New life for old things: how to upcycle your old yoga mat
26.3.2025
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Anika Schulz
Wait, stop! You don’t have to throw away your used yoga mat. You can make a ton of useful things out of it.
I recently tested the Glue yoga mat from Omnana. In short, the thing’s rubbish because I can’t get a grip on it. Now the mat’s sitting in the corner of my apartment and I’m wondering what to do with it. Chuck it in the bin? Such a shame, the thing’s brand new. Should I gift it? No, I can’t do that to anyone – it’s too slippery.
There’s only one solution: upcycling! To my surprise, I’ve been able to find some ideas online on Yogablogs and offline in my head on how to breathe new life into Glue.
Customised shoe mat
Up to now, the three pairs of shoes I wear in rotation every day have lived on a doormat next to the door. However, as the mat’s actually too small for this, I’ve been looking for an alternative for some time. I can’t use standard shoe drip trays because they’d be too big for my narrow 110-centimetre hallway. So why don’t I make a customised shoe mat out of Glue?
All I need is a folding metre stick and a sharp carpet knife. First I measure how much space my shoes need. Then I transfer the measurements to Glue, whip out my carpet knife and cut the mat to size. Job done.
As Glue is made of robust PVC, it’s perfect for its second life as a shoe mat. It’s easy to wipe down when dirty, and the brown-green colour of the mat is practical too; it won’t showcase every speck of dust. Thank you, Glue 2.0.
Anti-wobble support for parakeet cage
My three parakeets Rio, Cookie and Pebbles run around their cage all day and use it as a landing pad. Because the Madeira model weighs 50 kilos, my wooden floor has taken a hit and there are marks where the legs stand. In addition, my apartment’s old floor isn’t completely flat, so the cage always wobbles a bit when the parakeets land on top of their home.
This is how I came about my next idea – Glue coasters for the cage legs. The yoga mat’s 4 millimetres thick, has a slight give and should therefore be able to do its job well as a cushioning floor protector. I use a lantern top as a template to trace the circles.
And as I’d hoped, with the Glue pads under the wheels, the cage is much quieter. It also rattles a lot less when one of the little birds fly towards their home at full speed. Thank you, Glue 3.0.
Knee pads for gardening
Spring is here and everyone’s digging in the flower beds. Me included, because my balcony and patio also need sprucing up. To protect my knees while I’m kneeling on the floor, I could either buy an unnecessarily expensive a cushion for the garden – or use Glue again.
I simply take the now tattered ex-yoga mat, roughly cut out a 70 × 70 centimetre square – and done. I’m not fussed that my knee pad is crooked and lopsided. After all, it’s about the practical aspect and not about a beauty award.
Once I’ve finished using Glue in the garden, I put it in the cupboard with the other gardening items. Until next time. Thank you, Glue 4.0.
But what about the rest? It finally ends up where it belongs: in the recycling bin. Together with my old shoe mat.
Are you also thinking about cutting up your old mat now? Here are some nice sharp carpet knives.
Do you have any other ideas on how to repurpose an old yoga mat? Let me know in the comments!
Anika Schulz
Teamleader Editorial
Anika.Schulz@galaxus.deAs a child, I was socialised with Mario Kart on SNES before ending up in journalism after graduating from high school. As a team leader at Galaxus, I'm responsible for news. I'm also a trekkie and an engineer.
