Repurposing
 

We were chatting about recycling the new light bulbs. Made me think about recycling in general and so here's a thread.

I call it 'Repurposing' which means to find another use for. Still, anything regarding recycling, sharing things or reusing them in another way is welcome.

I had a neighbor who saved her worn out blankets. She then would go and find sheets at GoodWill or some place like that and make a quilt from the blankets.

She would sew two sheets together on three sides and put the blanket in side (I think she probably basted the blanket to one sheet first and then sewed the other sheet to the first and turned them inside out).

She would sew of the fourth side and then use yarn to tie the 'quilt' together in several spots.

They were nice and warm and she'd take them to the cottage or give them to the kids to take to their college dorms.

So..ideas please:)

Tootsie

I give old towels, blankets, and sheets to local animal shelters, they can really use them year round.

I'm about to go through my four sets of bookshelves and purge them to get them down to 3. I plan on having an old board buddy look through them next weekend to see what she wants.

Household items - our local women's shelter loves getting stuff like this - they really need it for women who are starting over with nothing. I like giving stuff to them, because someone in need is truly getting it, vice just giving it to a charity that sells it.

Greta, that's a great idea!

I try to give my magazines away also or take to the Library. Sometimes they like to get copys so they have extras of the popular ones.

I saw a clever idea with books where people find the attractive ones, in good shape and then drill a hole through each of them, put a lamp appliance through the center and it makes a nice lamp.

Or you can use a book for a secret hideaway buy hollowing out the center of the pages and put your valuables in there. Place on a shelf amidst other books. I think the directions I saw showed that you have to glue all the pages together before ou can hollow out the center though.

A dear friend of mine went to the Goodwill and other places like that and bought up a bunch of wool coats and skirts. Then she cut bias strips from them and wove them into a huge rug. It was fabulous till her cat decided to add his own scent to it!

Tootsie

Last week our Cub Scout Pack Meeting theme was "Litter to Glitter."

The Cubmaster took some plastic 2 liter bottles and turned them into bird feeders:

He cut a 3" hole in the side and placed a dowel beneath for a perch. Fill it with bird seed and hang it for your feathered friends.

I wash out large sauce jars and the lids. Paint the lids, wrap a pretty ribbon around the top of the jar and it makes a cute little candy jar. If you have some sticky back fake gems or stickers you can decorate it with that too.

They're also good for storing my herbs, like chamomille, or a couple of teabags.

I take old worn out clothing and cut it into rags. DH has an endless supply now.

A few years back I took apart old jeans and cut the legs into strips and saved the pockets and zippers.

My plan then was to weave the jeans into some sort of fabric bowl and the pockets can be used for ot her craft and sewing projects.

Tootsie

my repurposed headboard
 

I love repurposing things. This picture is of the headboard my little guy and I found at the rebuilders ,a Habitat for Humanity store in Portland Oregon. They are old Salloon type swinging doors. I had been looking for an old door to make a head board with and my DGD said "look Grandma what about these?" I always knew that child was brilliant !:Bow:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...CAMTEST074.jpg

I just love your headboard and I love to do things like that too. It is so much fun to find something you love and can use it creatively. Pretty room!

I'd posted this elsewhere before, but it is useful.

I take old mags, old giftwrap, old construction paper...whatever you have that you might just toss.

I use my shredder to shred them and then use the shreds for packaging material or even (in the case of gift wrap) for those gift bags you buy.

You can even shred tissue paper to use in the gift bags.

Shredders are fairly cheap at the various stores.

Tootsie

:I-Agree::icon_idea: WOW ! I completely forgot I had a wonderful shredder with a lot of power to it. Not only that I keep buying bubble wrap to help me pack with the moving packing I'm doing right now. You're a life saver. Brilliant,simply brilliant !:Thanx: