Lorraine Brock of Richardson: Giving discarded items a new life

Tag : sealing cords
Lorraine Brock of Richardson: Giving discarded items a new life 12:00 AM CDT on Friday, June 13, 2008 Lorraine Brock of Richardson runs a small business and is aCommunity Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail address isLorraine@ GetOrganized.ws.
Going Green has become trendy. It's the smart, sassy and savvything to do. Recently, many area cities hosted their first GreenExpo, allowing businesses to boost awareness of green products andservices available to families. These businesses promoted greenideas for gardening, organic household cleaning products, greenenergy and more.
I haven't always been huge into going green, mainly because of theinconvenience and the extra upfront cost of green products andservices. Organic foods and cleaning products cost more thantraditional products, and having to separate and store recycleditems can be an inconvenience. I realize that the long-termadvantages outweigh the cost, but for many, it comes down to theupfront cost.
So when I learned about some ways of going green that could bepainless and immediately save me money, I got excited. I'm prettyfrugal. So instead of running out to the local store, I first lookaround to see if I can repurpose anything to meet my need.
One such idea is to use empty toilet paper rolls to hold smallextension cords. It keeps them from getting tangled and leaving youwith wadded-up cords. These same toilet paper rolls can also beused to stuff candies. Then, wrap in tissue paper and tie the endswith ribbon to make party favors.
I like using empty Yankee Candle jars because they have a rubberseal on the lid. These are not only great containers to put cottonballs or Q-tips in, but they are stylish and can hold manydifferent items.
I repurpose shoe boxes for gravy and spice packs, cleaning wipecontainers for holding chip clips, plastic peanut butter jars forstoring nuts and bolts in the garage, and plastic bags newspapersare delivered in for bubble wrap. Just blow air into the bag andtie the end – voila – instant packing supplies.
I never thought that I would be making use of trash for drawer andpantry storage – even Velveeta cheese boxes. The brown partof the Velveeta Cheese box is great for putting pencils or pens inor using to organize your junk drawers.
Recently I took an unused, un-needed shower curtain rod and wedgedit between two walls in a laundry room, giving me an area to hangclothing on when it comes out of the washer or dryer.
These ideas are just a few of the many ways you can repurpose yourtrash. So, take a look around your home and see what you might bethrowing away. You might look at trash a whole new way.
Lorraine Brock of Richardson runs a small business and is aCommunity Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail address isLorraine@ GetOrganized.ws.
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