Upcycle Your Junk Into Treasures

These early days of spring cleaning will have you eyeing your possessions with a bit of should-it-stay-or-should it go mentality. Before you're too quick on the draw to either "trash them" or "donate them," consider the word "upcycle."

Not to be confused with recycling, upcycling is taking an old or useless object and turning it into something better. Your boxes of cassettes? A recycle bin full of egg or yogurt containers? That unloved container of small green army men? Pure design gold!