I am not a big Pinterest kind of girl, but I was desperate to find a way to use some old tires sitting in a corner of the property for some time. I just knew there was something we could do with the darn things and I refused to let my husband haul them off to the dump. We all know the dumps are full of stuff that could be recycled or re-purposed. I didn’t want to add to the junk pile. I will admit I was pleased as punch to find a use for the tires and even more excited that it actually worked. I am a bit of a Pinterest failure due to my lack of craftiness, but even I managed to pull this one off.
Now, these bad boys have nothing to do with prepping or homesteading, but because it is all about repurposng, I am including it. Prepping and homesteading is about doing with what you have rather than spending more money on things that you could make yourself. We have a fire pit. Of course, we do! It is like having a bathroom in a house you buy in these parts. Fire pits are a standard feature. However, we did not have chairs for the fire pit. We pulled out our camp chairs, but we never have enough when company comes over. Well, we did have a couple of old logs, but after a run-in with a very angry hive of yellow jackets in an old log at a campground, I burned those suckers to the ground! That was a nightmare I don’t ever want to relive! No more old stumps or logs for our chairs. 
Anyhow, I digress. I pulled out an old can of paint that was also leftover from previous owners and not suitable for going to the dump. I slapped some paint on 4 old tires, stacked them 2 high, had the hubby use a few screws to drill them together and then put some scrap wood over the top. My husband is a perfectionist and cut the wood to match the curve of the tires. I found a couple of cheap cushions at Walmart to set on top of the wood, but they are not nearly big enough. I will be scouring thrift stores for some old cushions I can throw on our chairs.
We also had 2 smaller tires, that were a little too low to be a comfortable chair for old folks like me who would probably fall backwards trying to squat down that low. I decided those tires would be our table. Again, the hubby perfected the idea and cut some old pallet boards to make it look like a picnic table. We slapped some paint on them and voila! We have a patio set that cost a whopping $6 for the 2 cushions. The rest was from recycled wood and the old tires.
These are actually very comfortable. I will admit I was surprised. Now, hubby will be modifying the chairs to add some cup holders, because that is also a requirement. I am going to look around and see what I can come up with for back support, but for now, our chairs will do just fine. I am on the lookout for more tires to make more chairs for when we have company.
Give it a try! If SHTF and you are forced to use your fire pit as your makeshift kitchen stove, you might as well be comfy out there.
PoorPrepping 