North London Waste Authority are promoting how to recycle and reuse for Christmas

North London Waste Authority recently held an Upcycling Show in London promoting how to recycle and reuse household items ideal for Christmas presents.

What a fantastic idea!  I'm only sorry that I heard about this too late to change my plans.

North London Waste Authority is encouraging people to upcycle rather than dump or buy new as record numbers attended this year's show.   They even have hints and tips on their website as to how to upcycle a cabinet, a chair or even a chest of drawers.

I thoroughly enjoyed upcycling my chest of drawers into a garden planter, and often pick up pieces from the car boot or charity shops to reupholster.

It is my favourite of all crafts, so I'm not surprised to hear that this year's event was busier and more popular than last year's.

Did you know that Britons are sitting on 69 million items of unloved furniture, according to new research by North London Waste Authority (NLWA)?

How mad is that!

"Furniture fatigue" – the hating of furniture in perfectly good condition – was exposed in a nationwide survey, which found that 62% of Brits own items of furniture they actively dislike.   Loathed furniture languishes in lounges, bedrooms and tucked-away corners for a range of reasons.

One in five feel too guilty to let go of a gift or preloved hand-me-down and 30% hang onto pieces as they think they might use them for something else one day.

The most common reason for hanging on to hated furniture is feeling wasteful throwing away an item that still works. 38% are unable to afford to replace an unwanted piece and 29% simply never get around to getting rid of certain items.

Do you fall into one of these?  I hate to get rid of perfectly good furniture, so my first reaction is to see what else I can turn it into.  My son's Hulk dressing table is one of them.

If I can't make use of an item, and the charity shops don't want it then we have a great Free Up page in my town, and a lot of unwanted furniture is given away there.

With two-thirds believing at least one item of furniture in their home could be upcycled and made more attractive, useful or modern, NLWA is urging Brits to help combat their ‘furniture fatigue’ by having a go at upcycling.

While 72% say they have either tried upcycling or would be keen to learn, there are some common barriers putting people off sanding, painting and glueing - 27% think they are not creative enough, a quarter don’t feel they have the right skills and others are worried about having the right equipment, space or time.

And would you believe I fell into those categories too?  I still do!  I'm never convinced I'm creative enough, sometimes I think I just get lucky.  But skills are learned through trying.  If you start small like I did with stools and tables, you'll soon be on to bigger and better projects.

At the end of the day, it just takes a little confidence and a whole lot of fun, and you never know, we could all be off to the Recycling Show for 2020!