Merry Microfiber Blog

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.

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”  .

                                                                                                                                                             photo credit: patterson williams

Do you use stamps when scrapbooking or making cards or craft projects?

Do you use a baby wipe to clean the ink off of  your stamping blocks? My daughter does.

Then she allows the wipes to dry, after cleaning her blocks. Now the wipes are “colored” with different patterns and inks.

When they are dry, she said they look like fabric, and she uses them with her punches to make decorations for her cards.

She also uses her scraps to make other decorations for cards or bags or for scrapbooking. Her “kids” – hers and the daycare, love to help color paper and punch out decorations to make gifts for their parents.

A good way to use old polyester double knit is to make them into durable rugs. I love the ones my daughter has made for me. They wash great and are very durable. Below are some instructions I found on how to make one.

Posted on the Garden Web by Posted by blueberrier1.

Make a kitchen/bath/doorway throw rug. This is washable.

Assuming you have a sewing machine that will stich thru a base layer of PREWASHED medium canvas or heavy denim and the double knit fabrics:
(1) Cut double knit into 2-3″ bias squares. 100% accuracy not required. I have used some circles as well.
(2) Hem your canvas to rectangle/oval/other desired shape and size. My largest are about 18″x36″.
(3) Pencil stitching lines on base fabric top side. Lines should be 1/2-1.5″ apart. Lines can be curved, if you feel dramatic. You can mark what color of double knit you want in a specific area or just have random placement.
(4) Stitch the knit pieces to the base on the diagonal. I like to overlap the tips by 1/4-3/4″. I stitch 1/2″ from the outside edge.
(5) One of the easiest ‘designs’ is to stitch a circular patterm from the center, and then finish the rest of the mat parallel. Much depends on your machine’s throat space. Backstitch at edges/ends.
(6) Additionally, if your knits are the lightweight types, tuck small pleats as you stitch. On most uses, I place a mesh carpet mat under this mat. These mats “shake out” easily. They are tough, hold lots of debris, yet comfortable to stand on if you have a stone floor. Am planning to make a mat from my silk scraps for my bathroom.
If you desire, you can line the base of the mat. Most of mine are made on a commercial walking foot machine with #69 upholstery thread. Some were made with poly cotton thread and are still in use. If you only have a standard machine and thread, you could double stitch pieces.

There are numerous ways you can recycle your Christmas cards.
photo credit: San Sharma

My daughter has made me gift tags from old cards, you can also use old cards to make new cards.

In a couple of our area towns, the senior citizen’s make new greeting cards from used cards. Think about donating any of your greeting cards to them.

Let the kids make pictures out of them, use them for craft projects.

I have even framed a few that I have received.

Some people use the front of old cards to write letters on, or use one to make a postcard, just put a vertical line down the center of the back, of the front of a card, will also save you postage.

So don’t just throw them away after Christmas, reuse them or donate them to someone who can reuse them.

What is Sustainability?

Doing some research online I found some definitions of “sustainability”:

• SBIC defines Sustainability as a mode of thinking and acting responsibly. ( http://www.sbicouncil.org)
• From Wikepedia: Sustainability, For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of .
• Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
  www.afsc.org/TradeMatters/ht/d/sp/i/13425/pid/13425
• Sustainability is all about preserving the world’s natural resources for future generations. A fully sustainable industry would be one that has zero impact, or a positive impact on the environment.
  www.myecostore.co.uk/html/ecoglossary.html
• The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained.
  www.pde.state.pa.us/a_and_t/lib/a_and_t/Science_Glossary.doc
• sustainable – An ecosystem condition in which biodiversity, renewability, and resource productivity are maintained over time.
  www.biorenew.iastate.edu/resources/glossary-of-biorenewables-terms.html

As we look at products used in our lives, are they benefitting or destroying the evironment. Is it a reusable or throw away product? Is there a better “greener” product?

In Sweden where the concept of sustainability began, industries are built in clusters where the by products or waste from one manufacturer is being used by another manufacturer in their manufacturing process. Parking lots are made from pavers instead of solid concrete, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing run off. Rain gardens are being promoted to help with runoff as well.

Collecting rain water for watering of plants, is sustainability and good conservation. Planting of drought tolerant plants also helps to conserve water in drought stricken areas.

Looking at how we use products in our homes and offices can help us be more “sustainable”. Reuse and Recycle is a sustainable concept. Products that are durable and reusable are an important part of sustainability. Using washable/reusable products instead of throw aways – like paper toweling, can and will help you reach sustainable goals.

Little positive sustainable changes over time can have a long term effect. If you used one paper towel less a day, in a year that would save 365 paper towels. If you have 4 members in your family and you all used one less, that would be 1460 fewer paper towels used and thrown away.

If 5 families with each having 4 members, saved one paper towel each a day, that would save 7300 paper towels in a year. By replacing paper towel use with microfiber/cloth hand towels and/or dish cloths, you would be helping to promote sustainablilty. Every time you replace a throw away product with a reusable product you are helping to promote sustainability.

I thank everyone who are doing their part in helping to save our environment for the next generations. Microfiber helps you to clean smarter, faster and more sustainable. Using microfiber bath products helps to reduce energy consumption – thereby preserving our oil and gas reserves.

Are you wanting some nice fresh greens?  It has been a few months here in Northern Wisconsin since we have been able to grow some fresh greens.

On the Create channel I saw a program by Sean Conway called “Cultivating Life” and they were growing minigreens in plastic containers, that you might get tomatoes or fruit in at the store.

They cleaned the plastic container, it works especially well if you have one with a lid. They added a layer of moist soil (the special guest – moistened the soil before adding it to the container, so it wouldn’t run out the bottom of the container) added the seeds and gently mist it.

You can find the complete instructions at http://www.cultivatinglife.com/Growing-Microgreens.html.

This is a way to reuse and recycle those plastic containers and get yourself some salad greens to eat. So if you are hungry for some green live food, try growing your own with some seeds, dirt and a plastic container.

If you live in a northern area like I do, you probably won’t find seeds in the store until spring. You could buy extra seeds at that time for using to grow minigardens or you could order seed online.

Cloth diapers are a great way to save money, to reduce your carbon footprint, and by contributing less to the garbage dump!

Cloth diapers are actually healthier for your baby, especially the boys. It has been found in studies in Europe that there is a higher incidence of sterility in males, after being raised in disposable diapers. The testicles are in the main part of the body, but the scrotum which stores the sperm is actually outside the body cavity, because inside is too hot. That is also why it is important for men not to take real hot baths, because the heat can reduce the viability of the sperm. This is especially important if a couple is trying to have a child.

So what a great solution is just putting them in cloth, for they are more breathable than disposables, plus they are reusable. With all the new types of diapers and diaper covers it is much easier than you think. Washing diapers may seem like adding another job, but it will save you loads of money over the long run. You can usually use a set for more than one child, and when they get too thin, use them for cleaning cloths.

If you don’t like to pin a diaper, use Snappies, the new solution to pins.

Microfiber towels are also great for using as diapers, my daughter has uses them for both of her girls. You can get some medium sized microfiber diapers or some microfiber inserts for cotton diapers at www.MerryMicrofiberBath.com under baby supplies. Try even our colored 16′ x 16′ or 16′ x 24′ towels as diapers. Microfiber is more absorbent than cotton, so you will change less often, especially good for heavy wetters or nighttime use.

You don’t have to get “stuck” with just white diapers anymore, there are lots of patterns and colors online today.