Warning: I am about to show you just how big of a geek I really am…
Perhaps you’ are way more organized than us and you don’t hold on to stuff FOREVER. Maybe you don’t just have a drawer-full of old floppy disks lying around, which once held crucial information on them and were accepted by every computer in your house…but now only fit into the most dated and sluggish computers you own. Perhaps you don’t have a 2-year-old daughter who puts one of these under her feet and proclaims that it is a skate as she scoots around the kitchen floor with it. But in our house, all of these things are true.
Now I’m always trying to look at old things we don’t use anymore in new ways. Which I guess is partially why we end up with things just hanging around in our barn and all over the house. But, I firmly believe that you should try to reuse items before you just trash them; especially since I have experienced many moments over the last year when I realized I could have done something really cool with stuff I tossed…and now in order to do that project, I have to go buy something new. Not cool. So yeah, I fully support holding on to things just a little while until you discover a new use for them. And if you haven’t done that task within 6 months, then donate it, sell it, whatever…just get it outta there!
I was not all that surprised that there are people showing off their abilities to give old floppy disks a new life online…but I was really impressed with some of these ideas and know that just about all of us are capable of doing everything on this list…well except maybe the last one!
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A mini-notebook
The geek in your life is going to love this little protected notebook that is not only made with recycled materials, but is just plain cool. Seriously, how easy does that look? Drill holes, cut paper to size and punch holes, close it up with tip ties and you’re good to go. Perfect for your purse or pocket. Learn how to make it yourself or pick one up on Etsy for $5. (there are many people making these, just search for floppy disk notebook).
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Floppy Disk Jewelry
Now before everyone wants to start sending me their floppy disk jewelry that they made, please let me ask you to refrain from doing so. Yeah, I’m glad these people had a creative idea…but would I wear this? Probably not. Although a belt like this could be pretty cool..or maybe the bracelet. That I might actually wear!
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Floppy Disk Trash Can
Looking to spruce up your office and keep it clean? What could be better than a trash can made from floppy disks? It really can’t be that hard.
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Floppy Disk Pen Holder
Everyone and their dog seems to be making these little pen pots, but if you check out GeekGear on Etsy, you will not only find then pen pots but also some cool clocks made from old Nintendo games, hard drives and so on. Or, if you want to do it yourself, which I imagine would take less than an hour, you can try these instructions, or these.
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The Super Cool Floppy Disk Bag
I am seriously in love with this idea. Need a new laptop bag or just something to carry your stuff around in? You’re not going to run into too many other people that have one of these! Make your own floppy disk bag, or try Install Disk 2 …or buy one online — but let me warn you, they’re not cheap!
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Floppy Disk Laptop Stand
Alright, this idea is a bit more out there and I’m not really saying I would want a floppy disk laptop stand at home, but I admire the creativity and it might give you an idea for another floppy disk project.
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Floppy Disk Wall Clock
Now this wall clock, although also kinda out there, is still pretty cool. And it would look awesome in a geek’s office or receptionist area. Obviously it can look even cooler if you use disks with labels or go with different colors, but you could even had the labels yourself as you build it for your own personal design effect.
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Floppy Disk Percussion Instrument
I have a feeling Stefan is going to want to try building this floppy disk kokiriko when he sees it because there is also a Bavarian instrument like this that he’s been wanting. Now the sound is just a bit different because it’s usually made of wood, but seriously…how cool would you be if you got up with your band and played this?! Ok, yeah, not too cool. But I would still think you’re pretty awesome!
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Floppy Disk Art
Now I know this website is for a floppy disk artist, but I’m telling you that you CAN do this yourself. So many cool ideas in the gallery. And if you’re inclined to let your disks become art, you can also donate your disks here.
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Floppy Disk Sculpture
Now this floppy disk sculpture, on the other hand, not quite so easy to make yourself. But absolutely cool.
So there you have it…10 ways to reuse your old floppies. Have you found other great projects to reuse floppy disks? Would you ever consider doing some of these instead of just tossing out your floppies? How about just sending them in for recycling instead?
That laptop stand cracks me up! AWESOME!
Definitely one of the more bizarre ideas I found. Of course one could also build their own little Starship Enterprise too: http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/how-to-make-the-uss-enterprise-from-a-floppy-disk 🙂
So cool! I love the wall art idea!!
I’m trying to convince my husband we NEED at least one of those. Have to check all our old floppies, though, to see if there is still anything useful on them 🙂
etsy is one of my favorite places to shop,and all the ideas above are creative.
There are great ideas galore on Etsy…and so many talented people. I do find it a bit sad that they opened it up to more commercial ventures but there are still so great shops on there!
My dear lord, I can only imagine how many of these are in landfills around the world. I really like the pen holder and trash can idea. How cute would that look in an office?!
If I have enough of them laying around, I am definitely going to try at least one of these things. We have a bunch of bright, funky colored ones too so it should turn out interesting.
I LOVE the waste basket idea!
That is SO awesome. I still have floppys around. I was the lame college student who didn’t have a personal computer and thought floppy discs were still in use.
Sometime in the past two years or so, it dawned on me that these are pretty much obsolete now. I mean we have a bunch of them that had “oh so important” files on them…which I laugh about now because none of the files I use daily would ever fit on one of these now…and you used to be able to fit an operating system on about 6 of them! Oh, the good ole days. But when I decided we should probably go through them and see if there is something useful still on them, I realized that was not going to be quite as easy as I thought since most of our computers no longer have floppy drives at all. And forget about getting a laptop with one!
I still have a bunch of floppy discs in some box in my garage. I won’t be doing any of those crafts, but I’m happy to know they can be recycled.
Damn. How creative. Love the notebook.
These are so cool, I want the laptop stand! I think I’d turn it into a table!
That is completely, totally, undeniably cool! Thanks!
ALL TEN OF THESE IDEAS ARE ( GENIUS ) ,, COOL ,, AND MOSTLY EASY TO MAKE ,, THE TRASH CAN ,, PEN HOLDER ,, NOTEBOOK AND WALL ART ARE BY FAR MY FAVORITE .. WELL TIME TO DIG OUT THE DISCS AND GET STARTED ,, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE ( DEFINITELY ). COOL IDEAS .. RICK D. ,,,,,,