What Did You Recycle Today 2009

[OSI]

Wow! You guys are really rockin with the ideas here today. It's very good to have the office recycling ideas on here too.

When I worked for the Credit Bureau we printed off alot of credit reports that were passed around the office as one person or another verified and updated the info. afterwards they would have gone into the trash but the office manager had us cut them into smaller pieces using the paper cutter and then we used them to write memo info. on and attach to new reports. We had a office shredding company that came in and got our locked trash cans so no worries about confidential info. getting out to the public.

Anna

[ziggee]

I like to use my shredded paper as mulch for my plants. I put the shredded paper down first, wet it then I put the wood mulch on top of it.

Zig

[kathymac]

Lisa, I re-use the lunchmeat containers, too! They're a perfect size to pack lunches in and to store leftovers, too!

I recently used a large applesauce jar (plastic) to pour rice into. Much neater than keeping those bags in the pantry, and they're see-through so I can see what's inside.

We re-use the large coffee containers (34 oz?) to put our food scraps and coffee grinds in. We can put the lids on so the kitchen doesn't get smelly. When we empty them into the compost pile, we rinse them out and use that water to water the outside pots.

Kathy

[MKS]

Good ideas here! I have acumulated some jars the had pasta & salsa in them. They even say mason on them & have oz or pint markings. Sometimes I use them to measure especially when I need to use two cups measured out ahead of time (mainly rice or instant potatoes.) Or they can be used to store small amounts of ingredients like powdered sugar, etc. Nice to be able to see thru them. We also use printer paper twice. After it has been printed on once & no longer needed, we put it "backwards" into the printer again. You can use old school papers, etc. as long as it is not too bent up.

[bluebird]

I started organizing my herbs today using canning jars and whatever jars I have on hand. I am not done but the cabinet is looking much better. I have bought double and triple herbs. I also made lists of what I have and will tape the list on the inside of the cabinet door.

[apricot]

There are lots of great ideas here. I also reuse the lunch meat containers for cheese and leftovers. I've also buried banana peels in my rose garden and got beautiful flowers. I don't drink coffee so forgot about putting the used grounds on the plants. (Dh does drink coffee).

Someone mentioned planting a pineapple top to grow a plant. It is hot in central CA for several months out of the year but we do get a few cold months with ice in the winter sometimes but no snow. Do you think a pineapple plant would grow here? How big do they get?

[OSI]

Today I have recycled a Alpo's dog food bag into a trash bag for the kitchen trash can. These are super sturdy and I may use the next one to store a winter blanket in after I rinse it out outside and let it air dry.

Anna

[Cooked]

Over the years we have had 3 gazeebos blow over and break. I finally figured out what to do with the pieces we had left! I took the decorative metal side panels and made a screen with a bench. I planted vine flowers and it looks really nice. I took another and have my cucumbers climbing. The 3 I had left, we bound together and made a fence between our house and the neighbours fence. It looks really expensive. The corner units are backing the corner gardens and look like they belong. I am really happy we didn't throw them out!

[MKS]

I just recycled a bunch of plastic bags at Walmart.

[RobertaD]

Yep I have a dog food bag in the kitchen using it as a trash bag too Anna.

I reuse cleaned milk jugs to make my iced tea in as they are so much lighter than a rubbermade type jug.

If you don't have a compost pile you can take your fruit/veggie scraps and coffee/tea grounds and just bury them in the ground. A different spot each time and let the worms go at it.

Roberta