Repurposing

It's the three R's all in one!

You REUSE old items by RECYCLING them into something useful, REDUCING the amount you have to buy as well as the amount you have to throw away.

I am making a striped rag rug for my daughter's room out of old linens that I have no use for. I'm crocheting it and it looks really cool. Plus, I'm saving serious money because the cheapest area rugs I could find for her room were $100. The hook I'm using is huge, so it's going faster than I expected. I'll post a picture when it's finished.

Other great repurposing ideas:

*you can make a super sturdy and quite presentable crazy quilt from your children's outgrown jeans. Use a ratty old blanket as the lining and an old flannel sheet as backing.
*spaghetti jars make awesome glasses and shabby-chic type vases
*old skirts and dresses can be use to re-cover throw pillows, the seats of chairs, table skirts, etc
*old bread makes great stuffing, croutons, and bread crumbs
*old cake/muffins/cookies/etc can be layered with fruit and yogurt or pudding to make dessert parfaits
*I throw my leftover meats and veggies into a tupperware container in my freezer. When the container is full, I boil the whole mess and voila! soup. It's sounds gross, but it always comes out really good and it's a free meal. I've even had people ask for the recipe and I'm too embarrassed to confess.
*do not throw away even the rattiest baby blanket or newborn outfit. If you don't have a little girl, surely you know someone who does. They'll appreciate your contribution when said little girl goes through the naked-baby-dolls-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see phase.

I use my stuff until it's too shabby to be put on Freecycle... now what does that tell you?