I've Seen People Turn Pallets Into Cool Things. But THIS, This Is Brilliant

For many years now the concepts of recycling, re-purposing, and up-cycling have been gaining traction and reaching what some may even call a fervor on sites such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. From decorating events such as weddings, birthday parties, and fundraisers to basic at home D.I.Y. Instructables for life hacks and self-sustaining fixes, taking old and or unwanted items and finding them a new place to shine and be useful has become the first and foremost approach to dealing with objects otherwise garbage-bound. No one object, though, has seen more of a revival than the classic and timeless wooden pallet.

In terms of ancient history, the pallet can trace its origins to its far removed cousin the skid which has seen use as early as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. More recently in our history, pallets were used quite often in the second world war to transports goods and weaponry. Currently, pallets have found homes as work horses in the goods industry from grocery chains to factories and warehouses, as well as in the agricultural industry streamlining loads of produce. Today, pallets have seen their revival, or one could go as far as to say their rebirth, as an aesthetic object as much as a practical one. With a growing societal need to get back to basics and back in touch with our history, our roots, and the simplicity of natural ingredients and natural resources, we are turning to objects that are simple in construction and yet versatile and beautiful in their use. There is none so simple and versatile as the pallet.

Pallets have seen use as planters in gardens, both vertically as a trellis or a vertical herb garden, or horizontally as a make-shift raised garden bed. They have been reinstituted as pieces of furniture, dining tables, bookshelves, or coffee tables. They are handy as a foundation for certain impromptu flooring needs. Nailing plywood, cut to fit, to a series of pallets generates an instant dance floor. Of all the pallet reinventions I have seen, however, one of the most constructive and useful is Sliptalk's feature on one man's use of extra pallets to build an outdoor shed. Anyone with a large home, a farm, a bit of land, or even just a sizeable yard can appreciate how valuable an asset an outdoor shed can be. Unfortunately, these seemingly simple set-ups that can so helpfully house your landscaping apparatus, kids toys, odds and ends, recreational supplies (bikes etc.) and sometimes even a small workshop or tool bench, can be incredibly costly. Even the most basic of sheds can run into several hundreds to a few thousand dollars. What is a home-owner to do when the cost of a shed could potentially outweigh the sum total of anything destined to be stored inside it? Well, get creative, that's what! To see just how he did it (and for only about $500), take a look at the link just below to Sliptalk. Enjoy!