I got this idea from an email with “redneck” solutions!
If you are in need of a sprinkler, and got a pop bottle or a plastic drink bottle available, just poke some holes in it, connect it to your garden hose and “wha la” you have yourself a cheap sprinkler.
If it gets crushed or some creatures decide to chew on it, (as it happens at our house) then just make yourself another.
photo credit: TheTruthAbout…
When a debit card or credit card is expired – what to do with it?
If you throw them in the garbage, make sure you cut them up into little pieces first, so no one can get your information.
Or you could recycle them into useful items. My husband has cut up old credit cards and old drivers licenses into pics for his dulcimer. He has a difficult time getting dulcimer pics so he makes his own, and these cards seem to give him the right stiffness in a pic for playing.
Other ideas from Mary Cheapskate’s 6-15-10 newsletter were from 8 crafty ways to recycle, reuse old credit cards.
Some other links on that site were:
Artists recycle credit cards into crafts – like star magnets, or jewerly
10 creative — or desperate — uses for credit cards – ice scraper, Italian cheese scraper, paint masking, bookmark, straight edge, cake knife, grout caulking tool.
So have fun using these ideas or coming up with your own ideas on reusing and recycling those plastic cards.
Today from Mary’s Cheapskate’s Newsletter she had a comment on reusing those dryer sheets. The lady saves them and wraps delicate Christmas ornaments in them. She just stuffed them in a container box till she needed them. I remember buying peaches in crates that were surrounded by little papers. They would of made wrappers as well.
Are you “crafty” person? When we were dyeing Easter eggs she saved the paper towels the kids laid the eggs on, or ones used to wipe up spills to make “new” eggs. They glued the now colorful paper towels on balloons, let them dry, broke the balloons, and whala new colorful eggs to decorate with. Or you could cut a hole in them and use them for a Easter egg basket.
If you use unscented dryer sheets, you might be able to do the same thing. You could even let the kids paint on them and then use them for another craft project.
Did you know that 1/2 a sheet is usually enough to soften a load? Tear them in half or reuse them to save on dryer sheets.
Make sure when using dryer sheets, that you wash you dryer filter periodically, as the softener will plug up the holes in the filter, causing your dryer to work harder. It will actually seal over the holes. You can test it by removing the filter from the dryer, running water over it. If the water stays on top, you need to wash the filter. This will help your dryer work more efficiently and save you money.
If you are able – let nature dry your clothes for you. Hang them outside or you can hang them on wooden racks in your home. In the winter time, this will help add moisture to your house.
Two terms related to Recycling! Upcycling or Downcycling.
So what do they mean?
Upcycling – according to Wikepedia -it is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.
Downcycling “involves converting materials and products into new materials of lesser quality”. (According to Wikepedia)
Both are forms of recycling: both ” involve converting or extracting useful materials from a product and creating a different product or material”.
Today I found about this blog: A New Dress A Day, this lady makes new outfits out of clothes she picks up for a dollar. She is quite creative. This is an example of upcycling. Check out what she has done.
Plarn bags are bags – crocheted or knitted – from plastic grocery bags. Check out previous blog posts for instructions and examples.
More upcycling ideas:
100 Amazing Upcycling Ideas Anyone Can Do – (http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=116)
Cardboard boxes make for useful mulch. I am mulching my tomato plants this year with cardboard. I ran out of straw, and needed something to mulch them with, so I cut down some boxes and laid them around my tomato plants.
Mulching helps to cut down on weeding, and conserves moisture.
You can use lots of things as mulch: Straw, grass clippings, cardboard boxes, newspaper and paper bags.
So recycle those cardboard boxes by using them for mulch or taking them to a recycling center.
Have you ever reused your large bird seed bags or dog food bags for garbage bags?
I keep one in my store room in the basement for garbage. When it is full I just take it out to the dumpster for pickup. It saves me on buying large garbage bags, plus it will stand up next to shelving or in a corner by itself.
I also collect my junk mail and other burnable papers, I don’t want to go into the regular garbage, and when I have a bag full, we either burn them or use them in the winter to burn brush piles. That way I not only have something to start brush piles with, but I get them burnt up as well.
So the next time you have large plastic or paper bags left from mulch, dog food or bird seed, think about putting them to use as garbage bags.
I also use them for collecting cans etc. to take to the recycling center.
photo credit: Creativity103
Did you know you could use an old TV antenna for a trellis?
I saw an article in Mother Earth News magazine called “Super Vining Flower Supports” in the Country Lore section.
The lady who had written in – had attached it to a steel post, making for a great trellis for her rambling rose.
It is amazing the things you can reuse if you just put your “thinker” to work, and see what creative thing you can come up with.You might be able to use one for pole beans to climb on as well.
Now I wish I had kept our old tower and antenna to use for a trellis.
I have used old metal bed springs for trellises in my flower gardens. One I have upright, where I have planted morning glories or sweet peas to climb on and the other is horizontal, by my bird feeders. The birds love to come and sit and rest on it. It is also my trellis for a clematis.
Another idea in that same article was to string medium duty poly cord from old cement blocks to small nails attached evenly spaced under an eave. This will be a way to use old blocks and inexpensive cord to build a trellis for morning glories to climb on. If need be you could also add some string crosswise for more structure and fullness.
I have built trellises out of copper pipe with old chicken wire also. I built the frame by soldering copper pipes together then I added the correct length and width of chicken wire to the frame. You should cut the wire so you have ends to bend around the pipe or use other wire for attaching. Make sure you give your frame “legs” so you can push it into the ground for support.
photo credit: 1Happysnapper (photography)
Have you ever saved an interesting bottle to use as a vase? Congratulations you have recycled and reused an old bottle.
I have a number of old bottles in my cupboard that I use for interesting vases. Lately I found a number of interesting old bottles in an old dump on our property to use for decorations and vases. I even found a unique syrup “pitcher”.
I received an email with a link to a blog post about recycling beer bottles -“50 Awesome Ways to Reuse All Your Old Beer Bottles” .
My daughter is a stamper and card maker. She loves working with new ideas for her scrapbooks.
Saturday, while we were there, she made some new stamps, out of the scraps from other stamps. When she buys stamps they come in a block shape, that are precut, and she has to punch out the stamp. What is leftover she makes into a new stamp. Her husband cuts up blocks of wood for her from the scraps, left over from building their house, and she attachs it to the block.
For example, she got a new snowflake stamp. She punched out the snowflake and what was left over looked like a rounded star. So she got 2 stamps in one. Then she uses these to stamp designs on a piece of paper for background sheets for her scrapbooks.
She even made herself a stamp that looked like stained glass left over from scraps after cutting out a new stamp.
She also saves her scraps from cutting out designs with her punches for other projects. Even the little pieces work good for confetti, or making stained glass windows.
photo credit: Photos8.com
Do you have some old books laying around you don’t know what to do with?
Check out this site for lots of ways to use those old books: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2010/02/17/80-awesome-ideas-for-all-your-old-or-unwanted-books/
I also like to share my books, to help others learn as well. I have started a list in a notebook however to record books I have lent out, so I know where they have gone. Sometimes, I will think, I had a book, but where is it now? So now I have been trying to keep better track of where my books are.
I also do this with teaching CD’s and DVD’s as well. Help someone else learn too.
