I just got finished emptying the dehumidifier in my basement. It’s been so humid around here lately that dumping it has becoming a daily task. But instead of just pouring the water down the drain, I use it to water my plants. My thirsty hibiscus has been very happy about this.
In my old house, which sat on an underground spring and where the sump pump ran almost constantly, we had a “rain barrel” set up to catch the pump’s output. We would use that water to give the plants a drink, too. During drought restrictions my neighbors always wondered why my gardens looked so lush. I think some of them thought I was watering on the sly but, alas, it was all thanks to my sump pump.
I love this idea of reusing items that you might normally toss out or dump down the drain. I’m sure many people can recall their fathers storing nails, screws, and other small hardware in empty glass jars (my husband still does this), and I remember my mother turning jelly jars into cups when I was a kid. My children’s elementary school still requests coffee cans for class projects, so I stockpile them all year long, just in case. Last year, the school asked for empty film canisters. The teacher was going to use these canister to hold coins for counting lessons. With so many people using digital cameras these days, I know it wasn’t easy for the teacher to get these. (We happened to have a few lying around, left over from college photography classes!) How interesting that there are now websites selling creative school supplies, including empty film canisters!
I find myself looking around the house and wondering: what else can I put to good use in a second life instead of tossing it in the trash? I recently discovered a green living website with fun things to do with egg cartons when they’re no longer storing eggs, and I will keep some of these tips in mind if I need a makeshift ice-cube holder or packing materials.
Speaking of packing materials, now that we have a cross-cut shredder (which turns paper into unreadable confetti-like shreds), I’ve started using these mounds of paper bits when shipping items that need cushioning. Why pay for peanuts when I can get packing materials for free?
Other things we reuse in this house include plastic grocery bags and newspaper sleeves as poop bags for cleaning up after the dog, and shoeboxes for storage. I once took a water aerobics class where we used empty and cleaned-out plastic milk jugs as flotation devices and weights. Now that we have a pool, perhaps we should all start doing water aerobics with milk containers.
But what else can we do? I feel like I’m probably missing out on a whole bunch of creative ideas for reusing everyday items. Like dryer lint. There’s got to be a secondary use for this ubiquitous fluffy stuff, right?
If you’ve got suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
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Lint can be used to make a paper-mache’ type of material, but my lint has way too much hair in it so I think it would be nasty.
We do use lint for making firestarters or just for using as tinder in the woodstove or campfire. Make firestarters with paper egg cartons and old candle wax. Leave a little tail of lint hanging out to light.
I salvaged a broken mini-blind and use the slats as plant markers. Just cut one end of a 6-8″ piece to a point and write on it with a Sharpie.
I’m a crafter so I reuse lots of things in craft projects, especially paper and doo-dads that can be used to make greeting cards. And I have a small collection of chipped dishes that will someday be a mosaic tabletop.
Teachers can go to photo developing places and ask for empty film canisters. Stores are happy to give them away.
I make a point of buying eggs in cardboard cartons so that my rabbits can shew on them or we can use them as firestarters.
nice post! I’m a mad reuser and recycler too.
It’s wonderful to see people thinking about water conservation and catchments. At http://www.aridsolutionsinc.com/ our website has information on other ways to conserve water and other products to help reduce waste emissions into the environment. Good Luck in all your endeavors.
I am a first time reader of your blog and I love it. I am an avid re-user, re-cycler and re-purposer. We use dryer lint as firestarters. We also distribute it outside, the birds use it for their nests. We also do this with our dog’s hair. We always brush our dog outside so the hair drifts away so the birds can make good use of it. Did you know wax-paper is compostable ? I use empty jars for storing bulk baking supplies instead of buying new jars at the store. I live in a country (Canada)where living “green” is a natural way of life. I was living green before it became a trend. My gardens are organic so we have an “organic only” food-scrap bin, a green bin for other scrap matters, blue bag for bottles (we get money for recycling these), two recycling bags – one for paper and the second one for others then we have the good old “garbage bag”. Now a days, not much is allowed in the regular garbage bag, meaning not much goes to the landfill. Your garbage bag has to be clear. We have the recycling police. They drive around on pick-up day and if they spot a household with too much recyclable items in their regular garbage bag – they give out notices and eventually you’ll get a fine (but I haven’t heard of any fines given).
Where I live, green is not only a way of life… it’s the Law !
Vickie:
I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog. I hope you stop back often.
If only the US government were as forward thinking as the Canadians, with recycling and all.
Thanks for your comments.
Leah
I just found you blog, hence the late comment..
When we are ‘done’ with our water jug /drink, we pour it into a watering can I keep under the sink. The plants get a drink for free.
My local farmer’s market sells eggs and loves it when I give them my empty cartons (from any store) that they refill with their farm-fresh eggs. They also take back any of the plastic bags (and I’m assuming paper bags) I have stock-piled from the grocery store.
Leah, just be careful with the dehumidifyer water! I thought the same thing and watered a beautiful jade plant that I had for years. I’m convinced that the mold in the water killed the plant—-your thoughts?
I’ll have to look into that and see if that’s a problem to worry about. I’ll post if I find anything out. Thanks and sorry to hear of your jade plant dying.
Leah
you can save dryer lint. add wax,and use for campfire starter.