It stands to reason that reusing things is more efficient (environmentally speaking) than recycling them. No energy has to be expended in moving the goods to a recycling plant, melting/bashing/pulping them and making them into something else. It's all done in your own home.
It's also pleasingly self sufficient. How much nicer to give everyone homemade crackers with handmade gifts in, where the only thing you've bought is the cracker snaps, instead of over priced, un-recycled ones with nasty plastic gifts in that will never be used beyond Christmas day? Reusing things, in our case, also means a bit more spare cash that can go and grow in the Compost Bin.
In the spirit of this, I've had a quick search on the internet for ideas for reusing common household objects that often get thrown away. If I get any more suggestions, or come across any more ideas while I'm Googling, I'll put them in a future post.
Toilet rolls/wrapping paper tubes
• Store Christmas lights – wrap them round the tube and round the outside
• Stuff dryer lint in them, tape the ends and use for firestarters
• Put some dry rice/beans in them, tape the ends (firmly!) and give to your baby to rattle
• Use them to wrap small Christmas presents (either cover totally in wrapping paper or tape ends)
• Make your own crackers! This site has good instructions, but there are plenty more if you Google it.
• Put them round the stems of plants – no idea which plants and what it’s meant to do, but my mother told me once that wherever you might use something bought to protect your pants, use a cardboard tube!
• Cut down one side and slide onto clothes hangers before draping trousers over them – it will prevent the trousers creasing where the hanger is
• Fill with sweets/gifts, cover in pretty wrapping paper and give as party bags
• Cut into smaller lengths and let the kids decorate them for festive napkin rings
• Go all Blue Peter and make a desk tidy – you remember the ones on Blue Peter
• Cut a slit and tidy electronic cables into them to stop your house looking like an industrial mainframe.
Chest freezer (or a fridge/freezer on its side)
• Use as a grain bin (check that the lid still fits tightly). You may need to drill a couple of holes for ventilation, depending on what you’re storing. Remember to cover the holes with mesh if you do!
• As a root cellar for storing root vegetables in over the winter. Remove all the electronic bits, dig a hole a foot bigger than the freezer in all directions, throw a few stones in the bottom for drainage. Put your freezer in the hole, fill the gaps around the freezer with loose soil. Fill with veg, and voila! Again, ventilation holes (covered with mesh) may be necessary, and you may want to cover the top of the hole with hay bales or sacks to keep out the winter cold.
Ends of soap bars
• Find, knit, or crochet a little bag, with small holes in (small enough that little bits of soap don’t fall out) put the ends of soap bars in there, and use! Or put a fresh bar in, and just top up with another fresh bar when there’s only a little bit left. There’s a pretty knitting pattern here, but there’s loads more if you Google soap bag knitting/crochet pattern.
• Use a pair of tights and an elastic band in the same way as above
• Put all the ends into a soap dispenser bottle, top up with water, and shake occasionally until the soap dissolves
• Save the ends of the bars, grate into a pan, add a little water and warm until slightly soft. Add some essential oil if you want, and stir well. Mould the soap into new bars, or balls. Looks nice if you have different coloured soaps to start with
Polystyrene peanuts/packaging/containers
• Break up and put in the bottom of plant pots to aid drainage and save on soil if you don’t need the full depth of the pot
• Use as insulation (not sure how, but it’s very insulating, surely you can find a way! Google)
Plastic bags
• Cut them up and crochet or knit them into a new, reusable, shopping bag. This website has instructions on making the ‘yarn’, then you can follow any bag knitting pattern, or just knit two squares and a long handle strip and sew them together.
Old jumpers/knitted garments
• If the garment is made from animal wool, you can put it on a hot wash to ‘felt’ the material, which you can then cut and sew like fabric. There are patterns online for making bags, hats etc from felt
• Undo the whole jumper and reuse the yarn to knit a new garment – here are some instructions and tips
Bubble wrap
• Use it for insulation – on windows (click here for instructions), round pipes or draughty areas
• Give it to a friend who is moving or who ebays a lot
• Advertise on freecycle – someone will be moving house or ebaying
Coffee grounds
• Sprinkle around plants – deters slugs and other pesky pests, as well as being nutrient rich for plants that like acidic soil. Also deters cats, apparently
• If you’re brunette/black haired, rub coffee grounds through wet hair when washing between shampooing and conditioning. Allegedly it’s good for your scalp and makes your hair shiny, but since I don’t really drink coffee, I can’t verify this.
• Use as an exfoliator – pat on, massage off, rinse
• Helps remove unwanted odours from the freezer – place a bowl of dried grounds in the freezer
Cans (of the food variety)
• Nail them onto a wall in a workshed or craft room and use for storing tools or supplies in
Christmas cards
• Cut up to use for tags
• Cut up and use as images on handmade cards
• There are a million more ideas if you Google
Egg cartons
• Use as seed trays to sprout seedlings
• Stuff with dryer lint/paper scraps etc, seal with wax and use as firelighters
Newspaper
• Polishing glass
• Wrapping paper (stamp shapes over it with silver ink or use beautiful ribbon to make it look special
For more ideas to recycle the most random objects, from swimming caps to computer motherboards, try RecycleThis. It's great.
It's also pleasingly self sufficient. How much nicer to give everyone homemade crackers with handmade gifts in, where the only thing you've bought is the cracker snaps, instead of over priced, un-recycled ones with nasty plastic gifts in that will never be used beyond Christmas day? Reusing things, in our case, also means a bit more spare cash that can go and grow in the Compost Bin.
In the spirit of this, I've had a quick search on the internet for ideas for reusing common household objects that often get thrown away. If I get any more suggestions, or come across any more ideas while I'm Googling, I'll put them in a future post.
Toilet rolls/wrapping paper tubes
• Store Christmas lights – wrap them round the tube and round the outside
• Stuff dryer lint in them, tape the ends and use for firestarters
• Put some dry rice/beans in them, tape the ends (firmly!) and give to your baby to rattle
• Use them to wrap small Christmas presents (either cover totally in wrapping paper or tape ends)
• Make your own crackers! This site has good instructions, but there are plenty more if you Google it.
• Put them round the stems of plants – no idea which plants and what it’s meant to do, but my mother told me once that wherever you might use something bought to protect your pants, use a cardboard tube!
• Cut down one side and slide onto clothes hangers before draping trousers over them – it will prevent the trousers creasing where the hanger is
• Fill with sweets/gifts, cover in pretty wrapping paper and give as party bags
• Cut into smaller lengths and let the kids decorate them for festive napkin rings
• Go all Blue Peter and make a desk tidy – you remember the ones on Blue Peter
• Cut a slit and tidy electronic cables into them to stop your house looking like an industrial mainframe.
Chest freezer (or a fridge/freezer on its side)
• Use as a grain bin (check that the lid still fits tightly). You may need to drill a couple of holes for ventilation, depending on what you’re storing. Remember to cover the holes with mesh if you do!
• As a root cellar for storing root vegetables in over the winter. Remove all the electronic bits, dig a hole a foot bigger than the freezer in all directions, throw a few stones in the bottom for drainage. Put your freezer in the hole, fill the gaps around the freezer with loose soil. Fill with veg, and voila! Again, ventilation holes (covered with mesh) may be necessary, and you may want to cover the top of the hole with hay bales or sacks to keep out the winter cold.
Ends of soap bars
• Find, knit, or crochet a little bag, with small holes in (small enough that little bits of soap don’t fall out) put the ends of soap bars in there, and use! Or put a fresh bar in, and just top up with another fresh bar when there’s only a little bit left. There’s a pretty knitting pattern here, but there’s loads more if you Google soap bag knitting/crochet pattern.
• Use a pair of tights and an elastic band in the same way as above
• Put all the ends into a soap dispenser bottle, top up with water, and shake occasionally until the soap dissolves
• Save the ends of the bars, grate into a pan, add a little water and warm until slightly soft. Add some essential oil if you want, and stir well. Mould the soap into new bars, or balls. Looks nice if you have different coloured soaps to start with
Polystyrene peanuts/packaging/containers
• Break up and put in the bottom of plant pots to aid drainage and save on soil if you don’t need the full depth of the pot
• Use as insulation (not sure how, but it’s very insulating, surely you can find a way! Google)
Plastic bags
• Cut them up and crochet or knit them into a new, reusable, shopping bag. This website has instructions on making the ‘yarn’, then you can follow any bag knitting pattern, or just knit two squares and a long handle strip and sew them together.
Old jumpers/knitted garments
• If the garment is made from animal wool, you can put it on a hot wash to ‘felt’ the material, which you can then cut and sew like fabric. There are patterns online for making bags, hats etc from felt
• Undo the whole jumper and reuse the yarn to knit a new garment – here are some instructions and tips
Bubble wrap
• Use it for insulation – on windows (click here for instructions), round pipes or draughty areas
• Give it to a friend who is moving or who ebays a lot
• Advertise on freecycle – someone will be moving house or ebaying
Coffee grounds
• Sprinkle around plants – deters slugs and other pesky pests, as well as being nutrient rich for plants that like acidic soil. Also deters cats, apparently
• If you’re brunette/black haired, rub coffee grounds through wet hair when washing between shampooing and conditioning. Allegedly it’s good for your scalp and makes your hair shiny, but since I don’t really drink coffee, I can’t verify this.
• Use as an exfoliator – pat on, massage off, rinse
• Helps remove unwanted odours from the freezer – place a bowl of dried grounds in the freezer
Cans (of the food variety)
• Nail them onto a wall in a workshed or craft room and use for storing tools or supplies in
Christmas cards
• Cut up to use for tags
• Cut up and use as images on handmade cards
• There are a million more ideas if you Google
Egg cartons
• Use as seed trays to sprout seedlings
• Stuff with dryer lint/paper scraps etc, seal with wax and use as firelighters
Newspaper
• Polishing glass
• Wrapping paper (stamp shapes over it with silver ink or use beautiful ribbon to make it look special
For more ideas to recycle the most random objects, from swimming caps to computer motherboards, try RecycleThis. It's great.
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