You know you are a "reuse everything" person when....

Thomas Dean wrote:The dog food ones that are solid plastic I use to "shingle" chicken coops, etc.  I lay them out like shingles, with broad overlapping sections and use a staple gun to hold them down.  Not sure how they will hold up long-term exposed to the elements, but I have a set that have been out for almost a full year.  I've also tacked them up inside of the barn to make it more wind-tight.

I used to use them as quick-and-dirty rain gear. When I rode a bike I kept one rolled up under the seat, with holes precut for head and arms -- worked fine. I suppose one could cut and sew 'em into a replacement for the ol' plastic raincoat; some of those bags are extra thick. They're actually woven plastic fabric with a plastic coating, so they're pretty flexible, functionally waterproof, and very strong.

But as exterior roofing... I've done that, and they'll take about 3 months of strong sun (or about a year if you have some winter/overcast), then suddenly go friable and fall apart, and then you have a tangle of weak strings, and white powder that just disappears. I'm thinkin' it might be cellulose-based plastic.

In childhood i used to go at the village garbage pit with my grandfather and we took home old and cracked plastic buckets.
We fixed them by sewing with copper wire and they were good to colect plums in them for wich we needed manny buckets.
At somme point a guy comes with his 14 yr old son to buy one of our homemade mills,he sees a cracked bucket sewed with copper wire and tells his son,,Son,look and learn,this is what powerty can do to man!,,.
After they leaved ,me and grandfather had a hard laugh ,soo hard that it was probably the best memory i have with him.

When the barn, garage, and every shed, and cupboard is full to the rim of stuff you may need some day, or for parts to fix something else.

Yes! I don't feel as crazy know...or at least there are many of us! =}
We have three buckets of food scraps, one for worms, one for chickens and one for the goats. Plus the dogs got stuff all the time.

All of our animal barns and sheds are made from other peoples old barns and sheds. We hammered out the rusty nails and built chicken coops and tractors. Now we are building a goat shed from someone's old porch wood. AND Now I know why reclaimed wood is expensive. haha We reclaim it ourselves.

Attempting to use everything before it gets buried, burnt in stove or composted...or thrown away. old feed bags make great trash bags.
Love this thread!

What a great idea with the blinds, I often see them in the trash and I have some memory problems in the garden on a regular basis.....


You know you're an avid reuser when everyone's discussing the pending strike and likely fuel shortage and you say, ah, I happen to have a 20L heavy duty tank outside that the feed store lady saved for me because she knew I would want it.... I am among my people!!

Hi, I once stopped to grab the sides of a crib on the side of the road and the homeowner came out and wanted to help me take the whole crib. I said I just needed the sides to make a A-frame for the melons to clime on.The look on his face when he realized that was a great idea was priceless and I asked if he wanted to keep the crib , he said no. I have several crib a-frames I use in the garden for vines and lettuce goes under it where it is cooler. I also use an upside down wire tomato cage  that has the ends tied closed for vines in a flower pot to clime up.

My greenhouse is built out of recycled sliding doors, shower doors, windows, table top and windows removed fr9m a office building. Even the Little Rock’s mortared on the u0rights are rock dug out of the garden.

I have used those heavy dog food bags as pots for plants. Roll down the top, cut some holes in the bottom for drainage, fill with soil and little fruit trees etc.

www.steps2permaculture.com

Larry Pobiak wrote:.
5. Great garden plant labels.  I use a carpenters pencil to write on them.  The writing will not fade at all!  Even years later they are just as clear as the day I made them.

I suppose that would work once you settle on which varieties to stick with and grow every year.

Here's mine:
You know those plastic bags in the bulk foods aisle? Well, it really ticks me off that they only last two or three uses before they have holes too big to keep reusing. Now, if the store would allow for the weight correction of using a more durable container, that'd be fine, I'd skip the bags completely. But I see no reason to pay for the weight of my container every time.

Back before I consistently remembered to bring my reusable shopping bag every time, I never needed garbage bags. The few times I forgot my reusable bag gave me more plastic bags than I could keep up with reusing for garbage, considering I was also reducing my garbage. I was that guy -- in my house, there was a plastic bag full of other plastic bags. Why the hell do they think they have to double bag everything? One bag's worth of groceries, they put in two doubled bags, for a total of four plastic bags altogether. It was so aggravating, it became the motivation for me just to skip shopping completely if I happened to forget my reusable bag. More than once, I made a scene of repacking my groceries into fewer bags, right there at the counter, and leaving them to deal with the unwanted ones. Now, I remember my reusable bag every time.

One of the best reuse ideas, I saw in a movie: a wine glass made from the cut-off top of a plastic beverage bottle. The cap of the erstwhile bottle becomes the stem of the wine glass.

j flynn wrote:Hi, I once stopped to grab the sides of a crib on the side of the road and the homeowner came out and wanted to help me take the whole crib. I said I just needed the sides to make a A-frame for the melons to clime on.The look on his face when he realized that was a great idea was priceless and I asked if he wanted to keep the crib , he said no. I have several crib a-frames I use in the garden for vines and lettuce goes under it where it is cooler. I also use an upside down wire tomato cage  that has the ends tied closed for vines in a flower pot to clime up.

j flynn, have you considered taking the ends of the crib and when you've got four of them, you've got a compost bin, or a fall leaf bin? My sister uses an old metal head end of a bed to block off one side of her compost.

I just have to say:

I love you guys!

Nobody around here - not even my kids - gets me.  You do!
I feel affirmed here.

Ruth Meyers wrote:I just have to say:

I love you guys!

Nobody around here - not even my kids - gets me.  You do!
I feel affirmed here.

Ruth Meyers: Welcome home! :D

Jason Hernandez wrote:
The few times I forgot my reusable bag gave me more plastic bags than I could keep up with reusing for garbage, considering I was also reducing my garbage. I was that guy -- in my house, there was a plastic bag full of other plastic bags. Why the hell do they think they have to double bag everything? One bag's worth of groceries, they put in two doubled bags, for a total of four plastic bags altogether. It was so aggravating, it became the motivation for me just to skip shopping completely if I happened to forget my reusable bag. More than once, I made a scene of repacking my groceries into fewer bags, right there at the counter, and leaving them to deal with the unwanted ones. Now, I remember my reusable bag every time.

I'll admit... I'm also "that guy" with bags full of plastic bags LOL
I also prefer to use the self checkout when possible. For one, I am able to bag my groceries by type/category (produce, coffee and creamer, condiments, etc. bagged together)& I fill the bags to the max. I don't know why so many cashiers think it's okay to put only 4 canned goods or a single gallon of milk in a double bag, when I can get double that in a single bag.
I've also been thinking about ordering some of the paper grocery bags like stores used to have years ago. They are sturdy enough to be used several times, and when they finally get to torn for groceries, I can think of a hundred ways to use them until they return to the earth as compost. Reusable bags are great, but I've often found myself forgetting to get them... Or even forgetting where I put them after the last trip.

Olivia Hall wrote:
All of this is a bit in conflict with my attempt to be more of a minimalist, so I think the solution is in creating less trash in the first place....

My family laughs when I claim to be a minimalist, but I do have a minimalism attitude... As I don't like a bunch of useless stuff in my space. The issue is that I have a lot of stuff that many would consider "useless," but I save it because I can reuse it (even if I don't know exactly how I'll reuse it yet ).

My problem is storage/organization. If I put it out of sight I'll end up forgetting about it, or forget where I put it when I do need it. So it ends up staying out where it can be seen; giving the impression of being cluttered.

So one of my goals for next year is to slowly start designating storage areas to things and group similar stuff together. I figure things like cardboard, paper, magazines, can be together. Then aluminum cans in a spot, plastic bottles/jugs, and so fourth, all being organized in an area out of sight of visitors, but somewhat close to my barn and work area.
Maybe line up some pallets and divide them into squares like people do for compost bins; then put each category of items in its own "bin" to access when needed...

I made a strawberry bed from the crib parts I was given. I originally planted 2 plants but it's full now. I'll try to attach a pic.

That's the fanciest literal "strawberry bed" I've seen - love it!

Old swingsets make good instant A-frame sheds or greenhouses.

I have a junk trailer that someone 60+ years ago cobbled together from the front end of a 1940s pickup truck and a metal bedframe, and a scary screw-on hitch (oddly, it uses standard modern truck rims). Ugliest thing you ever saw but I've used it with some mighty heavy loads, and despite looking like a hillbilly reject, it just keeps on working. Tho being it was sized however the bedframe dictated, it's kinda weird... just over 3 feet wide by not quite 7 feet long. Tows great (I pulled it all the way from SoCal to Montana at 70mph), but won't back up at all (have to unload it, unhook it, and back it by hand, otherwise you end up picking it out of your taillight). And how'd I get this trailer? Someone threw it away! :D

Judith Browning wrote:

Kc, any aluminum soda/beer can will do, they are 'soft'...we cut the cans open with tin snips, removing both ends and cutting up the side so that each can could lay flat as a 'shingle'.  The aluminum ones were pretty easy to cut, the steel not so easy but doable.

Then just nailed on as you would any shingle, overlapping.  I'm pretty sure the roof had a solid wood surface to nail them too and we might have used actual roofing nails for at least some of it.   The edges are sharp so be careful cutting and handling... once on the roof not a problem.

I don't have any photos...no camera back then or any other electronics so not so many pictures.

I imagine you wouldn't even have to flatten them. Just cut in half and nail them in opposite directions, one facing up and the other facing down with the edges inside. You'd want a layer of flats on the edges to make sure water drains at that point.

Great strawberry bed Marie!

Lauren Ritz wrote:
I imagine you wouldn't even have to flatten them. Just cut in half and nail them in opposite directions, one facing up and the other facing down with the edges inside. You'd want a layer of flats on the edges to make sure water drains at that point.

Most roofing is done this way here, with what are known as arabic tiles.  A double layer is used on the lower edges which kicks rain upwards away from the walls as, in general, the old houses here don't have guttering.  I love the idea of using cans like this.  

I save and shred all my mail including envelopes, inserts, junk mail, flyers, delivery menus left on my door, unwanted catalogues, etc. Some of it ended up in the compost but the last time I moved I saved bags and bags and BAGS (yes that much) of it for months before I moved and used it to pack my boxes. It took quite a lot of the shredded paper to compact and cushion the nooks and crannies in the packed boxes of my items but it was really effective and I had plenty to go around. You'd be surprised how much that accumulates, even if you get most of your bills electronically! I used it mainly when packing my kitchen items, including glassware, plates and collectibles and didnt have any issues. This not only saved me tons of money because all the packing material was free but was a good way to reuse what already would have been discarded. After I unpacked I simply recycled the shredded material which I would have done anyway. The slim padded envelopes that Amazon sends smaller-ish items in are also great for packing/storing glassware and other fragile items.

I love all these other ideas though, so great to read all these examples of conscious consumption! <3

Being a builder i get my grubby hands on lots of windows, wood and tiles. I saved enough to make a tiny house.
People give me lots of stuff. I learned from another scrounger it's essential to always say yes if people ask you if you want something and collect it immediately. Even if you don't want it. The reason is that next time they will think of you first again. You MUST become person who they think of to contact if they want rid of something. Sometimes it is bad stuff they want to get rid off, but the next time it can be great. Anyway, what's nicer than a trip to the skid/tip? They got the best stuff there!

I often see broken umbrellas rammed into street bins (their frame broken by gusty winds no doubt).  I carry a razor blade with me and so cut the fabric free from its metal frame.  I use the rainproof material to line the inside of hanging baskets (keeping the soil in place).  Also it comes in handy at picnics as sitting bases;  they go underneath whatever cloth/blanket to sit on (handy when the ground is not that dry).

I'm always on the lookout for things people throw away that I can use e.g. of course recycling depots where people just dump all their other stuff and even on pavements e.g. elastic bands, nails/screws....I've accumulated small boxes of them without having to buy any!!

We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. While we were doing dishes the other night, my wife brought it to my attention that the bag she was washing had the date on it of 2007. We had no idea that we were THAT bad.

Oh, I do wish I had some mini-blinds to cut up!  I've been hoarding all manner of plastic containers - the clear ones for planting seeds, and the white ones for cutting up for plant labels. I have about 400 perennial food plant starts in pots at the moment so I am going through a lot of labels. Big pop bottles are another thing on my wish list as I cut the top part off and poke holes in the bottom and use them as pots. I was keeping the cut off tops for a while but there were so many I would have had funnels to last multiple lifetimes, so having put a stack of them aside for use I am now taking the remainder to the recycling depot.

I have a derelict little boat in my yard that someone gave to my daughter's boyfriend, and he decided it was too beat up to fix up after all. It's on a trailer that I plan to use as a base for a moveable chicken house. Once the boat is off the trailer I figure I will either fill it with soil and use it as a planter, or expand my red wiggler population and use it as a worm composter. The house that we built for the geese (they don't use it) is built partly with the floor board from an old zodiac (inflatable rubber boat); I still have the rubber, the old boat doesn't hold air any more but the rubber should be good for something - maybe roofing a small building or even just smothering weeds.

I have a collection of interesting old sinks that one day will get turned into a water feature/sculpture in the yard.

gary calery wrote:We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. While we were doing dishes the other night, my wife brought it to my attention that the bag she was washing had the date on it of 2007. We had no idea that we were THAT bad.

We wash ziplocks too, my sisters are horrified.... My mom is on a trip, I noticed her pajamas were packed in a ziplock labeled "sauteed mushrooms" which is a fun visual! We do puzzles, and to keep them under control, put the pieces into ziplocks. I sent some to the thrift store recently, wonder what other people will think of their puzzle being in a bag labeled "mangoes 2015"

Pearl Sutton wrote:
We do puzzles, and to keep them under control, put the pieces into ziplocks. I sent some to the thrift store recently, wonder what other people will think of their puzzle being in a bag labeled "mangoes 2015"

Jigsaw puzzle pieces are notorious wanderers.  They like to hop off the table and explore under furniture.  Their box homes are sometimes flimsy or just beat up; but you can't replace it - you need the full picture.  My dad stored the pieces in a large ziplock, or just a plastic bag and a twist-tie, and tucked that back into the box.  When my children were small, we opened one of those boxes to start assembly, and they asked about the plastic bag.  My mate at the time was quick with the quip:  "To keep them crispy, of course."

Jay Angler wrote:... when you bring your own re-usable containers to the restaurant to bring home any left-overs. It's a double win, because it means we don't end up with dreaded Styrofoam containers that aren't very re-usable or recyclable where I am.

I totally agree. We keep an insulated bag in the car filled with different size Pyrex containers for our restaurant leftovers. Then they go directly in the microwave for heating and on the dining table for the next meal.

... When you not only reuse heavy plastic dog food bags (Costco) for trash, you empty them at the dump and bring them back to reuse.

... When you scrape up the winter traction sand that's left over on the side of the roads for reuse on your own slippery driveway.

... When you bring in pails of dry garden dirt and sawdust in  fall, turning the cat litter box into a mini-composter that will fertilize shelterbelt trees in spring. Yup, I figured out how to recycle cat poop! And there's no smell! Cats preferred it to the bought stuff.

My now ex went through a phase of insisting on buying cat food that came in little plastic cups. I still think he did it to make me crazy. At the time we had 5 cats. I told him he'd have to wash and stack them for me if he continued to buy them. He did. I just came across a box of them in the greenhouse this week. LOL 5 years after he's gone.

I used them to soak my seeds before planting. Used a grease pencil to mark them because the next morning I can never remember which tomato seeds are which. Quite a few of them were used year after year to replace peat pots and 4 packs. They hold more soil so I could let the seedling get a bit bigger before planting. They are wonderful for supporting eggplant when they get too heavy for the stalk. Also use them to get pumpkins off the ground. Squash bugs  are a big issue here in NC. I dust the ground with DE then set the pumpkin on several upside down cups. Use them for sorting beads when I'm beading a costume or corset. They make great paint cups when I'm painting a Gothic gown. I'm sure I'll find a few more uses for the last box before long.

Pearl Sutton wrote:When you have even corrupted your cat! In 2014 I modified a pair of knee braces to work better for me. The cat took the cut scraps and played with them. They are still, 5 years, 3 moves, and 1000 miles away, being tortured in the kitchen right now. My cat is a reuser! :D

Pearl, mine too.
LMAO When I upcycle clothing for a costume I often end up with shoulder pads. My cats steal them and play hockey with them. Every now and then I reach under a piece of furniture and yell because I think I've found a dead field mouse... nope just a shoulder pad. The cats always look at me as if to say, "Hey I was looking for that."  just before they snatch it and the game is on again.

Andrea Locke wrote:Big pop bottles are another thing on my wish list as I cut the top part off and poke holes in the bottom and use them as pots. I was keeping the cut off tops for a while but there were so many I would have had funnels to last multiple lifetimes, so having put a stack of them aside for use I am now taking the remainder to the recycling depot.

I take the tops,  invert them and stick them inside the bottom.
Then I cut a few overflow slits, and fill with water.
Add potting soil, now I have a sub irrigated planter.
I only use these for starting plants,  they are not big enough to grow much if anything, except lettuce maybe.

I cut the bottoms off five litre water bottles to make cloches for tender veg plants in the spring.  I don't buy water.  This means when I saw one lying by the side of the road I had to turn round, drive back, find a safe pull off, walk to get the bottle and then carry on.  And when I saw two in the big rubbish bin when I was moving my son out of his uni halls, I had to climb in and get them.  He was mortified.

A few weeks ago, our local Trader Joe’s stop allowing reusable bags in the store.  They started offering paper bags, which normally they charge for (in California). I think they’re free again. But I refuse to bring any more bags in the house, so I ask the cashiers to keep our items in the shopping cart; and we load them into reusable bags in the car -mainly so we can carry them into the house.

Btw, this is one store where they can neatly cram all your purchases in one bag; reminds me of old comic stripS where they show someone trying to balance  and see where they’re walking while carrying a jam-packed grocery bag.

Yes, I also have Plastic bags in Plastic bags because I’m purchasing things packed in plastic, and people keep giving me things in plastic bags.

Kc Simmons wrote:

Jason Hernandez wrote:
The few times I forgot my reusable bag gave me more plastic bags than I could keep up with reusing for garbage, considering I was also reducing my garbage. I was that guy -- in my house, there was a plastic bag full of other plastic bags. Why the hell do they think they have to double bag everything? One bag's worth of groceries, they put in two doubled bags, for a total of four plastic bags altogether. It was so aggravating, it became the motivation for me just to skip shopping completely if I happened to forget my reusable bag. More than once, I made a scene of repacking my groceries into fewer bags, right there at the counter, and leaving them to deal with the unwanted ones. Now, I remember my reusable bag every time.

I'll admit... I'm also "that guy" with bags full of plastic bags LOL
I also prefer to use the self checkout when possible. For one, I am able to bag my groceries by type/category (produce, coffee and creamer, condiments, etc. bagged together)& I fill the bags to the max. I don't know why so many cashiers think it's okay to put only 4 canned goods or a single gallon of milk in a double bag, when I can get double that in a single bag.
I've also been thinking about ordering some of the paper grocery bags like stores used to have years ago. They are sturdy enough to be used several times, and when they finally get to torn for groceries, I can think of a hundred ways to use them until they return to the earth as compost. Reusable bags are great, but I've often found myself forgetting to get them... Or even forgetting where I put them after the last trip.

Marla Singe wrote:I save and shred all my mail including envelopes, inserts, junk mail, flyers, delivery menus left on my door, unwanted catalogues, etc.

We do this too! Anything with gloss or colorful dye gets used as beanbag chair stuffing. (It flattens down over time and is much heavier than the foam beads, but we like it) Brown paper bags/packing paper get shredded and used for rodent bedding. The rest we use under mulch in the front beds to help keep the grass from traveling. I don't think we've "thrown away" any paper since we moved into our house!

Plastic bags get saved, layered, and heated/melted into plastic mats. The mats get used for all kinds of things. I also layer plastic bags between old placemats and sew them together to make crinkle-mats for cats. Others get turned into plastic yarn and used to make dish scrubbers and bags.

My best friend vapes pretty heavily and has tons of little glass bottles with droppers. I save and clean them all and reuse them for herb stuff.

Old clothing is either donated, saved for making rags, saved for the fabric, or (if it's 100% organic fiber) gets used in the garden as a weed barrier. I've also ripped up the organic stuff into tiny pieces and put it in the compost pile.

Marco Banks wrote:We were on vacation and needed clean clothes so we swung into a laundromat to do a couple of loads of wash.  As we were waiting, I noticed a "perfectly good" drier sheet, just sitting there in the bottom of one of those wire-frame cart things that you use when you pull your clothing out of the drier.  I grabbed it.
Then I saw another one, this time still inside one of the driers.  I grabbed it.
Before we were done, I had gone through the trash can and found a dozen or so more.  
Hey, they work for 2 loads of laundry -- you don't throw them away after just one trip through the drier!

I use old dryer sheets for VERY mild abrasive cleans. Sometimes anything heavier will scratch. For instance, Talenti gelato containers are really great lightweight plastic which we use for a number of things. I wait until I get a large pile (friends help) and with a little 95% EtOH (ethyl alcohol) and a minute or two of wetting the containers, dryer sheets are just abrasive enough to help remove the ink on the jars. The result? Pretty tough plastic jars suitable for a number of uses.

We use old dryer sheets when removing adhesives as well.

Also, old dryer sheets with a little ethyl alcohol do a great job of helping to remove old sharpie marks on many non-porous surfaces. When you thrift, yard sale, etc this comes in handy!

Chris Kott wrote:...when you have a whole overhead cupboard filled with nested plastic yogourt and takeaway container bottoms and lids that never seems to empty, no matter how many leftovers get given away.
-CK

We do this as well but we use a good many as small scoops, for paint, stains, brush cleaner, etc. etc. ad nauseum. I have a friend with a wood shop I get to use from time to time and I keep them well supplied with the same types of containers. We get a few from what we use but grab them from work as well so they would pile up quickly if we didn't use them or have willing recipients.

Skandi Rogers wrote:You open the cupboard under the sink and get annoyed when you see someone has used rubbish bags for the rubbish. We use 2x20kg bags of pellets in the furnace every day, the bags they come in are thick plastic, not only "free" but also better quality than the rubbish bags!

We generate a lot of grain/seed bags in order to feed critters. Those are used to keep rain off of stuff, to store finely sifted leaf mold for seed starting mix, for trash, etc.

I fill grain bags with sticks and bark I pick up around the property. Puts a dent in the wildfire fuel around the house and buildings. And then I stack the full bags in the woodshed and use the sticks as dry fire starter for the woodstove. I never need to chop kindling.

Andrea Locke wrote:I fill grain bags with sticks and bark I pick up around the property. Puts a dent in the wildfire fuel around the house and buildings. And then I stack the full bags in the woodshed and use the sticks as dry fire starter for the woodstove. I never need to chop kindling.

I did this when I had a wood stove. It always mystified me that people burned branches on a pile and then spent hours splitting firewood into ... branches. I can produce ten times the amount of kindling in that time with a good pair of loppers.

When the best gun wipe down cleaner you ever had is an old used sock.

You read and REread this thread!

Things I hadn't thought about, I've been using them so long:

We cut blocks of cheese deliberately so the short side of the package is a "hat" for the other, bigger side. (You may have to slit one corner.) Rubber bands, reused from produce, hold them on. (I wash the rubber bands when I'm washing my hands.)

Bread tabs: great for adding labels to frozen foods wrapped inside if need be) or with many types of bags. Just use a piece of masking tape and a marker or pen. I keep mine in a baby food jar. I get so many I have to cull them about once yearly.