Don't Throw It Out

I just finished reading "Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last" by Lori Baird and the Editors of Yankee Magazine. It was a fun and informative book, and organized in way that I loved. It had chapters for nearly every room in the house, along with Sports and Hobbies, Lawn and Garden, Home Workshop, and Cars and Trucks.

It gave ideas for new uses for old things like terracotta pots that were broken, old cutting boards, old tires and more. Under the Recreation Room chapter, there were sections on knitting, quilting, scrapbooking, general crafting and books... topics near and dear to my heart.

At the end of each chapter is a quiz, so you can check what you learned, but that felt too much like school to me, so I skipped them. At the end of the book, there are resources on where to buy recycled art, frames made from tires, hubcap creatures, items made from from old 45s and LPs and more. There is also a section on how to dispose of TVs, computers, tools, quilts, running shoes, etc.

I was using one of those irritating magazine subscription cards as a book mark (I try to find uses for those darn things), and I found myself ripping it in strips to marks sections that I wanted to make a note of later. One of my favorites was making fire starters out of old egg cartons, dryer lint and and candle wax. You know, I've been looking for other ways to use my dryer lint. I usually throw it out for the birds to make nests with, and I'm not sure they really appreciate it.

Another was using a product called PlastiDip to coat garden tool handles. It will give them a more comfortable grip, and it comes in bright colors so it will be easy to spot your tools outside. I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but it's certainly a sly marketing ploy to make garden tools in greens, browns and blacks. Once you put them down and walk away, you will never find them again. It's the Bermuda Triangle of gardening.

Check this book out of your local library, sit down with a cup of tea and a few magazine subscription cards cut into strips and find yourself in useful-tip-heaven.