7 Free Things You Can Build With Wood Pallets

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If you are looking for an inexpensive way to make a variety of wood projects on your homestead, look no further than shipping pallets. Many large retailers and distribution centers will let you haul away wood pallets they cannot use for free or for a nominal fee.

Lots of companies re-use their pallets for return shipments. Always call first to see if pallets are available, and never assume that pallets stored outside at a facility are free for the taking.

Not all pallets are alike. Pallets usually are marked with either the letters “MB,” which means they have been chemically treated with methyl bromide, or “HT,” which means they have been heat treated. Other pallets may have been pressure treated with preservatives.

If you are planning a project for your garden or for the interior of your home, avoid chemically treated pallets and pressure-treated pallets. Also, if the pallets smell bad or appear to be infested with bugs, leave them be.

When you choose wisely, however, pallets can become the basis for a wide variety of easy home and garden projects. What’s more is that items made with this form of reclaimed wood tend to last and last.

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Here are seven ideas for pallets in and around your homestead.

1. Vertical planter — The very way pallets are constructed makes them ideal for use as an attractive and practical vertical planter.

Materials

• one 25 inch x 38 inch pallet
• roll of landscaping paper
• sandpaper
• staple gun and staples
• hammer and nails
• potting soil (2.5 cubic feet)
• succulents, herbs or other small plants

Instructions

1. Sand the rough spots on your pallet and use some pieces of scrap wood to add some support to the back of your pallet.
2. Double or triple the landscaping fabric, and then staple it along the back, bottom and sides of the pallet, carefully folding in the fabric at the corners so soil will not spill out.
3. Place the pallet flat on the ground and pour soil through slats, making sure you allow enough room for your plants. Press the soil down firmly.
4. Starting at the bottom and ending at the top of the pallet, begin planting your plants. Add more soil as needed to make sure plants are tightly packed.
5. Water plants thoroughly and let the pallet remain horizontal for about two weeks. After plants begin to take root, you can hang it upright.

Here’s a video demonstrating this:

2. Room divider

You can make an attractive, rustic-looking room divider for your home with wood pallets. The number of pallets you need depends on the size of the room and the style of the divider you want to create. Here are a few clever ideas.

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3. Shoe rack

Are shoes taking over your entryway? This idea is such a natural for pallets, you will wonder why you didn’t think of it before.

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4. End table

There are some lovely examples of pallet end tables on the Internet. You can make a sturdy accent piece for your living room or a bedroom by using reclaimed pallet wood.

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5. Chairs

Do you like the traditional styling of Adirondack chairs? You can make one yourself with a pallet.

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6. Garden tool organizer

The slats in pallets make them a good choice for a garage or shed organizer for your rakes, shovels and other long-handled garden equipment.

Here is a standing rack option:

7. Pallet headboard

Last but not least, you can use pallets to create a simple-but-creative headboard for your bed. Here are some directions to get you started:

Once you get started working with pallets, you are sure to come up with more ideas of your own. Here is a video that showcases some attractive and useful items – including some of the ideas in this article as well as others — made with pallets.

What have you made with pallets? Do you have any advice? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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