10 Frugal Uses for Scrap Wood

Scrap wood is easy to find and can often be taken home for free or just pennies. Should you find yourself with some scrap wood on hand, you should get excited about all of the possibilities! Take a look below at 10 frugal uses for scrap wood that you can try. You will find that scrap wood is a great item to have on hand and can serve many purposes!

10 Frugal Uses for Scrap Wood

1. Craft an easy pencil holder.

Take a block of scrap wood and drill holes into it. You can then insert pens and pencils into the holes for easy storage and display. Feel free to paint or stain the holder when done!

2. Make your own decorative coat rack.

Take a square or length of scrap wood and screw hooks to it. You can find the hooks at hardware stores fairly cheap. Then, drill the entire piece to the wall or add a picture hook on the back for hanging. The end result is a rustic yet purposeful coat rack. Here is a DIY Coat Rack Tutorial.

3. Level soil.

When working in your yard, you can use a piece of wood to level sand and soil. Just comb the edge of the wood over the sand or soil to smooth it out and level it up.

4. Take the scraps camping.

Scrap wood makes an excellent fire starter. Add some scrap wood to your camp fire or bonfire before lighting it up and it will help the fire roar. Here are more places to find free or cheap firewood.

5. Cover a tabletop.

Take multiple cuts of scrap wood and use wood glue to glue them to the top of an old or outdated table. Cut the wood to fit of course, and assemble it to fit as if you were putting together a puzzle. Once all of the pieces are in place, nail the wood to the table to secure it. Apply an optional stain or leave natural.

6. Make your own coasters.

Take pieces of scrap wood about the size of your palm to use as coasters. Cover the pieces with a clear coat of polyurethane to protect the wood from moisture first. You can use larger pieces of scrap wood as coasters for plants and flower pots. It is a great way to protect your floors.

7. Create a fast floor mat.

Larger, thinner sheets of scrap wood can be turned into an instant floor mat for shoes. Like the coasters, you can cover the piece with a clear coat of polyurethane to protect the wood from moisture first.

8. Let kids build.

Kids love using tools. Place a nail into the wood, and then give the child a smaller sized hammer to practice hammering. Or, place a screw in the wood and let them practice using a screw driver. They will love the hands on experience.

9. Make a frugal landscaping border.

You can take scraps of wood and use them to create borders around bushes and flower beds. Stain the wood first and use a protective coating to protect it from rain and rot.

10. Make instant wall art.

Paint the scrap wood various colors and attach it to walls for some instant art. You can make groupings of the wood in various colors, or even paint favorite sayings on the wood and display it. Here is a DIY Rustic Wood Wall Art Tutorial.

As you can see, scrap wood has so many fun uses. The next time you stumble across some, give some of these suggestions a try!