Tuesday Tip - Recycle & Repurpose

Finally - the post I've been wanting to do for a few weeks now!  I know it's late, but at least I'm doing it.  

I've gotten on a bit of a repurposing kick lately.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, repurposing is taking things already in our home that I would normally throw away or recycle, and using it for a new purpose.  For instance, I needed something to hold all of my construction paper in the closet, so I cut the long-skinny side off of the cereal box and voila! instant storage box that will protect the paper and keep it nice and neat.  I have also started using washed out jars to hold various foods in my pantry.  Now I know exactly how much rice I have, or craisans or dried beans ... and since they aren't in those floppy bags anymore, my shelves are much neater. 

So in the spirit of recycling and repurposing, I have a few blogs and websites I'd like to share with you.  

Repurposeful - This blog is devoted entirely to finding new uses for everyday things we either throw away or recycle.  Her motto is "A little bit green, a little bit frugal, 100% useful!"  That's math I like.  

The Thrifty Chicks - Four women who are devoted to buying at thrift stores to save money and to prevent perfectly good items from ending up in the trash.  I have found their blog to be very inspirational.  Their advice is to find thrift stores near the places that you normally shop, run errands, work, live, etc. so that you can go to several different stores as a routine.  That way you can run in and out quickly and just see if there's anything good that week.  They also have a helpful guide on how to shop at a thrift store and what to be looking for.  And they were the ones that led me to ...

Thrift Store Finder - A wonderful find!  Now you can find local thrift stores near you.  So now I know that there are two thrift stores close to the fabric store I go to, one of the grocery stores I shop at, and many many more that I haven't had time to go to yet.  Just for inspiration - the first time I went to a thrift store I found 2 children's DVDs for $3 and a silver platter for $2.  YAY!  All in perfectly good condition - the platter just needed a little bit of polishing.  Another time I found a pair of black dress corduroys new, with tags, that fit Britt perfectly!  

 

The Scrap Exchange - I'm very excited about this place.  It's located in downtown Durham and it is so fun!  It's a nonprofit creative reuse store and it's loaded to the gills! Britt and I went together two weeks ago and we both sincerely enjoyed wandering around and finding all sorts of craft materials, paper goods, fabrics, and wood.  The pictures don't do it justice, you really just need to go and poke around for yourself.  FYI - they are having a huge fabric sale on March 28th - you know I'll be there.  

I have really enjoyed trying to be creative in how I can use less, and reuse and repurpose more.  It's part of being a good steward of what God has given to us.  I hope you enjoy checking out these links and find them as fun and as helpful as I did!