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Sell. Thrift. Repurpose. Repeat.

I am already in week three of my sustainability challenge. Time sure does fly. In my last post, I touched on a few of our sustainable actions at home and some that we need to work on. Well, using the cloth paper towels surely have been a challenge, especially since there are still paper towels in the house. I had to hide them. We keep our cloth towels in a basket on a shelf in the kitchen and we toss them in a diaper pail after we’re done using them. Hey, we better get some use of out the thing since we hardly used it for diapers.

Recycle Bin

We fixed our paper recycling problem. We are now reusing a cardboard box as a recycling bin. It isn’t anything fancy, but this very sustainable solution gets the job done. We haven’t done laundry yet, so we haven’t done any cold water washing. Hopefully I’ll be able to share the experience next week. As for the plants to purify our living space, I haven’t purchased them yet. Something in me wants to wait until we get a few more decorative items for the house first.

In my last post, I told you guys that I would talk about three additional sustainable actions we’ve taken more so because they were frugal; selling, thrifting, and repurposing. So lets get going :).

Just my {old} phone.

Sell

Before buying something new, we look for what we can sell to make room for and/or help pay for the upgrade. We always sell our old cellphones to help fund the purchase of another. I accumulate a lot of clothes *shifty eyes*, so I sell what I can (I donate some) to clear out my closet and to help replenish finances.

Coat from Thrift Store. Shoes from Ebay.

Thrift

If there is something a bit on the pricey end that I want, I won’t hesitate to buy it used on Ebay or Craigslist. We’ve purchased quite a few pieces of furniture and appliances from sellers on Craigslist. I’ve purchased tons of clothes for myself and Jayden and some toys from Ebay and local thrift stores. Some other places to find great deals and even freebies are yard/garage sales, consignment shops, Freecycle*, Freepeats*, and ThredUP*. * I haven’t completed a transaction with these services yet, but hear they are awesome.

Shoe Rack With Another Purpose

Repurpose

There are many things in your home that can be repurposed and reused in other ways. Take my hanging pepper garden created out of a canvas bin and hemp twine. Last year, I had done something similar at our old place, but this year, I wanted something larger only using resources we already had. In my kitchen, I took an old vase and turned it into storage for cooking spoons. We use glass jars to keep nails, screws, and other odds and ends organized. Jayden uses cardboard boxes as a fresh canvas and we love shoe racks because they can hold so much more than just shoes. We have one hanging over the door in our laundry room which holds our cleaners and one over our upstairs bathroom to hold toiletries.

Here’s a more detailed video round up of some things we’ve thrifted and repurposed. Put on your dancing shoes :).

Join me next week where I will talk a bit about the Seventh Generation cleaning products and a few others I’ve received :).

What have you thrifted or repurposed in your home? Share!

seventh generation walmartI’ve been invited by Walmart and Seventh Generation to participate in a sustainability challenge. I hope you continue to follow my fellow Walmart Moms: Jennae of Green Your Décor, Monica of Mommy Brain Reports, Jenn of Frugal Upstate, Denise of Wholesome Mommy, and I on our four week journey to living a more sustainable lifestyle.

And as you already may know, I am a participant in the Walmart Moms program. Seventh Generation provided me with product samples. Walmart has also provided me with additional compensation for the time involved in the campaign. Participation in this program is voluntary. All opinions are my own.

Chelle

Wednesday 15th of September 2010

Sheena you rock! I love the path you are on. :) Here's a great link to NASAs top 10 most purifying house plants. I have many spider plants in my home. Too bad my Peace Lilies keep croaking. The nice thing about Spider plants is that you can usually find someone willing to give you some babies. Just plop them in a glass of water until they sprout roots. Then plant in soil. Pretty soon you will be giving them away too! If you are lucky and have enough sunshine in your home you will get pretti little flowers on them too.

Have you heard of Freecycle? That's a great place that everything is free. It's similar to Craigslist. You have want ads and offer ads. People come and get what you have. No need to have to run out to the thrift shops. It's great. I use it weekly. This way I don't pile up clutter because I am guilty of starting piles. I also have the issue of thinking that everything can be used over and over and over and that it must still have some life in it. This is great until you want to hold onto everything because you feel guilty tossing it or giving it away. And I'm a sentimental gal lol. Keep up the greatness you have goin on!

Chelle

Wednesday 15th of September 2010

Oops forgot the link.....http://webecoist.com/2009/04/08/air-purifying-plants/

:)

K. Rock

Monday 13th of September 2010

Not a big deal but my husband rigged up an old egg carton to hold his oils. I laugh everytime I look at that thing sitting on his dresser.

Sheena

Wednesday 15th of September 2010

@K. Rock, LOL - hey whatever works!

Shelly

Monday 13th of September 2010

I have my whole family on the repurposeing bandwagon! I too use cardboard boxes as blank canvases for the little one. I use old t-shirts as carwash rags/ mulit-purpose rags. I am a recycle hound. We sell some things at the scrap shop for some pocket change. I save spaghetti jars to send soups and chilies over to the neighbors. Empty containers become plant pots. We get clothing and shoes for William every few months from cousins and as long as they are in good shape after using them, we pass them along to friends. I could go on! See, I'm trying to get better ;-) OH and please, if you know of anyplace I can buy reusable sandwich bags (cheap) let me know! Loving the new look so far :)

1stopmom

Sunday 12th of September 2010

I love what you did with the cleaning products!! That is such a good idea :)

Liss

Sunday 12th of September 2010

When I moved out of my folks' house a little over a year ago, we spent several weekends hitting up yard sales in preparation for the move. One thing that we have unique here in Bermuda are "Leaving Island" sales. It's too expensive to ship furniture and things, so people sell literally everything before leaving, including furniture! The only things I bought new were my mattresses (my folks had a bedframe), my kitchen table & chairs, and my chest-of-drawers, and a microwave. All my dishes, pots and pans, glassware, 2 bookshelves, etc., were all bought second-hand or given to me.

As for clothes, I'm a great believer in 'wear it until it falls apart and shames your mother'. I grew up wearing mostly hand-me-downs. We weren't poor, but my parents believed in reusing, donating and saving. I inherited my older brother's outgrown uniform shirts, ties, blazers. My mom had friends with daughters older than me, so I was often treated to a garbage bag full of clothes, all in great condition. I could keep whatever I liked, and whatever I didn't choose went to the neighbor's girl who was my age. I wore some really funky clothes!

That really taught me the worth of second-hand things. Even all of the motorbikes i've owned, I've never had a new one (lots of ppl ride small engine motorbikes and scooters here, due to lower cost and not a lot of space). The one I have now is almost 20 years old and still runs like a champ!

Even today, I love shopping at thrift stores, going there first if I need something random. I don't own a lot of clothes, and usually only do one big shopping trip once a year. Buying used not only is cheaper, but it helps to reduce waste and lower energy costs by not having to force more production.

Sheena

Sunday 12th of September 2010

@Liss, you have a 20yr motor bike that's still working?! That.is.awesome. There are a lot of people leaving the country in Chicago, so they list their belongings on Craigslist almost giving them away!

Second-hand's are the way to go!

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