Zero-Cost Home Decor Hacks Using Broken & Old Items

By Jasmine Choudhari · 600K+ YouTube subscribers · May 9, 2026

You don’t need to spend a single rupee to decorate your home — broken baskets, cracked matkas, torn bags, unused beach hats and handle-less teapots can all be turned into beautiful planters and wall decor with things already lying around the house.

This post walks through every reuse idea from the video, in the order they appear, so you can copy the look for your own living room, bedroom or kitchen corner.

How do I reuse a basket that is broken at the bottom?

A basket with a damaged base is usually the first thing we throw away. Instead, place it in any quiet corner of the room and fill it with fairy lights and an artificial plant. The broken bottom disappears once the basket is styled, and the warm light instantly brightens a dull corner.

This works in three places especially well:

1. A floor corner of the living room next to a sofa.
2. A bedside corner in the bedroom.
3. An open shelf in the kitchen where you want a soft, decorative touch.

Can small Diwali matkas be used as planters?

Yes — the tiny clay matkas most Indian families buy every Diwali for ₹10–₹20 are perfect mini planters once the festival is over. Paint them in any colour, drop a small plant inside, and arrange them in groups.

They look beautiful on:

1. The coffee table in the living room.
2. The centre of the dining table.
3. A corner table or console.

Because they cost so little, you can buy several and create a coordinated set without the price tag of store-bought ceramic pots.

How do I turn a cracked tokri into wall decor?

The round cane tokris we keep at home break very easily, usually right through the middle. Don’t bin them — cut the broken piece cleanly into a round shape and mount it flat on the wall as a backdrop for artificial hanging plants.

A second variation works just as well: take an old, unused tokri and half-cover it with a piece of crochet fabric or an old table cover that’s no longer in use. Hang it on the wall and tuck a few small bottles of money plant inside. A cluster of these small tokris fills an empty wall beautifully and removes the need for expensive paintings or wall pieces.

What can I do with bags whose lining has torn?

Fabric bags with torn inner lining are usually unusable for carrying things, but the outside still looks perfectly fine. Use them as wall-hanging planters.

Here’s the method:

1. Pick a wall that gets good sunlight — a balcony wall, a bedroom wall near a window, or a sunny corner of the living room.
2. Hang the bag from a hook or nail.
3. Place one or two small pots with plants inside the bag.

The bag’s shape holds the pots in place, and the fabric softens what would otherwise be a hard, ceramic look on the wall.

Can old beach hats become home decor?

The straw and fabric hats most of us buy on a beach vacation usually sit unused for the rest of the year and slowly get spoiled. Convert them into planter holders for the living room.

1. Place a small pot with a plant inside the hat.
2. Tie a piece of lace around the rim to cover the pot’s edge so only the plant is visible.
3. Set the hat on a side table or shelf.

The shape of the hat naturally cradles the pot, and the lace hides the rim so the styling looks intentional and finished.

How do I hide messy plant bottles on a shelf?

Money plants in glass bottles look pretty individually, but a row of mismatched bottles becomes hard to dust because each one has to be lifted separately. The fix uses two things you’d otherwise throw away:

1. Cut down an empty paint container to the height you want.
2. Wrap it in fabric from an old frock or dupatta that’s no longer worn.
3. Stand all the money plant bottles inside this single container.

Now the bottles are grouped and hidden, and during dusting you only move one container instead of five separate bottles.

What can I do with a tokri I used to serve rotis in?

A serving tokri that’s become too worn for the dining table doesn’t have to go. Half-cover it with a piece of crochet fabric — the same trick as the wall tokri above — and hang it on a plain wall with small money plant bottles inside. It becomes a living wall feature that costs nothing.

Can a broken teapot become a decor piece?

A chai teapot with a broken handle is no longer useful for pouring, but it makes a striking tabletop showpiece. Fill it with coloured stones and tuck a small plant on top. Place it on a side table or shelf alongside other plants for a coordinated look.

Most decor pieces sold in shops at high prices can be made at home this way, using items already sitting unused in your cupboards.

What’s the bigger principle behind these hacks?

1. Before throwing anything away, ask whether it could hold a plant, a fairy light, or a small bottle.
2. Use leftover fabric — old frocks, dupattas, table covers — to wrap or cover anything that looks ugly on its own.
3. Group small things (matkas, money plant bottles, tiny tokris) instead of scattering them; clusters always look more decorative than singles.
4. Pick walls and corners that already get sunlight so live plants in your reused holders actually thrive.

Nothing in this video was bought specifically for decoration — every single piece was already at home, waiting to be thrown out.

📺 About this video. This post draws on Jasmine Choudhari’s YouTube video टुटी फुटी फटी हुई चीजें घर को इतना सुन्दर बना देंगे — ₹0 Hacks That Changed My Home. Watch the full video for visual demonstrations of every tip.

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About Jasmine Choudhari

Jasmine Choudhari shares practical, no-frills ideas for organising small Indian kitchens and homes. Follow her on YouTube (600K+ subscribers · Silver Play Button), Instagram and Facebook. For collaborations: collab@jasminechoudhari.com.