6 repurposing ideas for your old lawn mower

Just because your old lawnmower no longer works doesn’t mean it has to go to the trash. With a little creativity, you can repurpose your old lawnmower and extend its service. (h/t: HomesteadSurvivalSite.com.)

Cordage

A typical lawnmower has about 7 feet of starter cord that makes for a highly durable rope. Here are some ways to reuse it:

• Holding clothes – Most lawnmowers have double- or triple-braided ropes for a starting cord. These ropes can hold several clothes – even wet ones. Just tie each end of the cord to a pole or tree and you’ll have a handy clothesline.
• Bundling objects – The cord is long and strong enough to hold several items in a bundle. You can use for holding together your tools, as well as other items such as chopped wood.
• Trapping food – When SHTF, you may need to set up traps to catch food. Old lawnmower cords are sturdy enough to be used as a simple snare trap.

Blades

Lawnmowers usually have seven blades, but other brands may have more or less. Considering how tough these can be, it’d be a waste to just throw them away.

• Bladed equipment – Turning lawnmower blades into other types of bladed equipment is the quickest way to reuse them. You can sharpen them into knives, small machetes, and other bladed tools for your protection, survival, and other applications.
• Small parts – If you have the right tools, you can carve lawnmower blades into small tools and other items. These include hinges and even brackets for shelves and dividers.

Engine

Just because the machine itself doesn’t work doesn’t mean the engine has failed, too. If the engine remains functional, you can still find some use for it.

• Gardening equipment – If you do a lot of gardening, one of the ways you can reuse an old lawnmower engine is to repurpose it as an engine-powered wheelbarrow. This will make your job a lot easier and will even allow you to reuse the handles and wheels of your old lawnmower.
• Generator – All you need are the right parts and know-how to turn an old engine into a functional generator. There are plenty of resources online on how to do this.

Oil

Don’t waste the oil in your old lawnmower and reuse it instead. (Related: 23 Items you’re probably throwing away but SHOULDN’T.)

• Termite control – You can keep termites off your wooden belongings by coating them in oil. Do not use it on your barn or house though, lest you want to turn them into highly flammable hazards – use it on small areas, like the tips and corners of wooden fences, boards, and posts.
• Torch – All it takes to create a torch for when the power goes out are a stick, some old rags, and oil from your old lawnmower. Just wrap the rags around one end of the stick, dip the wrapped end into the oil, and light it.

Handlebar

Removing the handlebar from your lawnmower can be tricky, but there are tutorials online on how to do it. Once you have separated this from the rest of the machine, just remove any dust and rust and you’re ready to reuse it.

The handlebar makes for a great wall rack for your towels and clothes. Just attach it to your wall with nuts and bolts.

Dry grass

The dry glass in your grass collection bag can be reused into a natural fertilizer or as part of your compost. If you’re using it for the latter, remember to add some brown material to help the grass decompose properly.

If you have livestock, you can also store the dry grass as a feed. This is especially a great idea if you have not treated your grass with any chemicals that may endanger your animals.

Be creative with your old equipment by getting great ideas from Survival.news.

Sources include:

HomesteadSurvivalSite.com

HomeCompostingMadeEasy.com