Comments on The Green Phone Booth: Reuse It Or Lose It

Love this post! It's something I'm really...

2009-07-21T07:59:27.800-07:00

Love this post! It's something I'm really working on lately...my partner has a little limerick she learned in her family growing up: "Wear it out, Use it up, Make it do, or Do without." I tell myself that and try to believe it! It's a challenge for me, but it's all about progress right?

Great ideas. I think the key is to connect with o...

2009-01-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

Great ideas. I think the key is to connect with others that can use things...like your returning the cartons to the farmers at the market or listing the wine bottles. Most of us can't house all of the stuff and get frustrated and throw things out when they take over too much space. I'm def. adding that plastic toy donation idea to my list! Our local pottery studio takes plastic tubs of all kinds for slip and glaze containers & my toddler's art class teacher begs for egg cartons for the kids to use as paint trays. By sharing our "crap" it goes to good use and the clutter stays reasonable.

I work at a winery, and we have used the old corks...

2009-01-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

I work at a winery, and we have used the old corks to "wallpaper" the entire bathroom. It is amazing!

Goose: Happy New Year to you and the bean as well....

2009-01-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

Goose: Happy New Year to you and the bean as well. :)

Shannon: Thank you so much for the award!

Erin: My mom actually has a corkboard just like that - though she bought it used at a thrift store so I'm not sure what they used to affix the corks. It works great and looks cool. My parents live in wine country so I see quite a bit of re-use for corks. I've seen people string corks together with a wooden ball or bead in between to use as garland. I've also seen people use them to line baseboards (can't find the photo) or wire them together for a mat in front of the kitchen.

This is a great list. I've been reading The Tightw...

2009-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

This is a great list. I've been reading The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn, and she has a bunch of articles in there called "What can you do with?" with ideas sent in by her readers. Some of them are so creative, and while most of them are things I have no need for, it has really made me start looking at things around my house in a different light. I've started asking myself, "How could I reuse this instead of throwing it out?" and "What could I use that I already have instead of buying something new?"

Speaking of wine corks, I saw on TV once where a lady took a bunch and made them into a bulletin board. The end result looked so cool, but I've been wondering how she affixed them to the backboard (hot glue gun, super glue, nails?) so that they didn't come off when you pull a pin out of them. Anyone have any ideas?

I have given you an award. Come see me and find ou...

2008-12-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

I have given you an award. Come see me and find out more about it. http://minihomesteadinatrailerpark.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/148/

Shannon

Thanks, GB, for the wine bottle and project suppli...

2008-12-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Thanks, GB, for the wine bottle and project supplies ideas especially. This will be a great way for me to start a new year.

Happy New Year to you and your fam!

Anonymous: True. Refuse is one form of reduce. I...

2008-12-30T16:33:00.000-08:00

Anonymous: True. Refuse is one form of reduce. I'll be back later this month with reduce which I do think is key.

Crunchy Christian Mom: Thank you! Happy reorganizing. :)

Fabulous ideas! Time to re-organize my re-usables!...

2008-12-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

Fabulous ideas! Time to re-organize my re-usables!

Refuse is the first R.
Refuse to bring stuff in...

2008-12-30T11:34:00.000-08:00

Refuse is the first R.
Refuse to bring stuff into your life and the other r's will go away.

Donna: Loving the Yogotherm. I've had almost perf...

2008-12-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

Donna: Loving the Yogotherm. I've had almost perfect results since I started using it. It's super simple though I've bought yogurt in the returnable jar a few times during the busy holiday season.

Heather: Oh yeah! The middle R is by far the most fun.

Jamie: My pleasure. A reader turned me on to the reuse of wine bottles about a year ago. I've had good luck since freecycling them or listing them on craigslist.

Thank you, both for the info on recycling wine cor...

2008-12-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you, both for the info on recycling wine corks (which I'll start doing now), and for the idea to post wine/glass bottles on Craigslist or Freecycle...I'm always at a loss as to what to do with bottles (we don't have glass recycling available here).

Happy New Year's cleaning!

I think that third "R" is where we all start. But ...

2008-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

I think that third "R" is where we all start. But it turns out, I think, the reuse is the most fun "R." You can really get creative with it. And the more we practice the "R"s the more it affects how we purchase products... "Can I Reduce, Reuse, or Recycle this?" I'm a totally different consumer than I was before.

Great post!

Great post. How's the Yogotherm working out? I m...

2008-12-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Great post. How's the Yogotherm working out? I meant to ask you about it when I was there and forgot. :( I'm still thinking of getting one, but haven't gotten around to it.

Joyce: If you click here, it will take you to a business that recycles wine corks (turns them into cork flooring). You just save them and mail them in periodically. No need to be near Napa Valley. :)

What a great list, GB! I love the container for c...

2008-12-30T05:11:00.000-08:00

What a great list, GB! I love the container for corks-though I'm not sure we have a place to recycle them here. You're a bit closer to wine country! The project box is something we had for years, but now that there are no little artisans at my house, I don't quite know what to do with all of that stuff. Still, rounding up all those little things is a good challenge for me. Thanks for the reminder.