I used my "junk" CD's to decorate a small Christmas tree in my office at home; naturally I did not display the printed side. Lots of compliments and FREE, FREE, FREE.
If you are into wreaths, you could do an office type wreath using the "junk" CD's and other related office/computer type items. Trash to treasures is my motto. - Ms. Syd Barr - Dunkirk, MD
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Many sent in this answer. Here's a compilation of the answers:
I use the junk CD's that arrive in the mail almost daily for coasters. Cover the printed side with something pretty (stickers, paint, contact paper) and use a permanent marker on the shiny side to make designs. The hole in the middle doesn't seem to make any difference. You can also put those little felt circles on one side to distinguish them from the good CD's.
They also fly pretty good, try decorating and giving to the kids to play Frisbee. - Melissa, Ray, Gerry and The Rivers Family
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A friend of mine once broke a few CDs up into small pieces and glued the pieces to a Styrofoam ball (one like you would buy in a craft store.) If you put the pieces close together and paint the ball in between the pieces, it looks a lot like a 70's-style disco ball.
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Go to http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov They have a craft there for kids for making the planet Saturn out of old/unusable/unneeded CDs. - Mel
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You can use them to make hot pads to set hot dishes on. Crochet comes to mind, using natural fibers crochet two circles large enough to cover CD, then join. - Linda
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I haven't tried this, but I read somewhere to hang them in your outside trees, as the wind blows & the sun shines on them, that they're pretty and very eye catching. - Terri H.
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The cd's you get in the mail make great driveway markers! Or lay them out in different shapes and put on the wall (i.e. Xmas trees) for holiday decorating. - Judy
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You can make a clock out of them, you can use the back or the front side. You can also decoupage pictures on them first. Use them with pictures of your family on them and hang them on the wall, or put ribbons through them and hang them on the wall or throughout your home. They look very nice and I have seen them in stores for quite a bit of money. - Patty
I had quite a collection of CD's which come in the mail and hated to throw them in the trash. I asked our pre-school director if she had a use for them She went somewhere on line and found they could be decorated and made into sun catchers. She plans to do this with the ones I gave her and any others she gets. The children will love this.
You will find lots of suggestions on my site at www.hintsandthings.com/
I hang them on the trees and shrubs I don't want the deer to feed on. As the DC twists in the breeze the reflection scares the deer away.
Hi, you could send them to http://recyclingcds.com and buy one of their cleverly recycled cd clocks to complete the recycling cycle! They have great designs :)
PUT THE CD ON AN OVEN PROOF SMALL BOWL (I HAVE A STAINLESS STEEL BOWL I USE); TURN OVEN ON TO 250 DEGREES; WATCH THE CD AS IT MELTS DOWN THE SIDE OF THE BOWL; TAKE OUT OF OVEN; FLIP IT OVER; PUT IN ANOTHER BOWL OF SAME SIZE AND PRESS DOWN TO MAKE A BOWL; YOU CAN USE THIS AS A BOWL TO HOLD CHIPS (PLUG THE HOLE WITH TAPE).
I would be hesitant as to the toxins possibly emmited from the plastic when heated???
I have made CD bowls and the CDs are not in the oven long enough to emit any toxins they melt very quickly and you keep the oven door open there for you watch them carefully and bring them out as quickly as you see them start to melt and then mold them
Does anyone have any uses for CDs or DVDs? I hoard them in hopes of finding a neat way to use them.
By KAREN ADAMS from Hastings, NE
I paint on them. They make great sun catchers. Can decorate or paint and use for displaying candles. My neighbor drills a hole in the, paints one side, strings 2 or 3 on 1 string and hangs them in her garden to scare the birds.
I've seen them hung in trees to scare birds when fruit is ripening. I've also seen them hanging in trees outside at Christmas as ornaments.
Get some fishing line and something you can make holes in the dvds with and make a curtain with it. You can sand the written up side a little bit and then paint will stick, if you want to decorate them.
There are so many creative things to make from CDs, so just type in, " CD uses" or CD crafts and you will find lots and lots of cool things to use them for.
They are great reflectors in your plants. Growing increases due to the reflective material.
You could use them on the garden to scare off birds when you have just sown seeds.
If you don't want birds in your garden, especially if you have fruit trees, CDs can provide a bright flash that many birds avoid. Using CDs to keep birds out of your garden is a common and effective practice.
This is a page about crafts using CDs. Making crafts with recycled CDs is fun and cheap for adults and children alike.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Here are some uses for old CDs and DVDs suggested by our ThriftyFun community. Post your own ideas here
