Change is Good

MANILA, Philippines - The key is in food.

Let me explain. When humans first walked the Earth the instinct to bite led to many discoveries such as which plants are edible and which animals are fit to eat. A plant ceases to be a plant when it becomes part of the ingredients for pinakbet and little piggies turn to barbecue during town fiestas.

But I digress. Trying to describe “repurposing” in terms of food is a stretch, I know. To make things easier, repurposing is when you take one object and change its function into another. This is a concept that has gained popularity in recent years, mainly due to the recent global recession where everyone tried to keep things on the cheap. The way we have done it, repurposing has become a fun little process of discovery and ingenuity all for the sake of making our lives ever so convenient. Guys like Macgyver have been doing this for years. Then there’s Martha Stewart.

Myself, I’ve done a few small projects during the last holiday break where I was allowed to run amuck across my favorite, newly-opened hardware store nearby. It doesn’t take a lot of thought, just a few common sense ideas for nearly everything that’s important in my (material) life.

Shoe Organizer > Gadget Holder

It’s nice for holding shoes and stuff, but it’s way more useful for storing all of my wayward gadgets. From game controllers to cables, handheld consoles and celphones, this repurposed shoe organizer lets me contain all my small electronic items into one, easy to access space.

All Purpose Cloth Cleaner > Padding for my PSP game UMD Case

I have an assortment of candy tins that are just the right size for my Playstation Portable’s game discs. The only problem was, the hard metal surface could destroy the discs inside.

Enter the cleaning cloth. For about a hundred bucks, the slightly thick cloth comes in about one meter square sizes that you can cut up into any pattern. I managed to cut some well measured strips to line the inside of my tin as well as a circular cut for the inside cover (with gaps to make a good seal). I used double sided tape, as opposed to glue, so that I can easily remove the cloth if it needed cleaning or be swapped out.

With this, my games are securely stored in a padded container I can take anywhere.

Adhesive Skid Protector > Tripod Leg Grip Enhancer > Analog Control Stick Replacement

By far, this little appliance has seen the most uses from me. Originally for furniture legs so that they don’t leave a mark or damage on floors, these little round rubber pads have found a new use with my cheap camera tripod.

Most inexpensive tripods have “shoes” or feet with very flat bottoms that really can’t get a solid grip on the ground – if a wind blew hard enough the camera will slide. These particular skid protectors aren’t much use on hard, flat surfaces but on dirt, soil and grass, the corrugated bottoms get a good grip and prevent the tripod from sliding around.

Sticking them down there is as easy as peeling away the wax paper that protects the adhesive that will let it stick. And it sticks, hard.

Another way I have repurposed the skid protectors is with my gamepad’s worn out analog sticks. The tops of the sticks have been run down and keeps slipping on my thumbs. Getting the right size was easy since these little guys come in many forms and varieties. It was just a matter of getting a pair that fit. Not only were the tops suddenly fixed, the gameplay was slightly changed for the better because it raised the height of control making it feel more responsive.

Microfiber Cleaning Cloth > All-Purpose Cleaning Cloth

Not so much a repurposing as it is an increase in the way the cloth is supposed to be used, I’ve found that keeping a microfiber cloth inside my camera bag saves a lot of time. You don’t have to keep taking it out of its case when you need to clean a lens and it’s easily washable. Plus, it’s there as an added protection for your LCD screen or viewfinder as it covers your camera while you transport it.

T5 Flourescent Lamp for cabinets/closets > Keyboard Lamp

Mainly used for whenever you need illumination on the days’ clothing, these small fluorescent lamps use low power and can fit into any small space.

So small, I was able to attach one of these to the underside of my computer table, just above the sliding keyboard tray. Now, whenever I want to turn down the lights and use my PC, I can see my keyboard. And with the help of some All-Purpose Cloth, I managed to make a small cover in the front to protect my eyes from glare.

Repurposing everyday objects into things that help you in ways you never expected is really fulfilling. It’s that sense of accomplishment that makes you wonder about what else could be done. Or, you could be a chef. Either way, making and discovering is a facet of human nature that shouldn’t be ignored.