Trash or Treasure? BOTH!!!

 One man's trash is another man's treasure.  No greater truth.  

We now live in a throw away society, and that supports a "buy it" mentality.  People seem to love folding over those dollars and handing them to someone else - for stuff that doesn't last - and most things they don't NEED - and never thinking twice about it.

NOT ME.  I want to fold over those dollars and stick them back in my pocket!!!!!

There just isn't a lot of ingenuity now days.  No new ways of seeing things and re-inventing them to new uses.  I would rather have the fun of coming up with an new and inventive way to use something, than to add to the landfill problem.  It saves the earth, it saves you dollars, and it's fun.

We all need to use our old noggins a little more - I seriously think somedays that brain power is the most under used power on earth!!!!!!!

You can trash pick around the neighborhood, you can go to junk yards, thrift stores, yard sales or you can use what you have or what nature gives you.  Get creative and inventive.

A few ideas:

• If you see piles of scrap wood - it can be used to make raised flower beds, bird feeders, animal pens,  crafts, borders for garden/flower beds, etc.
• Old pails or buckets - use for container gardening - compost, feeders for larger animals, etc.
• Old clothes - if not able to donate, scraps can be used to mend or make quilts, rags, keep buttons and zippers for repairs, remake material into new clothes items
• Tree branches down after a storm? - Use for natural garden stakes, make into a border around the garden or flowers (use as fence posts for mesh or screen), use in camp fires
• Trash bread or veggies/fruit - feed for animals (no mold).  Heck when we had a bread outlet I would get trash bags of bread called "feed" for a $1.  Some I kept for us as it was fine and the rest went to feed nature cheaply
• Food - leftovers --- make into new dishes, get creative.  Freeze for another day.  Give to a neighbor or family member.  Just don't waste it!!!
• Old pop bottles - can turn into creative craft items.  I use 2 liter and indiv. size bottles that my neighbor gives me for water storage.  They last a long time and work perfectly.

                             Pop bottles turned into cute bird  feeders - a fun project.

Old jeans and old clothes can be turned into cute pillows, lap throws, memory teddy bears (loved ones clothes) - oh so many uses

Use those 12 pack pop boxes to hold your pantry cans neatly in place.  You can wrap them in old gift wrap, newspaper, pretty magazine pictures or leave plain.  Great extra storage and keeps like items together

• Even old cement or bricks or blocks can be used.  My neighbor tore up a cement sidewalk years back - all cement scraps were flat - he put them in the alley.  I got several pieces to use to raise up some container garden pots out back where it can flood.  My neighbors got a bunch and made themselves a fire pit in there yard
• If you need a new item - think about getting an old version.  Older kitchen gadgets are made better and have lasted for years - and will last for many more.  Go to yard sales or thrift stores to bet that stuff.  Don't buy plastic and foreign made garbage that will end up in the landfill in no time.
• Heck even the TP rolls can be used to start seeds in (homemade peat pots) or stuff them with drier lint and use as fire starters.  Cover them in peanut butter and roll in birdseed and hang for a easy and cheap bird treat!
• Water - whether tap or rain - save it.  Water is a limited resource and we need to use it wisely.  Keep and catch for plants, animals, gardens, flushing, even drinking (rain if boiled), hand washing, etc.

I could go on for ages.  There is no limit to things we can re-invent and reuse.

The next time you have something break - think about buying a used older version or just NOT replacing it (like microwaves, etc.).  Many small appliances aren't really needed - there are others ways/things to do what they do.  Many older gadgets and tools are better made than new stuff.

Do you really need a new modern plastic bowl or brand new iron skillet?  Get an older version for pennies at thrift/yard sales and help save an older item from landfill.

Patience is something we all need more of.  If we wait long enough, we can usually find a wonderful answer or replacement for something.  Look around and get creative.

You save you hard earned dollars and you save some history and you save the earth.

Trash IS Treasure!!!!!!!!!!!!