Wednesday, May 25, 2011

One Man's Junk is Another's Treasure... AKA: 101 Uses for Pallets!

Sitting on the porch, watching the sheep munching away at the new feeder I had just constructed (with Mike's help) for them, I was thinking of the invaluable resource used in its construction; pallets.

It's always cool when you can take society's "garbage" and turn it into something useful. There are a lot of "unnatural resources" out there to tap into if you look around and use your creativity. One of our most plentiful materials happens to be the humble pallet. And the best part is how economical they are to obtain: $0.

I thought I'd take a walk around and highlight some of the ways we've found to utilize these versatile, albeit cumbersome modular building components. 





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For starters, there's the obvious solar shower that recently earned its own post.

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Here are a couple of potato bins down in our root cellar... (It was dark down there, btw. I had to navigate by the light of camera flash...) Yup, the reserve is getting low.. there are a few bags in the left bin, but it's exciting to have a whole field at work out there producing this year's harvest!

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What's a yooper without his firewood pile? And what's a firewood pile without pallets underneath and on the ends to support it? All knocked over and in a big mess, that's what. Been there, done that.

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Steve used pallet planks to build this swinging bench last year. We've actually made numerous chairs and benches that feature reclaimed seats and backs.

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Ah, yes. The new hay feeder... We've procrastinated on building one of these for way too long! If we had known it'd only take 10 minutes and a few pallets, maybe we would have built it a long time ago...

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And... The goats got their own new feeder too! This one took a bit longer to construct, mainly due to the fact that the playful animals were jumping all over our project and knocking it down before it was completed... See the guilty look on her face? No? (That's cuz it was actually the other one...)

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A base for a grain storage bin..
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This is what happens when you try to get all artistic and down low... A cat comes running over and gets in the shot. Though, I guess I can't blame the cat for my thumb over the lens...


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And--pallets for putting stuff on! Who'da thought, right?

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Pallets over logs as a free roof. (In this case, over our little cordwood barn.)


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And--Don't forget to save the best wood for small projects like games and toys! Steve laminated hardwood pallet planks and turned them on the lathe to make our family's Chess set! (We let him win occasionally to show our gratitude...)

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Never thought wheels could look "cute" on a horse, but these little Christmas toys have changed my thinking.. Made completely from pallet-procured oak!
Well, that's all I've got for now. I know, I'm not quite up to 101 yet... though I'm sure there's plenty of things I missed.. Just thought I'd share, and maybe give ya' a couple of ideas! Oh, and if you can think of a new way to put some pallets to good use, let us know in a comment below. We're always looking for new ideas!
Andrew



15 comments:

  1. Pallets, who knew! :D I love the hay feeder. That's pretty neat. We have used old pallets from my dad's job to make all of our dog houses. It has saved a huge amount of money, and is truly being "green". ;) Great job ya'll!
    Have a wonderful day!

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  2. Free? Sheesh in our neck of the woods, uhh, make that plains, those handy things go for $10 or more and they are all made of pine! :-(
    So, count your lucky pallets :-)

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  3. Wow, guess we ARE lucky! Well, perhaps you need to look elsewhere for your unnatural resources... ;)

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  4. I just discovered you on the down to earth forum. Wow - how innovative - I love that swing :)

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  5. Wow! love the hay feeder! I should try building one? But, then again I made a round bale feeder one time and Dad came home mad a recked it : )) gotta love it! lol

    You get your pallets for free? They go for about $15+ over here!

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  6. Sounds like we're trying to make money the hard way... ;-) We'll start a pallet-selling business!

    Sometimes you just need to ask around.. There's a few places around here that want $2-$5 for 'em, but they're free if you know where to go. ;-) You can bring a few back if you visit... Makes a nice dad-proof feeder.

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  7. Can you explain a little more about how you built the hay feeder? I'm going to share this post on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheChickenWire. I just got started but I'll be sharing tips and ideas for farm and garden!

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    1. I dunno, looks pretty self-explanatory to me.. ;-) Use screws and pilot holes to build with hardwood pallets--speaking from many a bent nail. The horizontal "tray" pallet is scabbed to the sides with a few wood scraps. The rest lined up pretty good for strong joints.

      Check out the newest post to see the pallet pen we just built!

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  8. I like the wooden toy horse with wheels. It's really cute.

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  9. I a going to try and make one of the goat feeders today. I saw a pic of this a couple months ago and saved it then i couldnt find it then i found it again! Thanks for sharing! I have gotten abbout 50 pallets over the last couple months for free and have been making goat shelters and they are turning out awsome and the only thing that has cost me to build them in the screws and or nails. :) they are so addicting to make too! lol

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  10. well i just made one of these, it took me about an hour but i did it myself and the most time was hand cutting the boards. havent put the bottom feeder thing on yet but thank you thank you thank you for posting this! I am a contruction idiot and i still figured out how to do this by just looking at the pics, so if i can do it (farm girl) anyone can do it :) thanks again!! saved me a bunch of money!

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  11. i would LOVE more info on the grain storage bin- looks like some super cleverness going on with that design! What's the top like? We're trying to decide on getting a gravity bin on wheels, but then I saw yours and it got me thinking...thanks for all you do!

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    1. There's not much to it--the top is just hinged plywood with a coat of asphalt emulsion/tar. It would feed the grain better with a sloped bottom, but we just rake it out when it gets low. Good luck with yours!

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  12. Wow, that is some awesome uses. I am starting to make things out of pallets for fun and I was looking for a way to make something out of the smaller pieces. I like the chess set and toy idea. Check out my blog at palletparadise.blogspot.com.

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