What do you re-use?

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What do you re-use?
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SandraR

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 2346
Location: Devon

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 11:42 am Post subject:
My husband's Uncle is moving this week from the house he was born in 82 years ago - he has a life time of 'it will come in useful one day' stuff to sort. Guess who agrees with him ? We need more space but it will come in useful one day !!

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 12:02 pm Post subject:
Is it more environmentally friendly to shred paper waste for chicken litter or make blocks for the fire? I do both but I suspect chicken litter then compost is the best way to go.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 12:08 pm Post subject:
I'd guess that you're right. When we made paper blocks they never seemed very clean burning though that may have been a deficiency in my technique/failure to dry them thoroughly enough.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 12:37 pm Post subject:

I tread a fine and usually unsuccessful line between keeping lots of things to re-use, and actually re-using them successfully enough to stop them just being more clutter. I'm trying to be a bit more ruthless about putting things into the recycling rather than saving them 'in case they are useful', I suppose my goal is to get consumption of those items down to a point where we have very little surplus that needs recycling, sadly a long way off yet.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 12:42 pm Post subject:
Perhaps you should stop thinking of those piles of yarn/wool/fabrics/buttons/beads/antlers/cotton reels/old curtains and so on as clutter. Perhaps it's actually insulation. You'd have to heat that space otherwise.

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 12:53 pm Post subject:
Before I left for Spain, I helped a friend to clear out the home of an elderly man who had died. He was a hoarder - we actually found a bedroom that no-one knew was there because the corridor (and the bedroom) were stacked wall to wall, floor to ceiling with �Things that'll come in one day. Strange but true. Has it stopped me 'hoarding'?.....nope. Can't resist.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46212
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 1:05 pm Post subject:
im a recovering hoarder from a long line of hoarders

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 1:12 pm Post subject:
Seeing the stage of hoarding my mum's got to has made me much more ruthless about taking stuff to the recycling bins or the charity shop---just in case it's genetic.

toggle

Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 11622
Location: truro

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 1:20 pm Post subject:

Nick wrote:

Perhaps you should stop thinking of those piles of yarn/wool/fabrics/buttons/beads/antlers/cotton reels/old curtains and so on as clutter. Perhaps it's actually insulation. You'd have to heat that space otherwise.

one day, i will succeed in insulating a house entirely with yarn and books

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 1:21 pm Post subject: Re: What do you re-use?

gardening-girl wrote:

I,ve just been sorting out plant labels to use again.Hot water and tipex does the trick

I scrub mine with one of those green scouring pads.

As for jars, I've calculated that my storage cupboard can only hold 108 of them. After I've stored the maximum useful number of jars, the rest get recycled. (I have a separate hoard of metal tops).

All biodegradable stuff gets composted. (Can't have too much compost)

ros

Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 2469
Location: Beds

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 1:33 pm Post subject:

lottie wrote:

Is it more environmentally friendly to shred paper waste for chicken litter or make blocks for the fire? I do both but I suspect chicken litter then compost is the best way to go.

I think the answer depends on what you would have done instead in each case.....

we got a paper brick maker for christmas, any tips?

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 1:57 pm Post subject:
On the subject of reusing plant labels. If you use a soft graphite pencil not marker pen you can use a rubber to remove the writing & also I find they don't fade as quickly as marker even UV resistant markers.

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 3:02 pm Post subject:

ros wrote:

lottie wrote:

Is it more environmentally friendly to shred paper waste for chicken litter or make blocks for the fire? I do both but I suspect chicken litter then compost is the best way to go.

I think the answer depends on what you would have done instead in each case.....

we got a paper brick maker for christmas, any tips?

They need to dry for a lot longer than I realised when we first got ours---I shove sawdust in the mix as well if we've been cutting wood. They aren't marvellous but I work on the principle that every little bit helps.

Green Rosie

Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 10498
Location: Calvados, France

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 5:04 pm Post subject: Re: What do you re-use?

gardening-girl wrote:

I was washing out freezer bags to re-use.

But have you got an easy way to dry them? I hang them over the taps/bottles etc but they take a while and get in the way a bit.

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 10 5:16 pm Post subject:
I've got a big cupboard in the kitchen with the hot tank in---I just bung them in there after swilling them out.

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