RENEWAL REVIVAL
Written by : Jeffrey R Hilton
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Everything old is new again. Well actually it's still old, but it's increasingly in vogue these days. Lots of old things are gaining a whole new popularity, even if they are used for something completely different than their original intended use. Recycling is an age old pass time and anytime you can use something more than once and use it for a clever purpose is a good thing.
The truth is that there is some kind of use and afterlife for almost everything we use today. At minimum, it's plastic or paper packaging and good only for recycling to make other paper cardboard or plastic products containing post consumer content. When I finish using up a product in any kind of large plastic jar with a lid, it usually goes to keeping birdseed in or to a use for gardening. If I have enough, it goes into the recycling.
A lot of old curtains end up in the landfills and are replaced with new and more expensive ones, but these old curtains are often overlooked as something that can be renewed by cleaning them and either bleaching them or dying them a different color and even adding a swath of contrasting other material to them and creating something really different and funky. The material is often of fine quality as well.
Netting that typically contains onions and the like can be reused to put bar soap ends in and tie them up and fasten to your outdoor faucet for a quick hand wash while working in the garden. Alternatively, they can be filled and fixed up with a suet mix or similar mix for birds and tied to a tree branch. I grew up on a farm, so I'm well aware of many of these tricks of getting second uses from things. My grand parents like many of yours, I'm sure, wasted nothing and were quick to scold you if they saw you being wasteful. My grandfather used to recycle magazines by putting them in the outhouse.
People back then and in times before, like that of the Great Depression and the 2 World Wars had to be thrifty out of necessity and became very good at it. Of course being creative helps a lot to this end, but what you don't know and lack in creativity can be easily found out on the web or in books on the subject. A lot of recycled plastics are now being turned into hoodies and I think that's an incredibly creative and great use for plastic.
I've had expensive bird feeders get knocked down and broken by high winds but when the same thing happened to a bird feeder that I made out of a recycled 2 liter plastic bottle which was just as effective, It wasn't a big deal to make another one or hang the same bottle back up if it didn't crack.
I've noticed that trendy stores are now selling cabinetry and tables that look they were originally from barns, workshops or perhaps old quaint cottages. This decor looks highly simplistic, stressed, and clinically plain, and goes for exorbitant prices. Saw some lovely planters and planting tables at the same place, made from reclaimed wood.
Re-purpose baby food jars to create a whimsical garden path with the jars planted upside down into the path or make them part of your tool bench to store fasteners or other small parts. re-purpose an old wooden ladder to create an overhead rack with hooks to hang pots and pans on. Re-purpose old sweaters and blankets to recover chair seats or reupholster furniture. Clean up old trunks and use them as end tables or coffee tables. When considering projects to make, thrift stores can be a great place to start, and take your imagination with you.
Take an old medicine cabinet and turn it into a wall mounted mini bar, particularly useful in small spaces. Mount an old ornamental soap dish to the wall near your front door as a key dish. Use an old toothbrush holder to hold stems of small flowers.
Some people look at an object and all they see is the object for what it is, while others have the ability to see it for what it is and several other things it could be. An old headboard can be re-purposed as the back of a bench. Old drawers or crates can become shelving units. You are only limited to the extent of your imagination to create stuff like this. Recycling to re-purpose things can be very rewarding and for the creations themselves, the sky is the limit.
The truth is that there is some kind of use and afterlife for almost everything we use today. At minimum, it's plastic or paper packaging and good only for recycling to make other paper cardboard or plastic products containing post consumer content. When I finish using up a product in any kind of large plastic jar with a lid, it usually goes to keeping birdseed in or to a use for gardening. If I have enough, it goes into the recycling.
A lot of old curtains end up in the landfills and are replaced with new and more expensive ones, but these old curtains are often overlooked as something that can be renewed by cleaning them and either bleaching them or dying them a different color and even adding a swath of contrasting other material to them and creating something really different and funky. The material is often of fine quality as well.
Netting that typically contains onions and the like can be reused to put bar soap ends in and tie them up and fasten to your outdoor faucet for a quick hand wash while working in the garden. Alternatively, they can be filled and fixed up with a suet mix or similar mix for birds and tied to a tree branch. I grew up on a farm, so I'm well aware of many of these tricks of getting second uses from things. My grand parents like many of yours, I'm sure, wasted nothing and were quick to scold you if they saw you being wasteful. My grandfather used to recycle magazines by putting them in the outhouse.
People back then and in times before, like that of the Great Depression and the 2 World Wars had to be thrifty out of necessity and became very good at it. Of course being creative helps a lot to this end, but what you don't know and lack in creativity can be easily found out on the web or in books on the subject. A lot of recycled plastics are now being turned into hoodies and I think that's an incredibly creative and great use for plastic.
I've had expensive bird feeders get knocked down and broken by high winds but when the same thing happened to a bird feeder that I made out of a recycled 2 liter plastic bottle which was just as effective, It wasn't a big deal to make another one or hang the same bottle back up if it didn't crack.
Re-purpose baby food jars to create a whimsical garden path with the jars planted upside down into the path or make them part of your tool bench to store fasteners or other small parts. re-purpose an old wooden ladder to create an overhead rack with hooks to hang pots and pans on. Re-purpose old sweaters and blankets to recover chair seats or reupholster furniture. Clean up old trunks and use them as end tables or coffee tables. When considering projects to make, thrift stores can be a great place to start, and take your imagination with you.
Take an old medicine cabinet and turn it into a wall mounted mini bar, particularly useful in small spaces. Mount an old ornamental soap dish to the wall near your front door as a key dish. Use an old toothbrush holder to hold stems of small flowers.
Some people look at an object and all they see is the object for what it is, while others have the ability to see it for what it is and several other things it could be. An old headboard can be re-purposed as the back of a bench. Old drawers or crates can become shelving units. You are only limited to the extent of your imagination to create stuff like this. Recycling to re-purpose things can be very rewarding and for the creations themselves, the sky is the limit.
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Jeffrey R Hilton
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