10 DIY Beautiful Wind Chimes From Repurposed Household Items

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Wind chimes are common back porch accessories that create the soundtrack for a breezy day. With so many different styles available, you'll find many priced under $30 at online retailers like Amazon, while others cost nearly $300. Wind chimes typically feature about five or six metal tubes with a block of wood between them, but the tubes can be made of other materials. If you love projects and crafts, consider making a stunning, unique wind chime with items from your junk drawer and other repurposed household items, including bike sprockets, silverware, and bottle caps. 

This approach could save you money and become a fun family project. In fact, you might not have to spend more than a few bucks if you use items from your home and the nearest tree. Making your own wind chimes also gives you the opportunity to let your creativity flow and craft something that matches your personality. You might even want to make multiple wind chimes and rotate them regularly to create different sounds.

In terms of tools, you'll need some type of string to attach your selected items to. Fishing wire and nylon cord are both great options. You might also be able to use paper clips or a similar type of hook, depending on the objects in your chimes.

If you live alone or hardly eat at home, you probably have more pieces of silverware than you need. Or perhaps someone gifted you a new set, and it's time to get rid of the old ones. Silverware makes great wind chimes, due to their metallic properties. However, unless your utensils already have holes in them, you'll need to drill them in to feed the string through. To create a more colorful look, add colorful beads to the string or paint the silverware. Then attach the strings to the top piece of your choice for hanging.

Because wine bottles are hollow and tubular, they offer a resonating sound that vibrates throughout them when they clang together; but first, you'll need to cut the bottoms out. This can be done with the OAIEGSD Glass Bottle Cutter, available on Amazon, while wearing safety glasses and gloves. Next, attach the string and selected clanging items to a cork. Feed the string through the bottle, cork it, and attach a hanging hook to each cork. You can also use paperclips in place of the string and objects. Want to make the bottles pop visually? Add some paint!

There are more than a dozen wrench sizes available, so you have plenty of options for your wind chimes. Aim for combination wrenches or box end wrenches, since they already have holes on one end, eliminating the need for drilling to attach the strings. String them at varying lengths to create a spiral look, or at the same length for a more uniform windchime. For the suspension platform, use a bike sprocket, bike gear, or any other item. Because this option requires no drilling or special cutting, you might find it to be one of the easier DIY methods on this list.

Wind chimes outside your window may help you unwind, and seeing one that resembles a spirograph design could summon happy childhood memories. Enter bike sprockets. These make a great suspension platform for wind chimes, so why not make the entire chimes out of sprockets? The circular shape and teeth on the outer edge of each piece create a unique, geometric look, and since bike sprockets come in different patterns and sizes, you can have multiple types for your chimes. Mix the sprockets with bike gears for an even more varied look.

Skeleton keys often have an antique, alluring appearance, compared to modern master keys — especially when the bow features an ornate design. This is why they're often used in various crafts. If you have enough of them, repurpose old keys around the house or in your garage to make beautiful wind chimes. Add a mason jar to create a resonating glass v.s. metal sound, or just use the keys by themselves. You can also add other metallic objects, such as old tools or silverware. 

Aluminum bottle caps, with their thin and lightweight nature, create a more muted sound, compared to traditional wind chimes or other metal objects. Many DIYers choose these objects for wind chimes because they're easy to collect, and some have nifty designs on them. All you need is a jewelry hole puncher to create a set of holes in each cap so you can feed the fishing wire through. As an alternative to string, use small metal rings instead.

If you prefer colorful wind chimes with subtle sound, one that won't echo throughout your yard, beads might be a good option. You might have some unwanted costume jewelry, hair accessories, or home decor items lying around that have beads on them, so empty your drawers and see what you find. As an added bonus, beaded wind chimes also double as sun catchers, appealing to yet another one of your senses.

Bamboo wind chimes produce a gentle, hollow, clacking sound, and you can create a similar effect with wooden spoons. However, you'll need a few extra supplies to attach the spoons to the rolling pin –- if that's your hanging suspension item of choice. If the spoons don't have holes, hammer a finishing nail on the top of each handle and add screw eyes. Split rings, string, chain links, or paperclips can be used to attach the spoons to the rolling pin. To hang the rolling pin, place the string beneath each handle or attach more screw eyes.

Art enthusiasts have been creating colored glass crafts for decades, so it makes sense that the idea to use it in DIY wind chimes has surfaced. Wine bottles feature a narrow circumference at the top and a wider one at the bottom, so slicing one horizontally in multiple pieces would create rings of at least two different sizes. With a glass bottle cutter, you can create ethereal wind chimes that are both audibly and visually appealing. Attach the strings to a block of wood or any other item of your choice for hanging.

With aluminum and tin cans of various sizes, you can make wind chimes by stacking the larger cans over the smaller ones. All you need to do is puncture a hole through the bottom of each can to feed the string through, and add an object to make contact with the cans. A piece of wood or metal can both work well. You'll also need to add an object or thick knot at the base of each hole to keep each can in place. Give the chimes some extra flavor by painting the cans different colors.