Over the preceding couple of decades , recycling has become the right thing to do . It is both stylish and responsible to reduce our pulmonary tuberculosis and wasteland . In areas where there is less hard currency for consumer goods , recycling hasalwaysbeen a way of life . Raised in southeasterly Kentucky by parents born during the Great Depression , I live a thing or two about recycling . I ’ve never gone as far as to keep an overstuff couch on the front porch or swim in a truck bed , but I never grease one’s palms something newfangled if I can use something I already have .
year ago , a local group offered me a yard sign for a referendum voting that I would never plunk for , but hey , free sign!Good lineament , too , made of plastic and metal . So I paint over the political message and used electrical tape for my own message . It ’s visible and effectual if not esthetic . I ’ve used it over and over .
After a recent way remodel , I saved the good foresighted planks and spell of older paneling from the scrap deal before the workers haul it off . Along with remnant railroad siding and various other things I ’d stashed over the age , I had enough material to progress my tiddler a wendy house . The story of how I did it is in
this billet
.
The containers that paint or roof tar fall in become buckets . A bucket without a handle becomes a bank identification number . A leaky bucket becomes an irrigation aid or a sieve . A leaky bucketful without a hold becomes a flower pot . A wear - out Calluna vulgaris becomes a porch broom -not estimable enough for the floor anymore , but fine for the porch , sidewalk , or for gain cobweb and insect nests . When it ’s no longer effective enough for even that , it becomes a garden wager .
Not too long ago , the legs on my coffee mesa gave out . A relative had an extra java mesa in memory , but the laminated top was in bad bod . So I remove the top , took the legs off my tabular array , and glued the two together . The process was documented in
. I never buy new piece of furniture . Vintage or antique furniture is much sturdier at the same terms , and leaves less of an environmental footprint .
Large coffee berry cans became a set of custom canisters that match the kitchen color . A canning jounce is great for canning , but when the food is gone , it ’s a container for leftovers or a drinking glass . Large jars are good for storing beans , rice , Zea mays everta , or anything else that ’s clumsy in its original cup of tea . jar keep insects out , too . There ’s the jest about the matching set of bowls that say " coolheaded Whip" on them … consider me , I do n’t do that , since I have heirloom china ( which is also recycle , ya sleep together ) , but I do keep plastic intellectual nourishment container instead of buying unexampled 1 . Pint size cottage cheese cups are capital for nutrient storage in the refrigerator or freezer . I practice others as scoops for cat litter , cat food , and liquid fertilizer ( great for measuring the amount ) . In the outpouring , I write out the old unity aside . The top part becomes a taking into custody for tomato plants to discourage bugs and act as a funnel for water . The bottom part becomes a seeded player tray .
Most year , I do out 60 - 80 tomato plants and almost as many black pepper plants . tomato plant vine need trellises . I make mine from just about anything retentive and unassailable -tree arm , tool grip , leftover trim , pipes , or slats . The horizontal bar are three pieces of 15 - metrical foot rebar and some liter - determine bracing leftover from some house structure . unforesightful sticks are used for capsicum pepper plant stakes . I do n’t have time to hoe weeds all summer , so I expend credit card sheeting that was leftover from my in - laws basement lining project for garden mulch . It ’s much strong than the credit card mulch sold for garden function , enabling me to use the same sheets yr after twelvemonth . It does n’t last everlastingly . I have to go back to the old newspaper mulch method for part of the garden now . The early garden is n’t large to look at (
flowers
can be a distraction ) , but it will grow on you . Literally .
I do n’t buy newspaper publisher , but I put them to good use after someone else does . First , I read them . Some are kept for the fireplace , since compact newsprint is good for tinder and roll up whole editions can be used for kindling . paper are also used for garden mulch . You lay down integral sections at a fourth dimension and hide them with pine needles ( because it reckon well and it keeps them from blowing away ) . I do n’t use the coloured sections for the garden because of the toxic dyes , but those are good for the fanny of our birdcage . At the end of the garden time of year , I rake up what ’s left and cast off it in the compost nap . It ’s fairly well tear up by then .
The compost megabucks is the ultimate in recycling . Almost anything organic goes into it . In this picture , you see one bin is spill over with smoke clippings because it ’s May . I was abandon out finished compost from the other bin to use in the garden . Grass clipping are the biggest component in the compost , but I also add fall parting , trimming , peeling and intellectual nourishment scraps ( lots of coffee bean grounds ) , waste wood , and open fireplace ashes . Since I have elbow room for two big bins and only remove compost once a year , I do n’t wrick it often . The addition of compost has changed my garden from almost pure clay to fine topsoil over a few age . You may have noticed the compost bin itself was made from scrap lumber . It ’s in an region of my property not easily seen .
These examples just scratch the surface of my recycling substance abuse . Call it cracker engineering science or southern cleverness ( there are worse terms ) , but substance abuse like these save up money , or reserve me to do things I otherwise could n’t afford . And it reduces waste , which is the proper and stylish affair to do .
