With sustainability being a big deal these days, one of the most eco-friendly practices is to repurpose old things and bring new life into them.
People repurpose all sorts of things for new use. Whether it be using old CDs to scare off birds, turning old shirts into gloves, toilet rolls into works of art - you name it and people would have done it.
One of the easiest things to bring new life into is a mousepad. There are lots of ways you can repurpose one too. Let’s take a look:
Placemat
This idea is probably one of the easiest ones to do and is great if you have young children and an old mousepad with a design that appeals to them.
As we all know, young children can get very messy when eating, flicking food everywhere and ruining a good table. All you need to do is get the old mousepad and lay it down flat on whatever table you want.
Plates, bowls, cutlery, drinks, etc. can all be comfortable on top leaving no marks or mess on an otherwise perfectly fine table. You may also have to cut the mousepad into the desired size.
And as mentioned before, a nice mousepad with a design that your child would love is a bonus. (Think Marvel, DC, Anime, Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, etc.)
Bottle and Jar Opener Grip
There have been so many times when it has been stupidly hard to just open a jar. You can go and buy all sorts of clamps and gadgets, but all you really need is just a grippy material to place over the rim to snugly open the lid up.
Most mousepads of higher quality will have a nice rubbery material underneath them, perfect for being used as a grip to open jars and bottles.
The best way to go about doing this is by cutting a mousepad into a much smaller strip - or anything about the size of your hand.
Bar Runner/Mat
What a perfect combination with the previous idea!
If you have a bar or mancave-type space at home, then a long mousemat can easily be placed across a bar table. Drinks can be placed on top with no problem, and you can make as much mess as you please with the liquid.
If you have the usual gamer mousemat with say, a World of Warcraft theme on it - then this is a nice way of showing off your appreciation for a particular game you like and you’ll be able to bring your own style to your bar.
Floor Protection Pads
People often forget that you should always try and protect your flooring and furniture by placing pads underneath the legs.
If you have a spare mousepad available, then you can do exactly that, and for this idea, you don’t really need to have large mousemats either.
Just cut out the right size for whatever piece of furniture you want, and stick it underneath it.
This protects hard floors from being scratched through years and years of dragging - and it also makes everything a lot softer and quieter.
Indoor Pot Plant Mat
Heavy pot plants inside your house should have some sort of protection underneath them. Having a mat under a plant is also just good for certain aesthetic reasons.
Your mousepad can be used as a means of protection under your pots to stop them from scratching or leaving marks on your floor.
Smaller, traditional square-like mousepads are obviously good for little plants too.
Coasters
A coaster should always be used when you are having a drink. It protects the table and will stop any of those annoying wet rings or coffee stains from suddenly appearing.
If you have an office setup in your house, then this is especially a handy trick to match with a mousepad. If you just so happen to have two identical spare mousepads, then consider keeping one for normal use and the other can be turned into a coaster.
The best thing about this is the fact that your mousepad is going to be matching with the nearby drink coaster.
All you have to do is just cut a circle or square shape out of the old mouse pad and voilà - a perfect, soft coaster to keep your desk clean and neat.
When the coaster starts to get dirty from all sorts of cups, glasses or mugs, it should easily be washed in a machine like you would a piece of clothing.
