I’m looking to update my home office nook so I set out to look for cheap ways to organize the spot. I stumbled upon a video by Thrifty Fun that features a wine cork bulletin strip and thought it was so clever that I’m sharing it with you. This also inspired me to look for other ways to repurposed an item that eventually goes straight into the trash can.
I’m sharing 12 uses for wine bottle corks that will cost you zilch.
1. Make a doorstop. Slice along the length of a cork at an angle and push the cork under a door to keep it from slamming shut.
2. Hush up your cabinets. Slice a cork into thin circles and glue the pieces to the inside corners of cabinet doors to quiet them when closing.
3. Make mulch. Grind corks and use the bits as moisture-retaining mulch. Perfect for your garden!
4. Use as eyeliner. I once saw actress Courtney Cox (any Friends fans out there?) show comedienne and talk show host Rosie O’Donell this trick. If you’re in a pinch, burn a cork. Blow it out. Let it cool down. Then use it do define your eyes. Watch Courtney Cox share the tip! Scroll the YouTube video to 7:46 to see her line her eyes.
5. Make a floor mat. This is a unique-looking accessory! Plus, a cork mat is useful by your front door, mudroom, or shower to keep floors dry and clean. BB shares how to make a cork bath mat.
6. Assemble a hot plate. Corks are very heat resistant. Similar to the steps for making a cork board, you can use a picture frame and hot glue the corks down. A prettier option is to slice rounds and glue them side by side to create coasters.
7. Make your own stamps. This would be lovely to personalize letters. All you need to buy is ink.
8. Use them as place card holders. Cut a slit in them and make the cards from something you would’ve otherwise thrown away like cereal boxes or greeting cards.
9. Use them as pin holders. No more wasting time looking for pins!
10. Use them as floor savers. Slice the cork into small disks and attach to the bottom of furniture, chairs, and other items that could scratch the floor.
11. Make holiday decorations. Check out Pinterest for Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day crafts inspiration. While you’re there, don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest!
12. Recycle them. Did you know you can get paid to recycle cork? One company that pays you to do so is Yemm & Hart Ltd, but you’ll have to collect at least 10 pounds of pure cork.
I already have a couple friends who have vowed to help me collect more cork by drinking more wine. They really want me to make my board!
How do you reuse wine bottle corks?
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
Awesome tips! I always feel so guilty throwing away wine corks, especially when it’s actually made of cork! Can you repurpose plastic corks as well – obviously not for things like eye makeup or compost – but for the card holders and floor mat?
@Bargain Babe I’m sure you can also reuse the plastic ones, but I don’t know about using them for a floor mat. The plastic will not absorb water from rain or ice.
@Yazmin Cruz Good point. I didn’t think about real cork being absorbent, just squishy. I guess I could still make one out of plastic cork, but it wouldn’t suck up the moisture.
I’m gonna have to start drinking!!!
@Michelle Get friends to help. I’m sure they won’t mind!
@Michelle Ventresca Hahaha! Thanks for making me laugh.
I like the bulletin board strip, will try that. My husband and I have been saving wine corks for years always meaning to make birdhouses out of them (we saw them in a winery gift shop in the Central Coast of CA). Of course we have never got around to doing that. Does anyone have a guide for making bird houses out of corks?
@Diana What a great idea! You can do so many things with all the wine corks you’ve saved. Making a birdcage would be awesome. I see birdcages for so much money at consignment and thrift shops. I don’t know of any guides off the top of my head, but have you tried Googling “bird houses out of cork” or “cork bird houses”?
You may also find inspiring pictures on Pinterest!
Funny timing, I just finished reading this article and then picked up my Rachel Ray magazine. She had a wine cork project! You take one of those large wooden letters, say your initial, and glue gun the wine corks on with the wine stain showing. It looked really cute!
@Robin I saw something like this on Pinterest. I’m making one for my room. I just need lots of corks!
Cool article. I wish I knew a restaurant owner and I could ask him/her for their corks.
@The Frugal Exerciser You can also try asking a bar owner or manager.
Given how many wine corks I seems to accumulate this is wonderful! Thank you!
@Tiffany Glad you liked my post!
I’m not sure what it says about you if you have readier access to wine corks than eyeliner! 😀
Fun tips, though! My booze is all for cooking, so I get the cheap stuff with the screw tops.
@Jenny @ Frugal Guru Guide Ha! Thanks for making me laugh. I hadn’t thought about it that way. I also buy wine just for cooking, but I get the one with corks. Are you using cooking wine? I’ve always heard that stuff is pretty bad and have stayed away. I’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations if you do buy cooking wine.
@Yazmin Cruz I buy regular cooking wine from the grocery store and use it in recipes where most of it will be cooked off, or the flavors combined with so many others than the wine fades into the background. Buy a small bottle and test it in a recipe – I’ve never sipped it solo – and certainly it’s not intended to be used as drinking wine. If you really don’t want to buy cooking wine, look for “table wine,” which is a nice way of saying a wine that isn’t too hot, but that is still drinkable. Now, if I were making a fancy recipe like Julia Child’s beouf bourignon (sp), then I would buy a special bottle.