When you were 12, you were thrilled each time you added a shiny new trophy to your collection. After all, who wouldn’t want to be recognized for all of those amazing achievements like Best Swimmer at seventh-grade girls’ camp, or Most Pies Eaten at the county fair? However, as an adult, you may be wondering what to do with all of those old trophies.
Luckily, there are a couple of crafty ways to dispose of, recycle, or safely pack old trophies. When moving cherished items, it’s important to keep them safe. Check out our infographic below for multiple ideas for taking care of your trophies — from turning them into fun crafts to tips on moving them safely.
Smart Solutions For Old Trophies
Recycle
If you want to recycle locally, start by calling nearby trophy and awards shops. Many don’t offer a program for used trophies, but there are quite a few well-known recycling options across the country. Recycling is a great way to give back and let your happiness become someone else’s. Check out the following national organizations that accept your used personalized trophies.
A couple of the above organizations simply strip down old trophies for recycling, but many restore them to donate to charitable causes.
These organizations help the community in various ways. Awards Mall for example, dedicates itself to giving away trophies to nonprofits. This allows for other organizations that have limited budgets to still give away tokens of appreciation to their volunteers or staff. Revive Glory Awards creates custom pieces to customers and “provide meaningful work for people with disabilities so that they may succeed in living as independently as possible”.
This way, your beloved trophies give happiness to someone else. Someone else might appreciate it and be filled with pride from your old trophy. That’s a cause we can get behind!
If you want to keep the trophy closer to home, you can always recycle by using it for a local event. Connect with a church or organization and offer trophies for some of their activities. You don’t have to strip down the plaque — just remove the plaque entirely and replace it with your own cute inscription.
Refurbish
Maybe you don’t want to let go just yet, and that’s okay, too. There are dozens of ways to refurbish your old trophies to create something useful and unique.
- Make a pretty cupcake tray with trophies, tart trays, and spray paint.
- Craft a vintage trophy coat rack out of wood.
- Whip up trophy bottle stoppers for cheap gifts or party favors.
- Create a paper maché vase for that shabby chic look.
- Assemble a collage for a pretty yet practical way to display memorabilia on a wall or in a man cave.
Many of these are a great weekend project. With the right tools, you’ll be able to reuse your trophy in a fun way. You can also try some of these other crafty ideas that might be easier to complete:
- Spray painting trophies in fun colors and using as bookends.
- Attaching a tray to the top of a trophy to make a catchall to stow jewelry and keys.
- Using a kit to convert your trophy to a table lamp.
- Covering the original engraving with a funny label and giving as a gag gift.
- Change engraving for an upcoming event, such as a children’s birthday giveaway.
- Paint and use the columns as a centerpiece accent.
You can’t go wrong with either recycling or refurbishing your old trophies. What could be a better tribute to your childhood than donating to a worthy cause or giving new life to those trophies? Just make sure you’re not raiding Mom’s display case.
How to Safely Transport Trophies
Whether the trophies come with you in the shape of a cupcake stand or as is, they are important mementos that should be carefully transported come moving time.
First, make sure you have the right material. Bubble wrap, for instance, is a great moving supply to use for protecting trophies.
Second, make sure the box you’re using is new or free of any tears. If you are reusing an old box, remember how heavy these trophies can get. Make sure you have plenty of tape to secure the box. It’s not enough to secure the top to close it — you must also secure the bottom.
Third, after the trophies are in the box, add another layer of bubble wrap to make sure they don’t move during transportation. With varying shapes, extra bubble wrap along the sides is also a good idea.
When in doubt, add more tape and add another layer of bubble wrap. These precious pieces are worth the extra layer!
Moving to Houston?
Moving and packing fragile, memory-filled items takes significant time and effort. Let Ameritex help you safely pack and transport your favorite old trophies.
Find out why we have a 95% referral rate, as well as a stress-free guarantee.
Ameritex is also proud to take an active part to support local charity and education. See what we’ve been up to in our community as we strive to make Houston a better place.
Contact our friendly office staff at 713.484.6683 to customize your ideal moving experience.D
