Creative Mum Reveals How She Turned Cobweb-Covered Bunkbed Into Cash
- Elizabeth Jones, 59, found an old bunk bed in her daughter’s loft
- Rather than taking it to the skip, she turned it into a cool blue bench
- Elizabeth sold the bench on Facebook Marketplace for £50
During lockdown, many families have been struggling to make ends meet.
But one creative woman has shown that you really can make cash out of clutter with some vision and hard work.
Elizabeth Jones, 59, a mother-of-two from Lichfield, found an old bunk bed covered in cobwebs sitting in her daughter’s loft.
However, rather than heading straight for the skip, Elizabeth decided to use the materials to transform it into a shiny new bench - and managed to make £50 from the project.
Elizabeth told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “Up-cycling is a passion of mine - l make money and it saves things going to landfill.
"My husband was diagnosed with MS in 1992 and he is now completely wheelchair dependent - l am his full-time career.
"Painting furniture is a distraction, and l enjoy a transformation challenge.
"I came up with the idea from watching videos on YouTube.
"The old bunk bed was found in my daughter's loft - it had been left behind by previous owners and was covered in cobwebs.
"I actually surprised myself with how well it turned out. It cost me very little to make as l already had the paint in stock which was Vintro no seal chalk paint in 'Paris Blue'.
"First the bench was washed down, then I had to saw one of the end pieces in half. This was then attached to the other headboard.
"I then removed the slat supports from the side pieces.
“The side pieces were then sawn to fit between the two armrest bits. The whole thing was then painted using a spray gun.”
Elizabeth was delighted with how her project turned out - and she then created money from nothing by selling the bench on Facebook Marketplace for £50, and the unused slats for £1 each.
"I enjoy up-cycling items that would otherwise go to landfill and making money is an added bonus,” she adds.
"Keeping busy during lockdown has also helped me deal with the recent death of my mum.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “With websites like Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and ebay, it’s never been so easy to make cash from your clutter.
“With so many people struggling financially during the lockdown, it’s wise to turn to decluttering your wardrobes to make some money from things you don’t really need or use.
“However, Elizabeth has taken this to a whole other level, transforming an ancient, unused bunk bed into a stylish new bench - and making £50 from the project!
“I find projects like this really inspiring as it shows that with a little creativity and reimagining, we really can profit from the clutter we all have lying around at home.”
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