Don't Toss An Old Pot Lid - Reuse It To Create An Adorable Kitchen Decor Piece

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If you've ever cooked anything in a pot, then you know what it's like to end up with a lid and no corresponding pot to go with it. Maybe it's because the pot was blackened beyond repair when you burned something in it, and even though you tried everything from using lemon halves to dryer sheets after reading how to successfully clean burnt pots and pans, this particular pot wasn't going to play along. You already might be giving second-hand pots and pans a second life with this genius gardening idea, but now you want to repurpose its lid. This is your lucky day! Don't toss out your old pot lid; reuse it to create an adorable kitchen decor piece by transforming it into something that's both personalized and sustainable, like a kitchen wall clock.

For something useful as well as decorative for your repurposed items, this clock project is a hands-down favorite. The first step is to choose an orphan lid that you don't mind repurposing. Perhaps it's a lid that has been a problem for you before. Maybe the handle is always too hot to grab without a potholder, and you've burned yourself one too many times, or it's hopelessly warped or dinged. Whatever the reason, you're ready to see it used in a new way. Give it a scrubbing (Bar Keepers Friend works on most pots and pans; read the directions to see if it's okay for yours) to prep it for reuse.

If you like how your pot lid looks as is, great, but you also can spruce it up to match your kitchen. This is one of those projects that you can easily match to your aesthetic. Chalkboard paint can provide a completely fresh vibe. Try the Country Chic All-in-One Chalk Paint with built-in primer and topcoat. If you have a stainless steel pot lid you want to paint, you'll have some work to do. Some people who try this genius paint trick to give any fridge a high-end look are all for painting stainless steel. As long as you sand the surface and prep with several coats of primer, it works great, but that seems like a lot of work for a clock. And some think stainless steel is one of the things you should never paint in your kitchen, so be careful.

For time markers, you can attach numbers (perhaps the GrliTra Clock Numerals Kit) or let your creativity unwind as you dig through your kitchen junk drawer for other orphaned items that could be used in place of a 3, 6, 9, and 12. The lid's shape is timepiece-perfect. Some will even have a single center handle, which means a hole has been drilled into the middle of the lid — making it easier to install a clock mechanism like the High Torque Long Shaft Clock Movement Mechanism from the Mudder Store. The mechanism easily slides through the handle hole (once you have removed the handle) and attaches to the back of the pot, hidden from sight.

If you find yourself looking for ideas on what to do with your old pot lid, you could end up with more DIYs than just the clock. With so many clever ways to repurpose old pot and pan lids around your home and garden (like wind chimes and jack-o-lanterns), you may need to scour resale and antique stores for extra lids! There is a seemingly endless variety of crafts that can be made from lids, but as shown with the yellow clock in the video above, you don't have to hang it on your kitchen wall. The creator of that clock mounted it on a board alongside two other pot lids that were being used as coat hooks, allowing the entire DIY to work overtime.

After all these ideas, you might find yourself wanting to repurpose your pot lid — but not as a clock. There are just too many fun ideas to try. But now you need another idea for a clock. Luckily for you, other kitchen items are also easily reconfigured into clocks much the same way as the pot lid was. Try using a pizza pan, for example. Or have a little fun with the numbers by designating them using old silverware that you attach from the back of whatever you use as your clock face. No matter which DIY you choose, there's no time like the present to upcycle your old pot lids into something that makes you smile and has a new purpose in your home.