Local woman upcycling wooden skids into holiday decorations to raise money for charities

By Taylor Pace

Waterloo local Jennifer Lee has been busy transforming wooden skids into holiday decorations to raise money for charities. 

More than 60 orders have already been placed for Lee’s upcycled Christmas trees. The proceeds are being donated to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the GLO Farm Sanctuary near Guelph, which is a rescue for abandoned and abused animals. 

“It's been a rough few years for many people, and for some, the winter season is especially difficult to find food and shelter,” Lee said. “Our family has everything we need, so I would like to help those in the community that need it most. Animal sanctuaries also have a big place in my heart – I believe all lives, no matter what species, deserve to live their best lives.”

Over the summer she had collected a number of skids that would have otherwise gone to the landfill, and decided to use the materials to create 10 and 14 inch trees as decor. 

In past years, her family didn’t have many seasonal decorations because of a lack of storage space, living in their small Toronto apartment. But since moving to Waterloo earlier this year, she wanted to make some. 

“[And] since each skid can create around 10-14 trees, I thought, why not offer them to others too? And that's how this project began,” she said. 

Each tree takes her around 15 to 20 minutes of active work to make. She starts by cutting the skids into individual planks of wood, sanding them down, and then cutting the shapes of the trees out. The final steps are to sand again, stain and paint the pieces, then attach them all together. 

Lee has always been interested in interior design and DIY projects. But when her family moved to Waterloo, she finally had room for a garage workshop to try her hand at woodworking and renovations.

“It started with finding a second-hand mitre saw, and then my tool collection continued to grow. Since then, I've been doing DIY projects around the house and refinishing furniture that people were trying to get rid of,” she said. 

Creativity is not the only drive for her DIY projects, though. 

“Growing up, I was always very diligent with sorting trash and recycling and was a very crafty kid,” she said. Then, a few years ago, she found the zero-waste movement. 

“The concept really resonated with me; there were thousands of people out there sharing ideas on how to reuse and upcycle items, how to reduce the amount of waste and single-use items in our everyday lives, and more. With climate issues on the rise, I decided I wanted to live the most eco-friendly lifestyle I can.”

So far, she says her family of four has been able to reduce their trash to one to two grocery store bags a month.

“The amount of waste we produce these days is not sustainable, and I am determined to transform unwanted furniture and materials into something brand new so things don't get tossed into the landfill so quickly,” she said. “I hope that others who see these projects will be inspired to upcycle or refinish their own things too, or offer them to us DIY-ers instead of throwing them out.”

The listing can be found on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, but some of the trees will also be sold directly at GLO Farm Sanctuary at their holiday market in December. Lee says she will continue taking orders until mid-December. 
 

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