The Joys of Repurposing

It's always inconvenient when you find yourself with a lot of something you don't really need, but a lack of something you do need. When you're broke, you find all kinds of creative ways to hack stuff together. :) Some of my favorites:

coffee mugs
As popular marketing fodder and being small enough to put into your purse at a diner, coffee mugs tend to be very prolific in any given household. If you're like me, you only actually use 1 or 2 favored mugs, so the good news is they can be used to hold just about anything. I have several on my dresser to organize my makeup (my lipsticks are upside down—so the color name is visible—in some short mugs, and my eye and lip liners are in a taller mug), a large one on my desk for my pens and pencils, and a few in my bathroom holding cotton balls and q-tips. I also have a few more in my room holding various small things, like foil-packed medicines and such.

t-shirts
Another thing that springs up all the time. Who doesn't have some lame free radio station t-shirt rotting away in the back of their dresser? There are lots of things you can do with them—if it's ratty, cut it up and make washcloths (you should stop buying sponges anyway, they're a waste and just get throw away). If it's still in good condition, you can use it as a pillowcase (or even sew it up and stuff it to make a real pillow). You can pretty much sew them into anything—tote bags, other clothing items, or use them as stuffing/filler for other projects. A t-shirt-stuffed t-shirt pillow would be awesome. :p

still-good parts of broken stuff
I had this great tea cup and saucer that I picked up for $1.99 at Goodwill. Unfortunately, I broke the tea cup during a move. I still had the perfectly good saucer, so now I'm using it as an incense tray. Small plates or cups with chips or cracks that are otherwise okay can be better used as jewelry/trinket trays.

bottles, cans, jars
Cleaned pasta sauce jars are great for holding stuff like dry beans/lentils, rice, etc. An empty beer can makes an awesome toothbrush holder. A wine bottle can make a great vase or ashtray. (The long neck is perfect for inserting cigarette butts, and the low oxygen environment snuffs them out pretty quickly. Just make sure you've cleaned all the alcohol out first.)

Check out Lifehacker and Instructables for tons of tips and tutorials for repurposing and making your own stuff!

Spend Less part 2: Use less

Okay, duhhh, right? But you'd think such a simple concept wouldn't be lost on so many people. Every time I see someone tear off 14 sheets of toilet paper, blow their nose with the corner of 1 sheet, then chuck it all in the trash, or completely saturate a sponge with dish soap to wash one glass, I want to strangle them. There should be a mandatory kick to the crotch for anyone throwing away food because they took more than they could eat.

The fact is, most people are using more of everyday products than they need to, and throwing away perfectly usable stuff simply out of laziness. Here are some easy tips to help avoid me punching you in the face.

start small
Take the least amount of soap, or shampoo, or tissue, etc possible. You can always add more if you find you need it (you probably won't.) If you can reduce your consumption of household things by half, they will last twice as long.

eat less
The problem of overeating is a rant for another day, but in the meantime, when serving yourself food, use a small bowl or plate and finish that before taking more. Promptly put away leftovers in proper containers (not a ceramic bowl with a sheet of saran wrap over it...that's asking for trouble.)

use all you can
Cut open lotion and toothpaste tubes when they appear to be empty—I guarantee there is still enough inside for at least 3-4 uses. Use bar soap instead of liquid soap (it's cheaper anyway) and save the slivers inside a stocking or washcloth. Bars of deodorant usually have a large chunk stuck in the base after it's "empty"—scrape it out, warm it up, and mold it back into a lump (or better yet, use a rock-type deodorant in the first place! I strongly recommend LUSH's Aromaco. I've had the same tiny piece—that I got for free!—for over a year.) You can do the same thing with lip balm (next time you get a little mint tin or something, save it for this purpose.)

don't waste food...ever
If you find yourself tossing out a lot of expired food every month (or worse...just letting it sit in the fridge to rot), there are a few things you can do. First, take note of the stuff you aren't using, and stop buying that stuff. Second, make small, frequent trips to get groceries, rather than buying a lot at once. Check the dates of everything you buy and try to get stuff that expires later (but don't forget about it during that time!) At least once a month, take inventory of your cupboards and fridge and move near-expiring items to the front.

There is nothing wrong with stocking up on food, especially if you find a great deal on something you like, but remember that NOTHING is truly non-perishable. If you're going to stockpile food, you need to rotate that stock. Saving a bunch of pasta for 2 years becomes wasted money when you finally reach for it and realize that bugs have eaten through the box. Same goes for the tofu you got on sale that rotted in the back of your fridge.

Basically, avoid any kind of unnecessary waste, and think before you put something in the trash. If you overstocked something that you know you aren't going to be able to use, offer it to someone else. They'll probably be very grateful.

Spend less part 1: Unnecessities

Most Americans have been brainwashed into thinking A. their wants are actually needs, and B. they are entitled to all of those supposed "needs". Time to let go of that and realize that living simply actually means "living happier and more awesome". As a bonus, using less disposable stuff not only saves you money, it is also more eco-friendly (funny how the two seem to collide so often.)

Here is an incomplete list of things you do not need to buy, ever:

air freshener
I hate that people have been tricked into thinking that "trying to cover up the smell of the garbage you haven't taken out in 2 weeks with sickly, chemically flower scent" is the same thing as "cleaning". Just keep your hovel relatively clean, open a damn window, and never buy that shit again.

fancy toilet paper
Just buy the cheap, regular stuff. It still functions, and also is less likely to fill your bathroom with squeezably-soft fuzzy toilet paper lint.

Would you like some caviar with that?

"facial tissues"
Use toilet paper.

paper towels/napkins
Use cloth. No, I'm serious. Cut up an old t-shirt, use to clean, mop, dry hands, etc, and have a bin (or pile) in your kitchen for the dirty ones. Wash them with the other dirty towels. Same goes for stuff like paper plates, etc.

any bathroom/kitchen cleanser that is not baking soda/vinegar
Not only clean, but deodorized and toxic chemical-free. I'll eventually devote an entire post to all the things you can do with these two common items, but for now, try this instead using of scrubbing cleansers and the like: Sprinkle baking soda, splash on a bit of vinegar, delight in the cool fizzy action, then scrub and rinse.

bottled water
There are people who would be amazed if clean, drinkable water came out of a faucet in their house. Get a reusable bottle and learn to love your tap water.

envelopes
Take all your mail and harvest the envelopes. Black out the old addresses and glue some new labels on top of them. Tape or glue the flaps. Or fold a sheet of recycled paper in thirds and tape the ends. Use grocery bag paper, wrapping paper, etc. You get the idea. There are also plenty of online tutorials for making your own fancy, "real" envelopes. Get creative. Save all bubble envelopes and packing you get in the mail, too.

notebooks
If you're in college or work in an office, you probably have a lot of handouts and memos printed on only one side. Take all your old ones, flip to the clean side, staple or sew together. If you're crafty, you can even bind them into real books.

plastic storage containers
Use shoe boxes, shipping boxes, or hell, even garbage bags to organize your closets. A Sharpie works wonders for labeling.

Know of any more things that can be deleted from your life? Comment! Let me know if I have permission to post them later (with credit to you, of course!)