Waste Not
Last night I stopped at my mom’s house and she was telling me about how my great-grandma used to save everything. She said that it their time people never wasted, and reused everything imaginable. I am pretty much a pack rat and always try to find new uses for old things too, but she had a couple of cool ideas I never thought of.
One no-brainer that she mentioned my great-grandma did was save her bread bags. She would shake or rinse them out and reuse them as baggies. Really? We use baggies for everything, so why had I never thought of this? You could use them as a cheaper alternative on dog walks, or even to bundle or store the items you normally use a baggy for! So simple, yet so green and effective!
She also mentioned that they often saved the same bread bags for making rugs. I have seen these in my grandparent’s old house. Here is a picture. Visit her site to see instructions for crocheting the round version here: http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2008/09/27/recycled-round-plarn-rug/
I think these could be really fun and funky. Now I need to learn how to crochet!
Other things that my great-grandma saved were more common, and things that we already frequently save, but still great reminders nonetheless. Cool-whip containers, coffee cans, other plastic, cardboard, or metal containers. These can be reused in so many different ways in the home. You can even recover or paint them to match! One more thing that she saved was the little plastic eggs her pantyhose came in. I had to laugh. My mom said she had tons of them. Hmm… what would you use those for?
Especially in hard economic times, but always to be healthier for our planet, its great practice to reuse such commonplace items. What other ideas do you have?
Bookend Project
I have said it before, but I love repurposing items. Especially in these times, finding new life for old items is the greenest option. Some things you hate to ruin by transforming them, but for the most part I believe that reusing old or obsolete items is a far better choice than letting them waste away in some one’s unloving basement, or worse yet, a landfill. Plus, repurposing is often much cheaper than buying new items, as well as healthier for the planet. So, when I get the chance to make a new addition to our home, and at the same time get a new project with old items, I jump on it!
In college I made bowls out of records as a dorm floor project. I still have mine in our office on the book shelf. The other day I saw a project online where book ends were being made out of old records, and decided that would be a perfect addition to the shelves, and even fit in with our music themed office.
I made a stop yesterday at the Salvation Army and picked up two records. They weren’t anything special, just old records in decent shape and with pretty labels. Last night we boiled some water and dumped it in the kitchen sink. The water softens the record and you use a utensil to bend it.
Overall the project was easy and turned out pretty cute!
Cooling off under a box.
Mini Bar Update
We have had the old TV armoire we found on Craigslist home for a couple of weeks now. I haven’t posted about it because we are having a change of heart. We had wanted to strip the wood and stain it black. But, when we got the cabinet home we thought it was so gorgeous we couldn’t bear to do that! I thought that going black and adding some shiny handles and mirrors would add some Hollywood Regency to the cabinet, more suiting it to become a mini bar. I just don’t know if we can bring ourselves to touch the beautiful wood. We did add a stemware rack to the top and filled it with our lovely bar glasses and goods. It is really gorgeous in our dining room, and it has already served it’s purpose. We do still plan on adding another shelf in glass and also a pull out shelf for more mixing and pouring space.
What do you think? Should we restain the cabinet black or leave it as it is?
You can't see it here because there is no stemware in it, but there is a clear stemware rack on the right side.
We really do need your advice, opinions and ideas!!
All Things Can Become New Again
I have talked about this before, but just can’t get enough. Old things becoming new again. I love this idea. I especially love repurposing items when the new purpose is something completely different than its previous use. This has actually become pretty popular lately, so there is a lot of inspiration out there. I thought I would compile some of my favorite repurpose finds. I might even have to start a new project soon!
These ideas are all great. The first picture is water skis made into a chair. I have also seen old surf boards used as shelves. The second is a shopping cart made into a chair. These would be totally cute on a deck or around a camp fire. The next photo is a library card catalog with added legs used as a coffee table. Then there is the side board dresser turned into a bathroom sink vanity. I love this idea. More storage and totally unique. The last is a side table made from suitcases. Great because storage is built right in!
Try thinking of new uses for old objects. Not only will your home be more unique and express your personality and taste, but it is greener for our world to recycle old items. Its a win win!
Make Mine Eclectic 
