Don't throw that Away!

My parents had a very thrifty approach to life: reuse it, re-purpose it, or recycle it. I remember covering school books with brown paper grocery sacks. Everyone did it in those days. My dad turned old juice cans, painted and soldered together in joints to make a big building set for grandkids. Today, I reuse plastic bags as small trash bags instead of buying more plastic bags to litter the earth. And these days I collect old egg cartons and glass bottles for sharing our chickies' eggs and storing our bees' honey.

Plastics are everywhere and they must constitute a huge proportion of landfill trash. And plastic doesn't break down very fast. So a good thing to do with it, is find a new use. At our annual chapel Christmas party, I cut two gallon jugs to serve as spill catchers. Most plastic drink bottles will serve and it prevents a big floor cleanup from sticky lemonade or water which can cause a slip hazard.

We get our milk from a Mennonite family and the tops are plastic and non-reusable. So I've been working on ideas for re-purposing. 

Since I also save old greeting cards, I'm using them to create a sweet Christmas decoration. I think this would also work to make trivets. I use the round inserts inside the lids as gift cards. All it takes is a hole punch, ribbon and colorful markers. 

I think two of these Christmas trees glued back to back and mounted on a little weighted box would make a lovely table decoration. Or, as a quick classroom craft make individual ornaments with pictures cut from cards or a child's photo, glue on a ribbon "frame", drill a hole in the top to add a yarn or ribbon hanger, and voila! Think I'll do that with my grandkids this summer. Have a Christmas in summer craft day. 

There are other practical ideas for using plastic containers. I often turn them into planters. Think of all the things that come in cylindrical plastic containers. They can easily be converted to plant pots by drilling holes in the bottom. I also use them for orchid pots by using a utility knife to cut slits in the side as well as holes on the bottom. If the container has words, it can be placed in a decorative pot that hides it.  I do that with all my orchids and none of them seem to mind. 

As you can see, this one is getting ready to bloom and I'm excited to see which color it is since I can never remember who's who in the orchid garden.

So before you throw out another thing, ask yourself whether you can use it in another way. Can that little scoop in the lemonade container be added to the bath toys for your toddler or the beach bucket? Can the empty boxes from the grocery store and packages sent in the mail be saved for big building blocks to make a temporary fort until they're demolished by the rain? 

You can encourage the imagination of your children by reading Christina Katerina and the Box, and sending them out in the yard to build. Boxes can become the walls of a castle or an igloo at the North Pole. They can make an enclosure for a bunch of wild stallions or a fort to protect the settlers from marauding Indian bands.

Imagination is a glorious gift from God. Combine it with good stewardship and it's a win-win for everybody.

So before you throw out that "trash" imagine how it can become a treasure, either permanent or temporary. 

Happy imagining and happy thrifting!