Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle | Oh My Aching Debts

Reduce, Reuse and (if necessary) Recycle

Posted on June 16, 2009
Filed Under frugal living | 1 Comment

This is a guest post by Cindy of Journey to Simplicity. Cindy writes about her homesteading experience. I especially enjoyed her post on Soap Making. I had made soap years ago with limited success. I may have to give her recipe a try. Thank you, Cindy for filling in for me a bit while I am away at my father’s funeral.

Over the years I’ve had friends who found a way to reuse just about anything! Some would even make their own substitutes for items that typically are used once and thrown away. I never really understood why they took all that care and effort, when it’s so easy just to throw something away and buy new. Yes, I’ll admit that we have spent the better part of our lives being fairly consumer-driven (with the gadgets and debt to prove it), and we have a long way to go toward living a debt-free, self-sustaining lifestyle that is better for our family and the planet. I am excited to share the steps we are taking in hopes of encouraging others that little steps DO count. We’ve been on our journey to simplicity for several months now, and some of the steps we’ve taken involve looking into ways to reuse what we have, as well as, making items that are beautiful as well as functional.

I frequently bake my own bread from fresh-ground wheat, but have trouble finding the right size loaf bags. Buying from specialty stores doesn’t make sense when I’m trying to save money. I recently stumbled onto directions for making bread bags from cotton or muslin cloth. With a little needle work, these bags will not only be functional, they will be a joy to look at too!

I’ve also decided to take some scrap fabric I have around the house and make my own reusable shopping bags. I know these can be purchased relatively inexpensively, but I find a lot of satisfaction from using up stuff that is otherwise just cluttering up my home. Also, the more sewing practice I get, the better seamstress I will be.

Our society has placed a great emphasis on recycling, but we have found that it is better to reuse or repurpose an item instead of sending it to the recycling center. A lot of energy is used to “recycle” plastic, glass, paper, etc., and turn it into something useable that then has to be shipped to warehouses around the country! It seems to make much more sense to do be like our grandparents – reuse items until they are worn out – THEN we can send any leftovers to the recycling center. What items do you have around the house that could be repurposed or used as the foundation for some useful item?

Guest Post by Cindy at JourneytoSimplicity.com

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One Response to “Reduce, Reuse and (if necessary) Recycle”

Recycle or Upcycle | Journey to Simplicity on June 16th, 2009 1:06 pm

[...] you’d like to read more of my thoughts on recycling vs upcycling, head over to the “Oh My Aching Debts” blog. I was honored to write a guest post while Cindy spends time with her mom following the [...]

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