Recycle & Re-purpose

So how many of you out there recycle and re-purpose things?  Or do you just throw them away because you have no further use for them?

We recycle or re-use just about everything from plastic to cardboard to styrofoam.  The following is a list of things that you can put out in the recycling bin depending on your area or take to your local recycling center:


1. Brown, green, or clear glass
2. Cardboard
3. Chipboard(cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc...)
4. Newspaper
5. Junk mail
6. Plastic grocery bags
7. Tin cans
8. Aluminum cans(we save them for cash)
9. Magazines & phone books
10. Styrofoam
11. #1 plastic(pop bottles, etc)
12. #2 plastic(milk jugs, etc)
13. #3-#7 plastic

Your local UPS store will take styrofoam peanuts.  Check other packaging places to see if they accept them too.  Places like Battery Outfitters will buy some of your used batteries.  Call first to see what type of batteries they will accept.  Check your local electronics place to see if they dispose of used lithium batteries.  Also, check your local hardware store to see if they take used rechargeable batteries or lithium batteries.

We have a compost pile for things that can be composted.  There is a list of what we put in our compost pile in an earlier post.  By recycling and composting we only fill one 13 gallon bag of trash in a week or a little over a week.

I re-purpose and reuse different things.  A former neighbor of ours didn't have the room to take some of her late husband's things in his shop.  I now am the happy owner of a tool storage cabinet.  It stores my embroidery thread and some beading supplies.  It also serves as his end table in the front room.  Ok, so, I am a bit eclectic in my decorating.  I'm not done yet....

Several years ago, a friend gave me an old coffee table minus the foot cushions.  I bought some large pillows to fit it.  It was used as our coffee table at first and now it serves as extra seating in our front room.

My old toy chest serves as our coffee table and it also serves as extra storage.  Now that's old!!!!  Hahahaha!!! Old bell jars hold dried flowers from floral bouquets.  Other jars hold buttons.  Butter dishes without lids make good candle holders.  Three votive candles will fit perfectly on them.  Another butter dish is used to set salt and pepper grinders on.  It catches what doesn't fall on your food.  Several small plates hold different candles as do different kinds of finds from flea markets.  You can't tell I like candles can you?

Shoe boxes work great for putting bank statements and canceled checks in.  Important papers need to be kept for at least seven years.  I have an old cigar box from when my late father worked at Dillon's many, many moons ago. Dad used it to store electronic parts.  He marked up the outside of it.  So, I have plans to decoupage the outside in the future.  I'll be using it for my either my quilting or crafting stuff. 

I re-purposed an old binder from when I was going to college.  It is now used for my handpiecing.  There are several pockets and a file storage area.

I bought a few pencil bags for a dollar each.  They hold everything you need for taking a project with you.

 There's also room to hold your notes or pattern if you have one printed off from your computer.

I'll have to see if I can find some kind of rings to hold the pencil cases together just in case I don't want to take the whole binder with me.  Or I can tie them together with ribbon or scrap pieces of fabric.

Trade your used books with your family or friends.  Or see if your local library would want them.  Our local library has a used book store that accepts donations of used books.  The sales from the proceeds benefit the local library.

Your old towels, wash clothes, or really worn out cotton clothes can be used to clean, stain or make something new with.  There are some creative people out there that have some great ideas for making something new out of something old.

Have a garage sale.  There just might be someone out there that can use what you don't want anymore.  We really don't have a place to have a garage sale.  So we take our unwanted things to different resale shops.

Some resale shops will sell clothing on commission.  There are different places here that take donations.  What they sell benefit people in need.  I took things in the past to a resale shop that helped me years ago when I needed the help.  My favorite place to take things or look for various items now is a resale shop that benefits the local women's shelter not that I have need to go there.

I'll post pictures later of an old dresser that was my late sister's and mine when we were growing up.
The dresser is going to be stripped and stained for a newer look.  This on my list of things to do while I'm on vacation 'til a week from Saturday.  Will have to go to work one day in the middle of the week.  Don't ask....