reuse

Over the last few years there has been a tremendous amount of publicity about recycling. Websites such as ebay and freecycle have popularised the term to such an extent that many of us have decided to do our bit (aided by local councils) and recycle in our homes. So while many of us have adopted the concept of recycling, far fewer have been willing to participate in the even more eco-friendly pursuit of re-use.

The concept of re-use is as simple as it sounds; it’s all about reusing our existing products rather than buying new or recycled goods. We are all guilty of throwing things out, that with a bit of time, effort and imagination could have been turned into perfectly useful household items. You don’t have to think very hard to find examples of these,

• Unwanted clothes that could have been re-used & transformed into outfits for children and babies
• An old cast iron bath, that with a bit of paint could have been re-used & as a wonderful flower bed.
• An unwanted door, which when stripped and sanded, could have made a perfect table top
• Cardboard boxes can be reused and imaginatively transformed into a playhouse for children

The list is endless, unfortunately so is the lists of items that people are willing to throw away without even thinking about how they can reuse for them.

It’s not so much that people are lazy; it’s more that people have been conditioned by the commercial society we live in, to buy rather than create. Creating things is a pursuit we as adults associate more with children at school or artistic students than ourselves. The truth is we all have the creativity to re-use much of what we throw away; all we need is to set aside some time and let our imagination run riot. Until you try it you have no idea how rewarding “reuse” can be, perhaps much more so than shopping on Ebay!

EcoHouseAgent.com would like to promote the concept of re-use; we invite people to e-mail us, reuse@ecohouseagent.com  with their ideas of reusing household items.

We will endeavour to publish as many of these reuse ideas as possible, on our website.