REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE
For the next few Saturdays, we are going to look at the 3Rs -- reduce, reuse, recycle -- focusing on simple things we can do in our daily lives to save the planet. Of course, we still have to call and write and march and try to move our congresscritters and business leaders toward a more sane energy policy. But seeing progress through simple acts of conservation can it can be highly motivating and help us keep up the fight.
Last Saturday's Top Comments diary was devoted to Reduction. Tonight, we'll explore Reuse.
As we talked about last week, the best approach is to reduce your amount of energy use and waste. The second approach is reuse. Some things are obvious -- reusing a container deli meat comes in to store leftovers, for example. A jam jar can store leftovers. An old shirt can become a pajama top. An opened envelope can become a shopping list. Returnable bottles can be, well... returned.
Others Reuses may be less obvious, or even counterintuitive, but effective. A magazine can be shared. DVDs can be traded. A dishwasher can be repaired. A computer can be upgraded. A car can be resold. A cell phone can be donated. Here are a few more ideas for reuses for some common items. Please share yours below in comments.
- Garden hose. Old garden hoses can be cut up and used as a blade guard for saws, axes, or even ice skates. Slipping a length of hose over a wire or rope before staking a tree or other plant will help protect the plant from being cut or damaged by the support wire. Hose pieces can be twisted onto the handles of tools to improve grip or slit and put (slit side up) over the handles of buckets and bushel baskets to soften the grip. Or you can make a length of old hose into a scarecrow for some garden pests by painting it with a few splotches of brown/green and leaving it coiled near the base of tomatoes, broccoli or beans.
- Plastic Bags. Is there anything you can’t do with a plastic bag? Of course it is best – but virtually impossible – to avoid collecting them, so they are an ideal candidate for reusing. Of course, they can be used as trashcan liners, garbage bags, scrap catchers for sewing or crafts tables, or packing material when mailing breakable items. But that is just the beginning. Using instructions found online, you can use plastic bags to make a braid rug; yarn for weaving, crochet, or knitting; artificial flowers; a waterproof hoodie, or even hard molded plastic replacement parts for appliances, tools, and equipment.
- Plastic Jugs. Plastic jugs like those from milk or juice have dozens of reuses. Cut just below the handle, they make a planter (leave the handle attached and it is more portable) for giving away plant starts. This configuration can also make a water reservoir for paintbrushes or a portable paint pot for holding small amounts of paint for small projects like facings and windows. Cut off the bottom at an angle with the handle to the top and they can become a scoop for anything from bulk dog food to potting soil to bird seed. Or cut just the bottom off and use them in the garden to protect seedlings from late-season frosts. Uncut food-grade plastic jugs can be used to make big "ice cubes" that last longer in coolers. And they make excellent mixers for batches of pancake batter – just pour in the ingredients, cover and shake. Then pour from the jug directly to the griddle, and any left-over batter can be stored in the jug.
- Clothing. Clothing may be one of the easiest things to reuse, which makes it more amazing that so few people actually do it. Repurposing clothing – making a shirt into a sleepshirt, an adult tee into kids clothes is easy; renovating clothing – changing the style or size – may require a little more skill. Of course, nothing makes better rags for cleaning, polishing, automotive work, etc. than tee shirts or diapers. The internet is full of reuses for clothing; neckties (cheap silk yardage) can be converted to anything from a vest or skirt to a rug or chair cover; almost any garment can become material for a frugal quilt. And don’t forget the ultimate clothing reuse: resale, which allows you to reuse your clothes as money.
RESOURCES
Need more ideas? For some of the best ideas on reuses anywhere, I highly recommend Instructables. The huge variety of illustrated, step-by-step instructions available there provide a host of ideas for reuses. Learn how to do everything from making cardboard furniture to a wheelchair for a ferret. From making pulled pork on you charcoal grill or Turducken to Creamy Pumpkin Soup or Gooey Chocolate Cake.
Learn to make lamps from everything imaginable: stone, string, or tennis ball can. Or get detailed instructions for fun halloween costumes and party foods or fabulous Christmas gifts and decorations (including an FMS tree topper).
For more high-tech DIY reuses, check out Make Magazine, which also produces the fabulous Maker Faire, a festival of DIY tech projects coming soon to San Francisco (May 22-23), Ann Arbor (June 5), New York City (June 10) Detroit (July 31) or a city near you. If you want to learn about gardening, food preservation, and ideas for reusing the downhome way, check out the Maker Faire Homegrown Village or Homegrown online.
One of the best investments in reusing you will ever make is Carolyn Jabs’ Re/Uses. (I paid 5 times that price 10 years ago and I still think it was a bargain because I still use it frequently.) And check out the ultimate in reuses – your local library – for other ideas for reuses, including
STORAGE
One of the key elements in a reuse program is containment. Just because you can’t use something at the moment doesn’t mean it should be thrown away. But lots of people throw things away they might be able to reuse just because it keeps the house tidy. The only way around this problem is a storage system specially designed to hold valuables reusables. Having a designated resuables storage space has other benefits, too. Having a finite space reminds you of what you have, which encourages you to actually reuse your materials. And by putting your materials in a space, you can easily assess what you have when you start a reusing project.
A storage space needs to be tailored to you, the waste you make and the things you are likely to do with it. No one can save everything, so set your priorities. Are you likely to make a braided rug from old clothes? Do you like the idea of cannibalizing appliances for parts? Will you actually reuse the parts? If you are short on space, save only the things that have a realistic chance of being reused.
Make a list of what you want to save. Once you have a general idea, look around your home for potential storage spots. Don’t get stuck on conventional ideas about closets and cupboards. Most American homes aren’t built for reuse or recycling, so you will probably have to steal whatever space you can.
Before you recycle or dispose of anything, consider whether it has life left in it. Reusing keeps new resources from being used for a while longer, and old resources from entering the waste stream. Here are some suggestions. Most will require modifying the space, either by adding cardboard boxes to hold reusables or adding shelves, hooks, or doors.
- Under the sink. It is a classic place for trash; adding boxes and shallow shelves can make it a useful storage space.
- In a closet. If you happen to have one of those mythical underused closet spaces, make it into a recycle/reuse workshop. If your closets are full, an often-unused space is the wall above the closet door. Install shelves and boxes to hold reusables.
- In an old dresser/bureau. It can be modified to make the space more efficient, or used as is.
- Under the stairs. If you have a staircase, you may be able to reclaim it. Equipped with shelves and bins on casters, and doors, it can be a very efficient for reusables storage.
- In or above kitchen cabinets. Upper cabinets or the open space above a soffit can be converted to store reusables. It isn’t the most convenient space, but that’s probably why it is available.
- In front of the sofa. If you don’t have a coffee table, make one from modular flat-pack units with doors.
- In a corner. Again, modular units can be deployed stacked in a corner.
- Under a window. Make or purchase a deep wooden box with a hinged lid. Make a cushion for the top and it can be a window seat for you and/or your pets. The inside space can be subdivided to store reusables.
- In the rafters. If you have a garage, attic or basement, it may seem like you have a lot of space for storage, but that seldom turns out to be the case. You can still capture extra storage space in these areas by attaching shelves to the studs above the level currently used or between the studs.
- Anywhere else. Build plywood cubes with hinged lids. Put cushions on top and casters on the bottom. Paint the cubes and fill them with cans, bottles, and other reusables. They can double as moveable seats or ottomans or side tables.
Reusing keeps new resources from being used for a while longer, and old resources from entering the waste stream.
But before you rush off to make a space for your reusables, a word from our sponsors. . . .
We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos. Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain. We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.
One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.
Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.
These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.
Tonight’s Top Comments. . . .
From Zoskie :
I think this whole thread is top comment worthy. The thread is started by Jennifer Clare in kos' hate mail-a-palooza and really nails the lack of logic in those right-wing hate mails--and is pretty funny too! Purple Priestess' and *OtterQueen's replies are truly inspired.
From winterbanyan:
In Saturday's Morning Feature "Who does your thinking, Part III," Williston Barrett provides a great insight into the effects of consumerism on the American carbon footprint and the need to change our frames.
From Angie in WA State:
I nominate this comment by Patch Adam in Yamenenko2's diary because progress is forward-thinking, and sometimes, being a lifer is a good thing.
From Purple Priestess:
In the weekly wrap-up of LOST, Seneca Doane explained how the writers of LOST work.
The Saturday Hate Mail-a-palooza is always good for several TC's but SpencerTroxell got the one-liner off before me with spit-taking goodness. Best to begin with RustyCannon's comment to get the context.
From JanF:
In Adam B's diary "Stop the Meta, Get to Work" ChurchofBruce explains how ridiculous it is to complain about Pootie diaries taking a rec list "spot" that could be used for Serious Political Discourse (I suppose like Meta Diaries).
From RiaD:
lakehillsliberal explains what other countries are beginning to realize about the U.S. in TheRealAlasandra's diary Is the Oil Spill Destroying the Gulf Coast?
From sardonyx:
potatohead writes about keeping a macro view on real insurance reform.
From me:
The fabulous Fishgrease tells us everything we need to know about the likelihood of success in BPs attempts to cap the Deepwater disaster in a comment to Booming School II.
In that same diary, Tyto Alba relays some very interesting information from The Oil Drum, an excellent site for energy-related information and discussions.
alizard provicdes important information on MERS foreclosure fraud that could all hundreds of families to keep their homes in danps' diary Consumers Get Businesslike.
Tonight’s Top Mojo . . . .
Top Mojo excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, and C&J comments:
1 - You should see the looks I get........Carbunkle Rugburn.....208
2 - Workers over 45 are facing massive........Jimdotz.....203
3 - From one professor to another........APA Guy.....136
4 - Move your Money also.....MD patriot.....98
5 - Best thing I ever did was walk......padeius.....96
6 - Not that it helps, but what you are.....hannah.....95
7 - This from FDR.....Land of Enchantment.....94
8 - A better idea than sub-minimum wage?.....JSCram3254.....94
9 - HR told my friend.....Philly Quaker.....92
10 - Not unless more employers start seeing the value.....lineatus.....86
11 - Wow......Land of Enchantment.....84
12 - And.....Hedwig.....84
13 - The Year 2003 Was Also Notable.....JekyllnHyde.....81
14 - I spent five years living in poverty.....prodigal.....79
15 - right on! thanks for throwing your hat into this.....p gorden lippy.....76
16 - No.....DarkSyde.....74
17 - I'm sorry, Midge.....Carbunkle Rugburn.....70
18 - The vast majority did not "leave"........dance you monster.....70
19 - Let me guess: Tax Cuts will get 'em back to work!.....lineatus.....69
20 - A better idea?.....dance you monster.....69
21 - I am humbled.....rockyn.....67
22 - If it didn't I would be pissed.....edtastic.....64
23 - I'm 49, have an MA,.....Noor B.....63
24 - Yes. A gov't jobs program that dovetails with.....hegemony57.....63
25 - I was thinking about that ........Land of Enchantment.....63
26 - Excellent.....AndrewMC.....61
27 - Oddly enough,.....gchaucer2.....61
28 - What a fantastic diary......GlowNZ.....61
29 - I like how you keep reminding........ErinW43.....61
30 - We need community WIFI......goinsouth.....60
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1 - Tip Jar.....RebeccaBellMetereau.....410
2 - Tip Jar.....karpaty lviv.....376
3 - Tip Jar.....danps.....327
4 - Tip Jar.....midgebaker.....319
5 - Tip Jar.....rockyn.....318
6 - Tip Jar.....RenaRF.....279
7 - Tip Jar.....icebergslim.....269
8 - When dissonant talents unite.....Adam B.....256
9 - Tip Jar.....Yamaneko2.....243
10 - You should see the looks I get........Carbunkle Rugburn.....208
11 - Workers over 45 are facing massive........Jimdotz.....203
12 - Tip and a Rec for the shoe on the other foot......dkmich.....168
13 - Tip Jar.....Ellinorianne.....158
14 - Tip Jar.....nyceve.....155
15 - In lieu of tips........KingOneEye.....146
16 - It's gay pride saturday!.....Hedwig.....139
17 - From one professor to another........APA Guy.....136
18 - Tip Jar.....Clarknt67.....122
19 - Tips for less packaging.....Purple Priestess.....100
20 - Move your Money also.....MD patriot.....98
21 - Best thing I ever did was walk......padeius.....96
22 - Not that it helps, but what you are.....hannah.....95
23 - A better idea than sub-minimum wage?.....JSCram3254.....94
24 - This from FDR.....Land of Enchantment.....94
25 - HR told my friend.....Philly Quaker.....92
26 - Not unless more employers start seeing the value.....lineatus.....86
27 - Wow......Land of Enchantment.....84
28 - And.....Hedwig.....84
29 - The Year 2003 Was Also Notable.....JekyllnHyde.....81
30 - Tip Jar.....Chris Rodda.....80