Upcycling—repurposing potential junk into something fresh and different—is one of the hottest ways to respect the planet. Since old electronics are common and unwanted, they’re a rich source of creative potential. Want to turn your trash into unique upcycled treasure? Clean that craft corner, fire up the glue gun and alert the cat: it’s project time.

Sure, you’ve been meaning to recycle your very first PC. But after 15 years or so, is it safe to say it’s a keeper? Commit to making that monitor useful again and transform it into a cat bed. Seriously. After carefully removing the monitor’s innards (and taking those to the recycling center), it’s pretty much as simple as reassembling the monitor frame, making or finding a pillow for the inside, and decorating Mr. Tinkle’s new digs to complement your bedroom or home office. Using old keyboard keys to spell out your cat’s avatar customizes the entire shebang and makes you one crafty upcycler.

All your CDs are ripped onto your computer, and it’s been years since you bought anything but a movie on disc. So if you’re ready to free up some space in the entertainment center while simultaneously sprucing up a wall or doorway, here’s the project for you. This modern spin on the beaded curtain displays your old CDs in all their silvery, reflective glory. Beads, paint and a dowel rod of your choice offer even more opportunity for personal expression. Bonus: Yet another excuse to bust out the craft drill. The opposite of bonus: Now everyone will know that you used to listen to Wang Chung.

Now that your old CDs are an array of door curtains that would make a roller disco diva green with envy (get it, green?), the next step is to deal with those discarded jewel cases. Give them fresh purpose in an unlikely spot: Your garden. Surrounding individual plants with their own mini greenhouses gives darling buds and seedlings the extra warmth they need to thrive. Light will pass through the clear plastic and change solar energy to thermal energy, nurturing each plant via the legendary greenhouse effect.

Got a pair of earbuds that have never fit right? Do you have a teenager who keeps losing, replacing and then finding hers? Get unused earbuds out of the junk drawer and into the garden, where they’ll actually do some good. Resilient by nature, earbuds make excellent plant ties, especially for trellis flowers like morning glories or potato vines. Dress up the cords with beads and embroidery thread, label the buds using a Sharpie, or just leave the earbuds plain to recognize them easily among all that blossoming greenery in your yard. Chrysanthemums be rockin’ them beats!

CDs repurposed? Check. Jewel cases gone green? Check. For re-use of the entire package, give CD liner notes a second life. With a flower punch, glue and a few sparkly (or not) gee-gaws, you’ll have the goods to make the most visually appealing part of any CD into a ridiculously cute flower bouquet. To display, wrap the floral cut-outs with a construction paper cone if there’s not enough material left from your CDs of choice. Slide into bud vases at summertime parties, give to a sweetie to commemorate your song, or brighten your work cubicle with flowers that are blissfully impossible to kill.

What do enterprising artisans do with a PC when it’s time to upgrade? Pretty much everything. Making jewelry from keyboard keys seems a popular pursuit, and bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings are easy to buy online. How easy they are to DIY depends on your skill and patience. For a modern, geek-chic twist on message jewelry, it may be worth dismantling that keyboard. And if your experiment with a jewelry drill and needle-nose pliers yields a less-than-stunning result, don’t worry. There’s an entire community of jewelry makers out there mining keyboards in the name of personal expression.

There’s a slew of computer upcyclers who will happily pay you for the raw material required for a Macquarium. But if you’ve been wondering how to pay tribute to Mother Earth with your old Mac—and really, who hasn’t?—this planter gives new life to a classic. After you cut open the top and remove the guts, jack-o-lantern style, the hard part is nearly done. Bring the insides to a recycling center, then get down to business with spray paint, a photo for the front and a clear acrylic sheet to personalize the monitor. Pop in a potted plant, and you’ll give “green screen” a lush new meaning.

All jaws will drop at your knitting group when you whip this baby out. It’s shiny, it’s crocheted, it’s unusual, durable, and, oh yeah, it’s made of tape from old VCR movies. Sure, you may feel like it is sacrilege to destroy your copies of Weekend at Bernie’s or Weekend at Bernie’s 2, but really, you’ll be keeping oodles of shiny black tape out of a landfill. If you’ve got a whole library of VHS films and know your way around a set of crochet hooks, congratulations.

Difficulty level: the equivalent of making a perfect soufflé in a wind tunnel. But if turning your calculator into a metal detector was child’s play and you lull yourself to sleep by mentally rebuilding motherboards, this project will be your personal water cooler fodder for months. Also, the computer into fish tank never fails to get houseguests talking. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

There was a time when you loved the efficient elegance of your PDA stylus. Just holding it made you seem more organized. Then you realized you didn’t use most of the functions on your PDA, and having a pointer to dial for takeout was silly. Budget minded you chose to upgrade to a smartphone, but fashion minded you still think that stylus looks cool. Show it off by putting it to brilliant use as the accessory it was destined to be. With some glass beads and a glue gun, you’ve got yourself a fine-looking hairpin (for best results, use a stylus with a hook on the end). Hot for teacher, anyone?

The little wooden cottage for birds is so last millennium. Treat feathered friends to a mod-inspired dwelling worthy of an Architectural Digest spread, without the architect’s budget. When you flip colored jewel cases into a birdhouse, the result is a vibrant haven that’s also plenty big for multiple birds to comfortably enter. The downside: it’s also large enough for a squirrel to enter, so keep that in mind when placing this in your yard. Also, be sure it’s perched in a shady spot, lest you end up creating a miniature sauna.