We all have those days when, after cleaning and yard work and trips to the dump, you just can’t even imagine cooking dinner. Right? We all have those days when it’s just easier to jump in the car and go pick up something delicious that was made and packaged for us, bring it home and eat on the couch. It may not be very healthy (depending on where you go) and it’s not very environmentally friendly, but sometimes it just has to be done. We had one of those days last weekend.
While cleaning up from our meal, though, I was struck (as I often am after such occurrences) by the amount of waste that is produced from such a meal. I mean, really. Even if you ask for no plastic ware or napkins, there’s still all of the vessels in which the actual food was transported. Some of it plastic, some styrofoam some paper and some aluminum. Holy cow.
Now, not all of it can be salvaged and turned into something new or used again. Styrofoam is just plain gross after a single use (I really hate that stuff), but some of the plastic, paper and aluminum can surely be used again, can’t it?
When our take out comes in paper bags, we always fold them up and put them with our others to reuse again. We do the same with plastic bags. Sometimes these guys get used over and over again until they’re too torn up or simply falling apart.
Sometimes though, you might have an Aha Moment…one in which you realize, “Hey, this isn’t that dirty! I could figure out a use for this!” So you clean it up with a little soap & water and you re-purpose it in a way you never thought of before. As simple as it is, you just want to knock yourself in the head for not thinking of it earlier.
So, an aluminum Take Out container gets added to some reused toilet paper rolls and makes for the perfect little seed starting tray.
Ta-Da! Small victories, I tell ya…small victories 😉
Now, I’d love to hear how you’ve reused items in surprising ways? Please share your A-Ha Moments and brilliant epiphanies!
xoxo,
M
I likefd your comment about reusing paper sacks until they are completely falling apart. I do this too. I like the idea of using TP rolls as seed cups. Do you leave them full height or do you go half height?
I leave them full height for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, luffa and other seedlings whose roots get pretty long pretty fast. For most other seeds, I cut them in half 🙂
Hi, I just found your blog through a comment at Suburban tomato. I love this idea – I’ve been using the trays that come with fruit and tomatoes to stand tubes and pots in. But when they run out (and they usually do when things start growing), I’ll be using the take-out cartons too!
Welcome! Thanks for visiting my space 🙂 When you start to look around, it really is amazing to see how many “single use” items really have many other purposes!
Is it resusing it when it becomes a kids art project then ends up in the recycling bin anyway? If so we have a long and proud history of making toilet roll people in my household. Any number of dolls houses, train systems and prams have been populated by them but they crush easily so have to be replenished often.
Lol…absolutely! Love that they are actually played with! Children’s imaginations are limitless when we allow them to be 🙂