What To Do With Old Ceiling Fan? (The 6 Options)

It’s finally time to change that old ceiling fan in your living room that has made you feel like you’re in some old seventies sitcom TV show. You’ve had a look around, and prices are through the roof. So what can you do with your fan?

There are several ways you can discard any outdated, boring ceiling fan, but there are oodles of crafty ideas to repurpose any old ceiling fan. You can even turn your passion for crafts ideas into a small business to bring in some extra spending cash.

what to do with old ceiling fan

Whatever the condition of your fan, working or not, there are options available to you to put it to good use. You may be a handyman or a craft addict, even an environmental protector. Here I will show you different options to re-use or discard your fan.

What To Do With Old Ceiling Fan? Here are 6 Options

Many options and ideas are available to turn old unwanted ceiling fans into something new and chic.

  • To recycle your broken ceiling fan, check with your city if and where they have recycling plants and if they accept ceiling and other old household fans.
  • Donate your old fan to charity stores, working or not.
  • Sell your old ceiling fans online.
  • Up-cycle an old ceiling fan into something new and exciting with the different parts of your fan.
  • Revamp your old, outdated fan if it still works and modernize it to suit your style.
  • Use the parts of your fan to create some exciting craft ideas.
old ceiling fan

How Can I Recycle My Old Ceiling fan?

So you’re looking at retiring your ancient ceiling fan but don’t know how to get rid of it. Well, recycling it would be best as you would be doing the environment a favor, rather than tossing it in the trash or rubbish heap.

Check with your city if they have any recycling plans and where you can bring your old fan. Some parts will be scrapped and melted down and re-used for something different. Others will be discarded correctly.

Most light bulbs can be discarded safely with everyday household trash, but if you still have old mercury lights, find out where and how to safely get rid of these.

Can I Donate My Old Ceiling Fan?

Most charity shops will take your fan if it is still in working conditions. They can decide how to use it best by donating to less privileged people or selling it to raise funds for organizations.

Find out from your charity stores near you if they will accept a ceiling fan that is no longer working.

They may have some crafty ideas to turn an old fan into something useable.

Can I Sell My Old Ceiling Fan?

Instead of adding to the rubbish piles out there, why not sell your fan online and make a bit of extra cash to put towards your new fan.

You can advertise your fan on online sites locally or even on Amazon and eBay links. You would be amazed at how many people will still buy something outdated. 

If your fan is still working, you may find that people will buy it up and revamp the fan to decorate their home with a mix of old and new,

Even not working, you could sell your fan. People will use the parts of the fan to make something new and unique from the different parts of the fan.

So if you have some creativity in you, maybe you should keep it for yourself and try to make something new out of your old fan.

Is It Possible To Up-Cycle An Old Ceiling Fan?

up-cycle an old ceiling fan

Have you ever wondered about how many parts a fan consists of? There are eight parts to a fan, ok maybe you can’t use all of them, but you can make something from a few parts of the fan.

If you have a hint of creativity in you, you could turn any part of the fan into something new and valuable.

The fan’s motor housing could be painted into a color that you love and used as a planter, and you could even make an upside-down herb garden to hang in your kitchen.

The brackets that hold the ceiling fan blades in place, well, those could have so many uses, coat racks, rolling pin stand, and kitchen book holder. I could go on for hours here.

Just repaint them and add them to a photo frame to hold up your recipe book in the kitchen.

Maybe fasten them to a piece of pallet wood and turn them into unique coat hangers.

Depending on the type of material the blade is made of, metal, wood, or plastic. You could use the old blades for small shelves or side tables.

Even the light shades can be up-cycled into something unique. I haven’t personally tried it, but I did see someone turn them into big frosted sundae glasses; they were gorgeous.

Thinking outside the box about what you need and possibly applying the parts you have to turn into a functional item will give you an incredible feeling of accomplishment.

How Can I Modernize My Old Ceiling Fan?

It’s time for a change, those dingy lights and that ancient fan are driving you batty, but you can’t afford to splash out on that new model that you have been admiring. 

Perhaps you don’t have that exuberant flair for turning useless stuff into exceptional handy objects. However, you still have a smidge of imagination, so why not turn that timeworn fan into a more contemporary piece of ceiling accessory.

A quick spring clean of the parts and a new coat of paint will rejuvenate the look of your fan alone.

Change your light shades to something more hip and modern. Get light shades that are frosted may be or have a more sleek shape. These also don’t have to cost you a fortune. You can readily find reasonably priced shades on Amazon.

Here is a tip, don’t throw those old light shades away. There are some crafty ideas below that you can use for those old shades.

Spruce up the blades with a fresh coat of paint or some new funky design to liven up the place.

How Can I Use My Old Ceiling Fan For Craft Ideas?  

Here we come to my favorite part, the nifty craft section, where you can turn your old ceiling fan into multiple crafty ideas.

There is no end to the list of what you can turn the different parts of the ceiling fan into. All it takes is you, a little creativity and inspiration, and voila, people are talking about how gorgeous your deco is and how they absolutely must have one too.

Craft Ideas For The Ceiling Fan Motor Housing

The motor housing is the casing that covers and protects the fan’s motor; removing the motor from the casing leaves you with a decent-sized casing that you can use in different ways.

  1. Pot planters for succulents
  2. Circular wind chimes
  3. Vegetable or fruit bowl
  4. Upside down herb garden
  5. Jewelry pot

Craft Ideas For Ceiling Fan Blades

There are so many attractive craft ideas to use old ceiling fan blades for

  1. Large Garden dragonfly wings
  2. Scarf holder
  3. Kitchen to do list chalkboards
  4. Inspirational quote boards
  5. Shabby Chic windmill wall deco

Craft Ideas For Ceiling Fan Blade Brackets

This one has so many clever little tricks to repurpose a bracket it blew my mind.

  1. Coat Handers
  2. Curtain tie backs
  3. Towel hangers
  4. Rolling bin Display holder
  5. Kitchen recipe book holder

Craft Ideas For Ceiling Fan Light Covers

I loved the idea of re-using the light covers of an old ceiling fan and turning it into something unique, functional, and decorative.

  1. Bird Feeders
  2. Garden solar light 
  3. Candleholders
  4. Flower pots
  5. Glass shade organizers for anything

Conclusion

I think old ceiling fans are treasures to have; there are so many things you could be doing with them that it’s worth hanging onto them. No matter if you are revamping them and making them the centerpiece in a room or turning them into unique little craft projects. A ceiling fan is just not an old boring ceiling fan anymore.

Photo of author

Barry Gray

Hi, I’m Barry. I’ve loved woodworking and bringing things back to life for more years than I care to remember. I hope my passion for tools comes across loud and clear in everything you read here on The Tool Square.