Broken umbrella? Don't worry - you can recycle it in many super creative ways!

How many of us have several umbrellas (brollies) laying around the house and/or in the car? Certainly, these brollies are something we cannot go without – and testament to this is how often we are forced to use them when we go out in inclement weather. Sometimes, however, it happens that we buy and use those that are not really of top quality and they break in a strong gust of wind. And repairing them would, in fact, be a greater expense than simply buying a new one. On top of that, there are many other reasons why you find yourself with a broken, unusable brolly (for example, the latching device often fails).

However, instead of throwing these broken brollies away, you could consider recycling them in many creative ways: from the smaller and more compact ones to even large beach, golf or garden umbrellas, their structures - or even their canvas linings - can be recovered and reused in many different ways!

If  the mechanism used to open the umbrella is broken, and this brolly was made with perfectly waterproof plastic (as happens with transparent models), you have a vase for flowers to hang up as a decoration on the door of your house.

And if it is not able to contain water, it can still contain flowers, perhaps artificial ones, to replace the classic wreaths on the front door.

Sometimes, however, the handle breaks off... Well, in this case, it can become a hook for clothes to be mounted on the wall.

If the canvas canopy is intact, you can remove it from the metal frame and make a useful shopping bag.

A bare metal frame, opened and hung up at home, becomes a support on which to hang photos, postcards and cards.

But it could also be used to hang up clothes with the help of some clothespegs.

If you don't mind the idea of opening an umbrella indoors, those without a handle become fantastic, unique lampshades.

Another idea if you only have the brolly's metal frame: wrap the arms with strings of lights - like Christmas lights -  and create a fantastic chandelier for the outdoors.

And if you use cord, ropes and threads, amazing creations can be made to light up any area in a unique way.

The clear, plastic brollies that have high and spacious domes, are perfect for creating a mini greenhouse on top of a round pot.

A beach or garden brolly, broken on one side only can be saved: if you use the good part, putting it against a wall, it becomes a type of canopy.

Which idea do you like best?