Repurposing Wine Bottles

As the second semester ends, it’s time to take a break from finals and celebrate. But as much as we all love wine at this classy university, throwing away all of those bottles is not the best for our environment. Instead, try repurposing them to give your home a college vibe that say: “I’m classy but I also like to have fun, while also being environmentally friendly.” I’m going to share some tools that are helpful for various projects and give some inspiration to make bottles beautiful once again.

How to Split a Glass Bottle

*Warning* Do not attempt without adult supervision (i.e. the supervision of your most parental housemate), and certainly do not attempt after consuming the bottle’s contents… like duh.

Step 1: Gather string, scissors, nail polish remover, a tub of ice water, a match and the bottle of your choice.

Step 2: Braid the string and wrap it around the circumference of the bottle. Tie the string together and cut off the excess. Slip the string off of the bottle and dip it in nail polish remover.

Step 3: Put the string back on the bottle. Make sure to move all of the excess nail polish remover to another side of the room, as it is easily flammable.

Step 4: Hold the bottle over a tub of ice water and hold the match to the string as you rotate the bottle.

Step 5: Quickly submerge the bottle into the tub of ice and the bottle will split at the string.

With this one tool the world of bottle refurbishing is open to so many possibilities! If you want to cut the bottle at a different location or at an angle, adjust the string as you would like.

One of the simplest ways to reuse a bottle is turning it into a candle holder. Place rocks at the bottom of your new bottle and sit a candle on top. Feel free to leave the label on the bottle for character, especially if it’s Woodbridge, Barefoot or Charles Shaw (so all of your friends know you have expensive taste and a seasoned palate).

Below are more variations of this concept:

If you don’t want to play with ~fire~ (pun intended), try this less flammable alternative…

I also have some tricks up my sleeve for our Hoyas with green thumbs. Try making a self-watering garden by flipping the top of the bottle inside the bottom and twisting the end of a cloth into a string as shown below.