A new mattress is one of the significant investments you can make for your bedroom. But what do you do with the old mattress once the new one is in place? Just because you got a new mattress doesn’t mean you should toss the other one away. Re-using the bed in different ways gives it a new sense of purpose, and reduces waste. Here are a few tips on how to reuse the old mattress.
How to Reuse Your Old Mattress
- Move it to the guest room. Keep the extra mattress in the guestroom for additional comfort. You could also keep the mattress for your children and especially when they are ready to move out. This could save them lots of money and time before they can save up on a new one. Checking with immediate family or even a neighbor to see if they need a mattress could help too.
- Recycle everything. Almost everything in the old mattress can be recycled. The box spring, wood, and steel reinforcements could be recycled to recreate something better. Check with your local recycling center to see what they can take from the old mattress.
- Donate. Many people, and especially churches, local charities, and even the needy will appreciate if you donate the mattress to them. Most charities will be willing to pick the mattress from your home. You might however have to sanitize the mattress before giving it out. Animal shelters might also be interested in the mattress. For this reason, donating the mattress would be a fantastic idea. As an added advantage, donating also helps ease your taxes.
- Convert it into a dog bed. This is only applicable to twin size mattresses, and particularly foam mattresses. You only need to waterproof the cushion, fit it in a sheet or mattress protector, then create a small bed for your pet. Experts recommend doing this with foam mattresses for they can be cut into various sizes, and flexible too.
- Sell it online. If the mattress is still in a usable condition and free of visible signs of wear and tear, you could then sell it online. Just be sure to clean it well before taking photos of it. As long as the pictures are of the highest quality possible, more and more people will call to make an offer. You will be surprised at the number of people that will be willing to spend a few dollars to buy a used mattress.
- Make a daybed with it. With the extra bed, you can go ahead and make the daybed you have always wanted. The bed can be used in the sitting room, guest room, or even the sunroom. You can use the daybed either as a bed or even a couch depending on how you like it. Such a conversion won’t require much. You can get a daybed frame at an affordable price.
- Use the mattress components for DIY projects. The mattress itself is made of components that would come in handy in a DIY project. The springs, for instance, can be used for gardening, art projects, and to hold wine bottles among other uses. You can even create a storage cabinet from the wooden box. With a creative mind, everything that comes with the old mattress can be used in various applications, hence reducing waste.
Final Take
Reusing your old mattress is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. As long as you can repurpose everything you have in the house instead of simply tossing it to landfills, you will be saving the planet. Try all the tips outlined above before throwing the old mattress away.