One word: beads.

Need we say more? You got on top of friends’ shoulders, chased down a float, you probably even gave someone on the float a wink – or maybe a little more – just to get a cheap string of those coveted plastic beads. You know, just like any sensible Carnival lover knows, that Mardi Gras is nothing without a neck full of festive beads to show for it.

There is only one problem.

What are you supposed to do with all those bags of beads, piles of stuffed animals and stacks of plastic cups that are starting to crowd your side of the dorm room?  

You could just toss them, but that’s not very eco-friendly, and you didn’t go through a week of parading and collecting to just have your precious bounty thrown in a smelly trash bin. Thankfully, there are other alternatives. With just a hint of imagination and an eye for creativity, you can find plenty of ways to repurpose your Mardi Gras throws, so that they won’t end up stinking at a dump or collecting dust in your parents’ garage.

The first step to repurposing your beads is to think outside of the box. There are many different uses for them aside from hanging them around your neck or bed post. If you own a corkboard, you can cut your beads into individual pieces and glue each bead around your corkboard to add a more personal touch. You can also use your beads to or picture frames, but please don’t use them to embellish clothing.

Another way to take the designing approach is to decorate some furniture. Theater arts and mass communication freshman Janece Bell and her roommate, criminal justice freshman Kayla Cox, plan to keep all their Carnival beads and use them to make a beaded curtain for their room, and then decorate one of their old lamp shades. Bell and Cox also plan to donate their stuffed animals to the New Orleans Police Department.

“I once did a project at my church, and they had a stuffed animal drive,” Bell said.  

“They would donate the stuffed animals to the local police department so they could give them to kids who have suffered traumatic events,” she said.

Your beads can also come in handy when going to a different country or if you are just going back to your hometown. Save the beads that are the traditional Mardi Gras colors and then give them as a gift to someone who is not familiar with Mardi Gras. You can even put together a nice little Mardi Gras basket gathering your throws in one of your Mardi Gras cups.

Whether you use them to make a beaded curtain or donate them to charity, make sure to find a good way to use your beads. Be creative and have fun with it, but make sure to get rid of that massive bead pile collecting dust on your side of the room before your roommate gets angry.

Angie Hernandez can be reached at [email protected].