by Pamela Kay

Created on: December 15, 2008

Throwing out the Christmas tree always makes you feel a little sad and wasteful, but you can prevent that by recycling, rather than discarding it. Here are a few innovative ideas for how to recycle your Christmas tree in ways that allow you to keep using and enjoying it after the holidays have passed.

BIRD FEEDER

Cut the limbs from the tree leaving two to three-inch stubs on which birds can perch. Cut a sixteen-inch length and drill half-inch holes about half an inch deep above each stub. Scatter a few more drill holes around the trunk for birds that don't require perches such as woodpeckers.

Insert a heavy-duty screw eye into the top and add a few drops of wood glue to secure it. Tie a long length of rope to the screw eye and hang the feeder. Make a mixture using bird seeds, cereal such as oatmeal, peanut butter or suet and overfill the holes with it.

LANDSCAPING AND OUTDOOR USES

*Bird Shelter
Drive a tall stake into the ground and wire the Christmas tree to it. Decorate it with suet, strung popcorn and cranberries, peanut butter and birdseed balls that feed the birds as they shelter in the branches.

*Mulch and Compost
Feed the tree to the chipper/shredder and use it for mulch or add it to your compost pile to create rich compost for your flowerbeds.

*Raised Garden Beds
Ask your neighbors for their trees and make a raised bed in your garden. Remove all branches, drill holes in the trunk, stack several of them with the drilled holes aligned and drive a piece of re-bar through them into the ground.

*Steps and Handrails
Make trails, steps and handrails on wooded lots or on embankments with recycled tree trunks cut to length.

*Yard Furniture
Strip all branches from the tree and use the trunk to make a piece of yard furniture such as a quaint bench or chair. Use the limbs to make bentwood backs and arms for the chair.

*Arbor or Trellis
Using several trees, you can create an arbor, a garden trellis or a tee pee for green beans or vines to climb. You can also clean the tree trunk of all limbs and cut it into garden stakes for tall plants or tomatoes.

*Garden Stakes
Drive eight stakes into the ground, forming a 5 to 6-foot square. Nail the trees to the stakes for a quick, cheap compost bin. If you have enough trees, cover the bottom of the compost bin too.

CRAFTS

*Closet Sachets
Remove the needles from cedar, fir or pine Christmas trees and stuff them into an old pillowcase. Place these in your closet to keep it smelling fresh for up to a year.

*Picture Frames
Remove branches and cut the trunk into one-inch slabs. Cut these into equal pieces and miter the corners. Staple the mitered corners together and use as a picture frame.

*Evergreen Potpourri
Removing the pine needles from the tree and mix them with dried seed pods, dried flowers and bayberry leaves. Add orris root, vanilla pods or dry lavender as a fixative to hold the scent and place this in a bowl to scent your home for months to come.

*Bird Houses
Cut the Christmas tree trunks into slabs and then make a birdhouse using one of the free patterns found at: http://www.freeww.com/birdhouses.html

*Doll House Furniture
Use both the trunk and the limbs to create doll house dishes, dolls, ironing board, chairs, beds, tables and other furniture.

Whether you recycle your Christmas tree for building, landscaping or crafting, it just makes more sense than burning it. Now that you know how to recycle your Christmas tree, share these ideas with friends and family and see who can come up with more ideas.

Sources
http://davesgarden.com/

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