Treat materials as resources, not waste

My general attitude towards physical (non-living) objects is to treat every material as a potential resource. To make our planet continually habitable for all creatures, including humans, we have to use less and waste less material goods. Wasting material goods equates to wasting the resources, time, and labor that go into those goods and making them truly “trash” instead of reusable (via reinvention, repair, recycling, etc.) This means we have to:

  • Buy/acquire items that last longer and are of higher quality

  • Use the items we have for longer periods of time

  • Reuse items both for their original or reinvented purpose

  • Repair broken items

  • Recycle items when the recycling process is a better way of reusing the original materials

  • Refusing to accept items we know are ultimately designed to be trashed (fast fashion, promo items, etc.)

  • Change the way we operate culturally to focus more on quality of life and less on mindless consumerism

To help support these actions, I am currently compiling a list of ideas.

Refuse, reduce, reuse, repair & recycling idea list

Refuse, reduce and reuse are three of the most important “R’s” for a sustainable world.

I am obsessed with reuse and am compiling a “living” list of refuse, reduce, and reuse ideas. Because “recycling” and “repair” are also sometimes lumped in with “reuse” I am including those here too. The best way to reduce environmental impact is to value the materials we have right now and make them last as long as possible - not make items out of new materials. Reduction of unnecessary purchases is also very important, along with refusing to accept wasteful items.

Books

  • Borrow books from your library

  • Share books with friends

  • Remove photos or art from coffee table books and frame the prints

  • Use antique books with pretty covers as decor

  • Turn antique book covers into notebooks by replacing the paper & rebinding

Cardboard

  • Reuse boxes as-is for shipping, storage, garage sales/giveaways

  • Flattened cardboard as a weed suppressor for “no-dig” garden beds under compost

  • Remake smaller boxes out of larger boxes for shipping

  • Toilet paper roll seedling pots

Cleaning

  • Find metal bristle brushes at estate sales and use for cleaning non-scratchable items

  • Find steel wool at estate sale and use for cleaning rusted/dirty metal items

  • Use old dental tools for cleaning crevices and small spots

  • Use leather cleaner and conditioner to make leather items last longer

  • Combine small used soap pieces in a mesh bag to make sure they all get used

Clothing

  • Ignore trends, wear what you like

  • Buy used clothing made of natural materials (unless allergic)

  • Stop buying plastic clothing (this includes those amazing vintage acrylic sweaters)

    • Wash existing plastic clothing (acrylic, polyester, polyamide, nylon) in a bag (example) that can prevent their microfiber particles from entering the water system

  • Wear clothing until it needs repair, then repair and re-wear

  • Unravel used wool sweaters for yarn

  • Cut out tags and plastic ink from t-shirts and compost cotton

  • Use old t-shirt material as rags

  • Remake old t-shirt material into smaller items like underwear

  • Make clothing out of vintage patterned sheets

  • Make reusable bags out of old linens (tablecloths/napkins)

  • Purchase a used sweater shaver to remove pills on old clothing

Crafts

  • Buy slightly used craft items at estate/garage sales

Electronics

  • Buy a small soldering iron, solder and small wire brush for cleaning corroded electrodes and resoldering used electronics (that’s sometimes all that they need to get working again)

  • Collect and recycle old batteries via your recycling service of hazardous waste facility (do not throw them away)

  • Buy used power cables (12 V and computer cables) at garage/estate sales

  • Buy boxes of lightbulbs at garage/estate sales - many times only a few bulbs have been used

  • Put lights and other intermittent electronics on timers - used mechanical (not wifi) timers are common

  • Collect used loose tiny Christmas bulbs to replace broken ones instead of buying a new strand

  • Buy used solar powered outdoor lights

Fabric

  • Cut old cotton towels into smaller pieces for washable rags or bathroom wipes

  • Keep large container of reusable kitchen towels for spills and cleaning

  • Use old cotton bedsheets for weed suppression in garden beds

  • Buy used linens and blankets (but clean well before using)

  • Weave old unusable rags into rugs

  • Use old quilts as blackout curtains and temperature blockers

Food

  • Compost waste food or feed to worms/chickens/livestock (check food type for appropriate use)

Glass / Ceramic

  • Glass clock domes for diorama protection covers

  • Glass stemware and drink glasses for small plant pots

  • Wash and save glass jars for food and object storage

  • Check free piles on the last day of garage / estate sales for glassware

  • Broken tiles and dishes can be used for mosaic projects

  • Burnt out vintage Christmas light bulbs can be used for crafts

  • Repair ceramic chips with 2 part epoxy (for non-heated items), fill small cracked areas with epoxy adhesive paste, then paint & seal

Hygeine

  • Use permanent shaving razors where you only change the blades, tape used blades and put them in metal scrap

  • Don’t shave and then trim excess hair (like a beard)

  • Use reusable menstrual pads or menstrual cups

Metal

  • Recycle aluminum cans at bottle drop locations

  • Make permanent ferrous (tin, steel) metal recycling collection bin for bringing to metal recyclers

    • Put rusted metal pieces, old bolts, bad scissors, electric cords, etc. in here

  • Make permanent non-ferrous (brass, copper) metal recycling collection bin for bringing to metal recyclers

    • Put unwanted brass, copper, and aluminum bits in here

  • Check free piles on the last day of garage / estate sales for metal bits like nuts, bolts, & screws

Paper

  • Shred plain paper (junk mail with no plastic/coatings/excess ink) for compost

  • Shred plain paper (junk mail with no plastic/coatings/excess ink) for fire starter

  • Shred paper for packing material

  • Use paper bags as trash can liners

  • Do not burn coated (glossy) paper or paper with plastic windows

Plastics

  • Cut top side of air pouch bags from shipping packages to reuse as plastic bags

  • Save plastic food tubs for small part storage and organization

  • Empty and rinse liquid soap bottles, fill with water for squeezing water onto small plants

  • Refuse plastic bags if possible

  • Reuse plastic cat litter buckets for yard work

  • Refuse plastic promotional items unless useful long-term

Shoes

  • Buy used “ugly” shoes and repaint exterior

  • Use plastic bread tab to hold rubber flip flop toe post when it pulls out

  • Glue separated soles of tennis shoes back to the main shoe body

  • Sew separated soles of shoes back to the main shoe body

Tools

  • Buy tools used from estate/garage sales

  • Borrow tools from the library or a neighbor

  • Get screws and nails for cheap/free from hardware filled jars at estate/garage sales

Wood

  • Use old broom and shovel handles for curtain rods

  • Put small untreated wood pieces in compost pile

  • Use old popsicle sticks for plant labels

  • Buy wood from estate sales

  • Chip untreated wood and use as mulch

  • Burn small untreated wood pieces and use ash as soil or compost amendment