7 Creative Uses For Those Old VHS Video Tapes

Okay, I guess I have to admit it. The VHS tape is history. The problem is, I still have a couple of hundred of them sitting around, just taking up space. So what can I do with those old VHS video tapes?

They’re no good for weightlifting or as paper weights, they’re too light. You can’t stand on them, they’ll break. They’re no good as insulation (no R-value) or even as a decoration (too ugly.)

My VCR still works, so I can still watch and record, but there’s a lot of them I don’t need anymore. The second hand stores won’t buy them, and even garage sale shoppers are shying away.

So what can I do with them?

After wracking my brain, here’s a few uses I’ve come up with:

They Make Great Mini-Safes. You can store valuables in the empty VHS box. Or you can hollow out the plastic tape shell (this takes work) and just throw it in a stack with your other old VHS tapes. You can store money, jewelry or whatever inside. What thief entering your home is going to start searching through your old VHS tapes?

As Building Block Toys For the Children. When I was a kid, I played with wooden blocks that you could stack and arrange into little houses and tunnels and other cool stuff. These days, you don’t need wooden blocks. Just use those old VHS tapes!

Wrap Yourself In the Tape As A Mummy Halloween Costume. Okay, I haven’t tried this, but a friend of mine once took an old 16mm film and wrapped himself up in it like “The Mummy” from those old horror films. It looked great, and I think the halloween partygoers even gave him a prize for best costume.

A “House Of Video Tape” Game. Remember that Brady Bunch episode where they built a big “House of Cards” as a contest? You can do the same with old video tapes. Of course, you’re going to need a big area because the stack will be BIG before it falls. The loser has take take home all of the tapes.

Make A Piece of Artwork Out Of Them. You’ve seen those huge, ugly sculptures made of junkyard scrap? Maybe it’s possible to craft a big stack of old VHS tapes into some sort of unique modern art form and sell it to a museum. They should glue together pretty easily. (If you do this and get a museum to pay you a couple of hundred thousand dollars, please remember who gave you the idea!)

Box Cover Wallpaper. After you’ve crafted and sold your piece of artwork with the plastic shells, you can take the empty box covers (the commercial ones that show an image of a movie or contents) and cut them up and paste them onto a wall to make some eye-catching wallpaper. I’ve seen this done with old paperback book covers and the effect is quite interesting.

As A Personal Protection Device. Okay, this one takes a bit of practice, but if you pick up a VHS tape, hold it flat and throw it hard with a good spin on it, the corner can crack somebody pretty good. (Practice on a wall, not real people.)

Additional suggestions, anyone?