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	<title>How can I recycle this? &#187; household</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/tag/household/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk</link>
	<description>Creative ideas for reusing and recycling random stuff</description>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle an ironing board cover/pad?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20111028/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-ironing-board-coverpad</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20111028/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-ironing-board-coverpad#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:14:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothes and fabric]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ironing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ironing board cover]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=4663</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kathleen has emailed to ask about an ironing board cover/pad: There just has to be something I can do with this&#8230;&#8230;it&#8217;s way too big to toss! Ironing..? board..? what is this thing of which you speak? You mean some people don&#8217;t have perpetually creased clothes? Amazing! :D We do have an ironing board but it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ironing_board_cover.jpg" alt="" title="ironing_board_cover" width="250" height="200" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4664" />Kathleen has emailed to ask about an ironing board cover/pad:</p>
<blockquote><p>There just has to be something I can do with this&#8230;&#8230;it&#8217;s way too big to toss!</p></blockquote>
<p>Ironing..? board..? what is this thing of which you speak? You mean some people don&#8217;t have perpetually creased clothes? Amazing! :D</p>
<p>We do have an ironing board but it gets used more for stuff like fusing plastic than it does for actual clothes &#8212; if I had a spare or old ironing board cover, I&#8217;d keep one for potentially leaky crafts like melting plastic and one for clothes.</p>
<p>As for repurposing it, if it&#8217;s a fabric one with a quilted/heavily padded section, could it be made into an oven mitt? I&#8217;d imagine they&#8217;d have similar heat absorbing qualities.  At one time my mum had a thinner silvery one &#8211; could that be used for lining/insulating a lunch cool bag? Would that work?</p>
<p>Any other ideas or suggestions?</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How can I repair/revamp a stained cotton rug?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110825/how-can-i-repairrevamp-a-stained-cotton-rug</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110825/how-can-i-repairrevamp-a-stained-cotton-rug#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:36:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[repair this]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cleaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cotton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[repairing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rug]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=4477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I haven&#8217;t done a &#8220;repair this&#8221; for a while but this is something I&#8217;ve been wondering about for a few weeks now: how can I repair/revamp a stained rug? It&#8217;s a circular cotton rug with off-white (even before the stains!) and pale blue strips, and even though it was pretty cheap, I love it. But [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/stained-rug.jpg" alt="" title="stained-rug" width="250" height="200" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4490" />I haven&#8217;t done a &#8220;repair this&#8221; for a while but this is something I&#8217;ve been wondering about for a few weeks now: how can I repair/revamp a stained rug?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a circular cotton rug with off-white (even before the stains!) and pale blue strips, and even though it was pretty cheap, I love it.  But it is stained and dirty now and it really needs a good clean and/or a revamp.</p>
<p>Since it&#8217;s cotton, it can probably handle some tough cleaning love &#8211; but it&#8217;s also about 2m/6-and-a-half feet in diameter and heavy and awkward to work with.  It&#8217;s not going to fit in a sink or a washing machine &#8211; even cleaning it in a bath will be very awkward because it&#8217;s so big.</p>
<p>As for revamping it, since it&#8217;s cotton, I thought about the possibility of dyeing it &#8211; but again, that&#8217;ll be an awkward job, and also potentially a very, very messy one.</p>
<p>Any suggestions for how can I clean it? Or any advice for dyeing it or revamping it in another way?</p>
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			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110825/how-can-i-repairrevamp-a-stained-cotton-rug/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How can I reuse or recycle a solid curtain pelmet?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110504/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-solid-curtain-pelmet</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110504/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-solid-curtain-pelmet#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 May 2011 09:14:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pelmet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=4207</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sorry that there have been fewer posts than normal recently &#8211; I&#8217;ve been taking full advantage of both of the long weekends to have time in the garden and not on my computer. Normal programming should return from now on! Anyway, at least I&#8217;ve been busy reusing/recycling in our garden. Last week, I turned our [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/pelmet.jpg" alt="" title="pelmet" width="180" height="250" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4208" />Sorry that there have been fewer posts than normal recently &#8211; I&#8217;ve been taking full advantage of both of the long weekends to have time in the garden and not on my computer.  Normal programming should return from now on!</p>
<p>Anyway, at least I&#8217;ve been busy reusing/recycling in our garden.  Last week, I turned <a href="http://www.thereallygoodlife.com/3190/our-long-weekend/">our old bathroom cupboard doors</a> into raised bed for foot square gardening then on Monday, my not-in-law&#8217;s neighbours were throwing away a solid curtain pelmet and I <a href="http://www.thereallygoodlife.com/3308/from-pelmet-to-planter/">made that into a herb trough/window box style planter</a>.  And both are now filled with produced-here compost &#8211; so that&#8217;s more recycling ;)</p>
<p>Back to the pelmet though, while I was doing the minimal work required for its transformation, I was thinking what else it could be used for.  It was still in pretty decent condition so a sand down and repaint could easily continue being used for its original purpose &#8211; sitting on top of the curtains to hide the rail.  It could be given away via Freecycle/Freegle if the original owners didn&#8217;t want it any more.  (Pelmets are seen as a bit fussy and old fashioned by some but they are supposed to help keep rooms warmer by cutting down convection currents around the window.)</p>
<p>When I first saw the pelmet, I thought it was a mantlepiece &#8211; it could easily be turned into a decorative fire surround (for a small gas/electric fireplace or not used real one) by adding legs, which could be made quite easily from cheap planking.  Or simply used as a floating shelf.</p>
<p>As for actual recycling, it was mostly wood &#8212; but wood that had been frequently painted over the years so wouldn&#8217;t be suitable for burning.  If it had been less sturdy, I&#8217;d probably still have taken it to just use for the lengths of lumber &#8211; I&#8217;m all about scrap wood at the moment.</p>
<p>Any other ideas?  How would you reuse it?</p>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How can I reuse or recycle a room divider/screen?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110328/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-room-dividerscreen</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110328/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-room-dividerscreen#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:50:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[room divider]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[screen]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=4110</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At some point in the long forgotten past, I bought a room dividing screen thing. I think the idea was that we would use it to shelter off the messy desk whenever we had guests staying over in our spare room/office in our old house but to the best of my knowledge we never used [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/room-divider.jpg" alt="" title="room-divider" width="180" height="250" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4111" />At some point in the long forgotten past, I bought a room dividing screen thing.  I think the idea was that we would use it to shelter off the messy desk whenever we had guests staying over in our spare room/office in our old house but to the best of my knowledge we never used it because it got in the way and none of our guests cared.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a metal frame which originally had plain cream fabric panels tied onto it.  I&#8217;m not sure where the fabric panels are now but they can easily be replaced.  The three metal sections come apart easily.  It&#8217;s about 6ft/180cm tall &#8211; I couldn&#8217;t fit it all in my camera frame without including my untidy desk, my caked-on-mud wellies and the equally filthy dog ;)</p>
<p>So any ideas what I can do with it?</p>
<p>I could, of course, reinvent it as a room divider &#8211; some pretty reclaimed/vintage fabric to make it a feature.  While we still have an untidy section of our used-for-storage spare room in our new house, I&#8217;m still not sure our guests will care and it&#8217;ll just get in the way for us the rest of the time.  I could use it for a similar purpose in the garden &#8211; using weather-resistant fabric or plastic for the panels instead &#8211; but again, I think it will get in the way.</p>
<p>Any other ideas?</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How can I reuse or recycle a decorative coloured glass window?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110325/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-decorative-coloured-glass-window</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110325/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-decorative-coloured-glass-window#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:59:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[renovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[window]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=4103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re in the middle of having our bathroom replaced. It&#8217;s been a nightmare, never again etc etc &#8211; but it has had some upsides. For example, after I mentioned to the main plumber that I&#8217;d reuse the side of the old shower enclosure to make a cold frame or something, he brought me six old [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re in the middle of having our bathroom replaced. It&#8217;s been a nightmare, never again etc etc &#8211; but it has had some upsides.  For example, after I mentioned to the main plumber that I&#8217;d reuse the side of the old shower enclosure to make a cold frame or something, he brought me six old wooden-framed windows from the house he&#8217;s renovating.  (He only lives down the road and I&#8217;m hoping he&#8217;ll remember us whenever he has further juicy &#8220;rubbish&#8221; or scrap wood.)</p>
<p>The windows are each about 1ft/30cm wide by 3ft/90cm tall, and will make cloches or a better cold frame (since the shower enclosure was opaque plastic and would be a pain to resize/frame).  Well, the four clear glass ones will be good for that, this question is about the other two:</p>
<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/coloured-glass-windows.jpg" alt="" title="coloured-glass-windows" width="400" height="300" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4104" /><br />
<br class="clear"><br />
They&#8217;re rather pretty, don&#8217;t you think?  As you&#8217;d probably expect, the colours are a lot brighter when there is light coming through them rather than when they&#8217;re on the ground &#8211; the flowers are deep pinky-red and the darker band is a lovely purple.</p>
<p>It seems a shame to just use them to shelter veg seedlings but I can&#8217;t think what else to use them for.  They&#8217;re only a single glaze and we&#8217;ve got relatively new double glazed windows in the house so we won&#8217;t want to use it as a window in here.  I&#8217;m not against passing it on again to someone who would use it for it&#8217;s original purpose but I&#8217;m wondering if you lovely people have any other suggestions for things I could use it for instead.</p>
<p>Restore the frame and hang one on the wall as a strange but fun decoration?  Or hinge one on the front of a made-to-measure 15cm/6ins deep box to use as a wall-mounted part-display/part-storage cupboard?</p>
<p>Any other ideas?</p>
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		<slash:comments>12</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>What can I reuse or recycle to make a large wine rack?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110222/what-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-to-make-a-large-wine-rack</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110222/what-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-to-make-a-large-wine-rack#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:44:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reverse this]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bottles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wine rack]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3990</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Long-time Recycle This friend Alice has emailed to ask about making a large wine rack: I make loads of home brew wine and beer, and I could really do with a very big wine rack. Any ideas on how I could make one out of recycled stuff? It&#8217;d need to hold at least 36 wine [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/wine-bottles-wine-rack.jpg" alt="" title="wine bottles wine rack" width="250" height="200" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3991" />Long-time Recycle This friend <a href="http://alice-in-blogland.blogspot.com/">Alice</a> has emailed to ask about making a large wine rack:</p>
<blockquote><p>I make loads of home brew wine and beer, and I could really do with a very big wine rack.  Any ideas on how I could make one out of recycled stuff?</p>
<p>It&#8217;d need to hold at least 36 wine bottles, and/or a similar number of beer bottles.  Doesn&#8217;t need to look especially pretty though &#8216;cos I store it all in the shed until it&#8217;s drinkable.  All that liquid and glass is very heavy though, so it&#8217;d need to be very strong and stable.</p></blockquote>
<p>I found <a href="http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=460">this great page with lots of wine rack designs</a> &#8211; and it might be possible to make some of those from recycled/reclaimed materials &#8212; for example, <a href="http://wineintro.com/products/racks/pvcrack/winerack.html">the pipe one</a> near the bottom of the page.</p>
<p>Has anyone made any wine racks by reusing or recycling stuff? What did you use? Anyone got any suggestions of things that could be upcycled/reclaimed?</p>
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		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How can I reuse or recycle old glazed doors?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110221/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-glazed-doors</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110221/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-glazed-doors#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:32:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[door]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3987</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Sandra: We&#8217;ve replaced some old fashioned doors with glass in them. What can we do with them now? I&#8217;ve got an eBay saved search which looks for cheap big used home/garden stuff in my local area &#8211; and there are always doors on there. Most don&#8217;t sell for a lot [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/glazed-door.jpg" alt="" title="glazed door" width="180" height="250"  />We&#8217;ve had an email from Sandra:</p>
<blockquote><p>We&#8217;ve replaced some old fashioned doors with glass in them. What can we do with them now?</p></blockquote>
<p>I&#8217;ve got an eBay saved search which looks for cheap big used home/garden stuff in my local area &#8211; and there are always doors on there.  Most don&#8217;t sell for a lot of money but at least they&#8217;ll be reused.  There is, of course, Freecycle/Freegle too.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve seen old doors &#8211; glazed or not &#8211; used creatively around gardens and allotments &#8212; properly weather-protected, they can be used as fencing and old panelled doors are a lot prettier than garden gates in a shabby chic/secret garden style.  There is a path through some allotments near where we walk the dog sometimes; tall box hedging on each side but every now and then there is a fancy old door leading into a plot &#8211; very fun.</p>
<p>Depending on the extent/position of the glazing, it may be worth using them for other purposes in the garden too &#8211; for example, quite woody doors can be sliced in half lengthways to make planking for raised beds or the like, but doors including more, particularly clear, glass could be incorporated into a greenhouse or used to make a cold frame.</p>
<p>Any other ideas?  Particularly any non-garden ideas? I think I&#8217;m a bit obsessed with gardens at the moment!</p>
<p>(Photo by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/clshearin">clshearin</a>)</p>
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		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How can I reuse or recycle an MDF radiator cover?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110117/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-mdf-radiator-cover</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110117/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-mdf-radiator-cover#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:25:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MDF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[radiator cover]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wood]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3831</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Andi: The last people who lived in our house installed MDF (i think) radiator covers everywhere which we don&#8217;t want any more. Do you have any idea what we can do with them? They&#8217;ve been painted and have cute cut out panels but block all the heat! There still seem [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/radiator-cover.jpg" alt="" title="radiator cover" width="250" height="200" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3832" />We&#8217;ve had an email from Andi:</p>
<blockquote><p>The last people who lived in our house installed MDF (i think) radiator covers everywhere which we don&#8217;t want any more. Do you have any idea what we can do with them? They&#8217;ve been painted and have cute cut out panels but block all the heat!</p></blockquote>
<p>There still seem to be plenty of dedicated companies selling them so some people must still want them &#8211; perhaps offer yours on your local Freecycle/Freegle, to see if anyone wants them?</p>
<p>Both the MDF and paint mean that the wood can&#8217;t be burned or composted and is very hard to recycle, so aside from passing them on, we&#8217;re looking for reuses.</p>
<p>After realising <a href="http://www.thereallygoodlife.com/1696/the-weekends-pottering/">how many types of vegetables I want to grow this year</a>, my first thought would be to reuse the wood to make trough planters &#8211; the cut out bits could be used to make pretty fronts.  Or similarly, they could be used to make blanket/storage boxes &#8211; the cuts outs would let the contents breath.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
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		<title>Seven fantastic ways to transform rubbish into storage</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110106/seven-fantastic-ways-to-transform-rubbish-into-storage</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20110106/seven-fantastic-ways-to-transform-rubbish-into-storage#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:21:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[5 fantastic reuses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cardboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cereal boxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cutlery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[magazines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[milk bottles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[newspaper]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pipes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[storage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[upcycling]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3800</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don&#8217;t know about you but I&#8217;m itching to get a start on spring cleaning this year &#8211; or rather spring decluttering &#8211; and as well as getting rid of a whole bunch of stuff, I&#8217;d like to have better, neater storage for the stuff I have. Here are some of the ways I&#8217;ll be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I don&#8217;t know about you but I&#8217;m itching to get a start on spring cleaning this year &#8211; or rather spring decluttering &#8211; and as well as getting rid of a whole bunch of stuff, I&#8217;d like to have better, neater storage for the stuff I have.</p>
<p>Here are some of the ways I&#8217;ll be making recycled storage solutions from rubbish around our home:</p>
<h3>Cereal boxes (or scrap cardboard) into magazine files</h3>
<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/cereal-box-magazine-file.jpg" alt="" title="cereal box into magazine holder" width="250" height="200" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3802" />We have approximately eleventy-hundred tons of paper in the house at the moment &#8211; even if half can be thrown away, that&#8217;s a whole lot of stuff that needs filing. </p>
<p>Cereal boxes <a href="http://www.allfreecrafts.com/recycling-crafts/magazine-holder.shtml">make quick and easy magazine holders</a> &#8211; for magazines, notebooks or just papers.  Paint them or cover them with pretty paper (or newspaper for a more modern look) to coordinate with your decor/hide your addiction to Coco Puffs.</p>
<p>If you need them to be a bit sturdier, it&#8217;s also easy to <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Cardboard-Magazine-Box/">make your own magazine files from scratch</a> from any scrap cardboard.</p>
<h3>Wall mounted storage cans</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.leethal.net/">Lee Meredith</a> turned <a href="http://www.leethal.net/zine/?p=900">some coffee cans into fun wall mounted yarn storage</a> &#8211; and the same principle can be applied to any cans.  They can also attached in the same way but mounted vertically to store other things &#8211; like pens, paintbrushes or kitchen utensils.</p>
<p>(I just showed my boyfriend John&#8217;s Lee&#8217;s yarn pics and he said &#8220;phwarr!&#8221; and pointed out that if you attached the cans to the walls with stronger screws, you could use them as fun and functional brackets for shelves.)</p>
<h3>Storage boxes made from old magazines or newspaper</h3>
<p>Old magazines or newspaper can be transformed into storage in a number of different ways &#8211; <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefanie1/sets/1577206/">layered up to make mini-hat boxes</a>, <a href="http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/magazine_bowls">coiled into open bowls</a>, or <a href="http://www.craftstylish.com/item/47658/the-times-they-are-a-changing-how-to-make-a-basket-from-a-newspaper">woven into a useful open box for storing &#8230; more newspapers</a>.<br />
<span id="more-3800"></span></p>
<h3>Upcycled stackable boxes</h3>
<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ice_cream_tub.jpg" alt="ice cream tub">A basic reuse but a goody!</p>
<p>The bits of our lives which are already sorted involve ice cream boxes or shoe boxes &#8211; packaging that&#8217;s sturdy and regular in shape so easy to stack.</p>
<p>The ice cream boxes &#8211; plastic rectangular boxes (either 1ltr or 2ltr tubs) &#8211; are mainstay for our random under-the-sink stuff organising &#8212; we&#8217;ve got boxes for batteries, for shoe polish, for laundry accessories (stain removers etc) and fuses.  The plastic keeps the contents waterproof too.  (Large margarine tubs work well too, just ice cream tubs tend to be a bit bigger &#038; sturdier.)</p>
<p>I use a lot of shoe boxes for craft supplies and in the bedroom &#8211; my winter hats live in one through the summer, my tights live in another for the 364 days a year when I wear jeans, my odd socks live in another ahead of repairing.  They all hide in my wardrobe/drawers but if they were on show, I could easily paint them or cover them with paper.</p>
<h3>Ladders for shelves</h3>
<p>Old ladders &#8211; ones that are a little knackered so not safe enough for climbing &#8211; make great shabby chic shelves.</p>
<p>You can hang then <a href="http://www.housetohome.co.uk/galleries/bathroom/Warm_blue_bathroom_28949.html?subslug=">vertically as a towel rack</a> or you can <a href="http://www.flatimprovement.com/move-ahead-up-to-date-with-a-ladder-bookshelf.html">use them with some other scrap wood to make a bookshelf</a>. Or you can hang them horizontally for <a href="http://www.drawerhome.co.uk/product.php?id=150">longer knick knack shelves</a>.</p>
<h3>Milk bottles for pencils</h3>
<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/recycled-pencil-containers.jpg" alt="milk bottles to hold pencils">I&#8217;ve <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100831/five-fantastic-reuses-for-plastic-milk-bottles">featured these before</a> but I still love the idea if you&#8217;ve got a lot of pencils, pens or that sort of thing &#8211; use <a href="http://www.recyclart.org/2010/07/diy-brilliant-pencils/">plastic milk bottles to make grabbable storage boxes</a>.</p>
<h3>Hanging hooks from old cutlery and toys</h3>
<p>I love hooks &#8211; they let us get our junk up out of the way &#8211; but there is no reason why they have to be boring.</p>
<p>How about some <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jjevensen?section_id=6609129">very cool coat racks using old cutlery for the hooks</a> (or just <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jjevensen?section_id=5962097">stand alone hooks with the same principle)</a>?</p>
<p>Or perhaps you&#8217;d prefer <a href="http://colinseymour.co.uk/dismembered-baby-doll-coat-rack">fun but creepy using old doll parts</a>?</p>
<h3>Old pipes into pan racks</h3>
<p>Staying with the hanging theme, use old piping to <a href="http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20286884,00.html">make a feature wall-mounted pan rack</a> &#8211; or just a hanging-anything rack really.</p>
<p>(Amy of <a href="http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/">My Suburban Homestead</a> used a similar principle &#8211; albeit with new piping &#8211; to <a href="http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-big-homemade-pot-rack.html">make a ceiling mounted pot rack</a> too.)</p>
<p><strong>Do you have any other great upcycling suggestions we should add?</strong></p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle broken ironing boards?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20101220/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-broken-ironing-boards</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20101220/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-broken-ironing-boards#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:13:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ironing board]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[laundry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3706</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Philip Mitchell Graham has left us another suggestion/excellent upcycle idea: Ironing boards. One of the great monuments to inbuilt obsolescence is the common ironing board. They are designed to break after a few years, because the folding mechanism is made of cheap mild steel and the legs often buckle if someone places a heavy load [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ironing-board.jpg" alt="" title="ironing board" width="250" height="200" />Philip Mitchell Graham has left us another suggestion/excellent upcycle idea:</p>
<blockquote><p>Ironing boards. One of the great monuments to inbuilt obsolescence is the common ironing board. They are designed to break after a few years, because the folding mechanism is made of cheap mild steel and the legs often buckle if someone places a heavy load of washing on them.</p>
<p>No matter, use a bit of fencing wire to lock them in an open position, then use them as light work benches in the studio or garden. Sure they are light, but many tasks do not need a heavy table. If you have a few of them, you have in effect a modular bench system that you can reconfigure with no effort. They are light enough to move with one arm which is very useful if like me, you find yourself in need of a bench when you have one arm full.</p></blockquote>
<p>I suspect our ironing board will outlive us since we use it that rarely (in fact we were utterly shocked to find we had one &#8211; we thought it had gone to the furniture charity shop before we moved house).  It feels really flimsy though so I suspect if we used any more than once a year, it would fall apart in a shot.</p>
<p>I like Philip&#8217;s mobile workbench idea. With a tablecloth over it, it could also be an emergency table for a party or bbq.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?  What about if it can&#8217;t be fixed with garden wire &#8211; any uses for the metal pipe legs or the board itself?</p>
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		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle split plastic dustbins?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20101215/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-split-plastic-dustbins</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20101215/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-split-plastic-dustbins#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:03:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dustbin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic bin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3686</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Philip Mitchell Graham has left quite a few comments on the Suggest an item page recently so I guess I should start making my way through his ideas! First up: Old split plastic rubbish bins. I used one as a liner in an old metal rubbish bin. Metal bins often loose their bottoms, whereas the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/plastic-dustbin.jpg" alt="" title="plastic dustbin" width="180" height="250" />Philip Mitchell Graham has left quite a few comments on the Suggest an item page recently so I guess I should start making my way through his ideas!</p>
<p>First up:</p>
<blockquote><p>Old split plastic rubbish bins. I used one as a liner in an old metal rubbish bin. Metal bins often loose their bottoms, whereas the plastic ones often split on the sides. Between the two, I made a perfectly serviceable bin. I expect to get a few extra years of service out of two bins that had no future at all.</p></blockquote>
<p>Great reuse Philip.</p>
<p>Without a metal outer, they&#8217;re useful for storing stuff that needs to be pretty dry but doesn&#8217;t need to be bone dry.  We&#8217;ve got a split plastic bin in our woodstore for kindling &#8211; it keeps it neat and in one place, and not enough water makes it through the cracks to be a problem.  If we had another, I&#8217;d probably use it for my garden stuff &#8211; spare pots and other bits and bobs &#8211; that don&#8217;t need to be in the greenhouse but need to be contained so they don&#8217;t get blown around.</p>
<p>Do you use old bins around your garden too? Do you have any other reuses for them?</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle an electric kettle?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20101112/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-electric-kettle</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20101112/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-electric-kettle#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electronics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kettle]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=3486</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Simon: We&#8217;ve got two old electric kettles in our garage, one works but is very grimy, the other doesn&#8217;t work, not sure why. Can we do anything with them? Electric kettles are covered under the WEEE Directive so in theory, you should be able to send them back to their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/electric-kettle.jpg" alt="" title="electric kettle" width="180" height="250" />We&#8217;ve had an email from Simon:</p>
<blockquote><p>We&#8217;ve got two old electric kettles in our garage, one works but is very grimy, the other doesn&#8217;t work, not sure why. Can we do anything with them?</p></blockquote>
<p>Electric kettles are covered under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEEE">the WEEE Directive</a> so in theory, you should be able to send them back to their manufacturer for recycling.  In practise though, this isn&#8217;t always easy to do &#8211; but most, if not all, councils in the UK have some provision for small appliance recycling at household waste centres.  Some even do periodic doorstep collection of electrical items so do check on your local situation.</p>
<p>It might be worth seeing if the dirty working one can be rescued though &#8211; it might just need some elbow grease and a good de-scaling.  If you don&#8217;t have a use for it, someone on your local Freecycle/Freegle group might be able to use it either for general kettle use (if they&#8217;re happy with how it cleans up) or for non-food purposes.</p>
<p>Fun/pretty old kettles &#8211; or vintage-style new ones &#8211; might also have some appeal as a quirky planter.</p>
<p>Any other reuses or better ways to recycle them?</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle an old doormat?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100702/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-old-doormat</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100702/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-old-doormat#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[composting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doormat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=2790</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Chrissy asking what to do with an old doormat: The bristly kind. Compost it? The bristly ones are usually made from coir &#8211; coconut fibre &#8211; so a natural material that will compost &#8212; but it can apparently takes many years to decompose. That&#8217;s a good thing really &#8211; we&#8217;d [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/coir-doormat.jpg" alt="" title="coir-doormat" width="250" height="200" />We&#8217;ve had an email from Chrissy asking what to do with an old doormat:</p>
<blockquote><p>The bristly kind.  Compost it?</p></blockquote>
<p>The bristly ones are usually made from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coir">coir</a> &#8211; coconut fibre &#8211; so a natural material that will compost &#8212; but it can apparently takes many years to decompose.  That&#8217;s a good thing really &#8211; we&#8217;d have to replace our doormats more often if they rotted every six months &#8211; and it probably would rot down quicker in a warm, moist compost bin than on the doorstep, but possibly one for a long term compost bin rather than a quick turn around one.  (Also, be careful if it has rubber or synthetic backing &#8211; you might not want that breaking down in your compost bin at all.)</p>
<p>In her short and sweet email, Chrissy doesn&#8217;t say why she&#8217;s getting rid of it but depending on its condition, it might be reusable in the same or another capacity &#8211; if I had a spare doormat right now, no matter how tatty, it would go outside the door to <a href="http://www.thereallygoodlife.com/67/chickens/">our chicken run</a> so I could wipe my feet on the way out before traipsing back up the garden.  Or, I made a wellie stand a few weeks ago and it could easily be fitted out with some stripes of bristly coir to help clean the mud off them first.</p>
<p>Any other reuse suggestions?</p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle &#8220;Swiffer&#8221; mops/handles?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100621/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-swiffer-mopshandles</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100621/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-swiffer-mopshandles#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[bathroom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cleaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Swiffer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=2740</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Kelly, asking about reusing a &#8220;Swiffer&#8221; handle: I&#8217;m sick of having to buy Swiffer cloths so am swapping to a regular brush and mop instead. What can I do with an old Swiffer then? Disposable branded cloths aren&#8217;t the only option for using with Swiffers and the like &#8211; there [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/swiffer.jpg" alt="" title="swiffer" width="180" height="250" />We&#8217;ve had an email from Kelly, asking about reusing a &#8220;Swiffer&#8221; handle:</p>
<blockquote><p>I&#8217;m sick of having to buy Swiffer cloths so am swapping to a regular brush and mop instead. What can I do with an old Swiffer then?</p></blockquote>
<p>Disposable branded cloths aren&#8217;t the only option for using with Swiffers and the like &#8211; there are <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&#038;source=hp&#038;q=DIY+swiffer+cloth">lots of homemade alternative options</a>, often reusing and recycling old fabric from clothes, which can be washed and reused like any household cloth.</p>
<p>Looking at the pictures on Google, they&#8217;re look like a pole with a flat bit on the end so I imagine could be used for various other cleaning purposes &#8211; gazing at our filthy window here, I could imagine using it to dry water stains off the glass.</p>
<p>The pole away from the base could be useful by itself &#8211; I remember an old thrifty decorating tip was to use wooden broom handles instead of curtain poles, I&#8217;m not sure if the Swiffer pole would work for that but maybe it would&#8230;  Could the base be used as a sandpaper block when you want to lightly sand a large area?</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle over 1000 mugs?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100524/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-1000-mugs</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100524/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-1000-mugs#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 10:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crockery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pottery]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=2643</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Andy: I work for an Events company based in Newmarket, Suffolk, and I have got over 1000 mugs, which as come back from an event and we need to recycle. Do you know where I can do this? We&#8217;ve got plenty of home &#038; garden reuses for old/broken crockery but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/mugs.jpg" alt="" title="mugs" width="250" height="200" />We&#8217;ve had an email from Andy:</p>
<blockquote><p>I work for an Events company based in Newmarket, Suffolk, and I have got over 1000 mugs, which as come back from an event and we need to recycle.</p>
<p>Do you know where I can do this?</p></blockquote>
<p>We&#8217;ve got plenty of home &#038; garden reuses for old/broken crockery but I suspect most people would find it hard to reuse over 1000 mugs as plant pots or for kids painting sessions &#8211; so we&#8217;re looking for mass reuse, redistribution or recycling into something more useful than landfill.</p>
<p>As with the <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100505/how-can-i-pass-on-quality-new-clothing-for-reuse">other recent substantial amount of new stuff query</a>, it might be worth contacting a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen, or another similar charity that could use them en masse.</p>
<p>As an absolute last resort instead of landfill, they could probably be crushed down for rubble/hardcore &#8211; but it would obviously be better to reuse them before that.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>(Oh and event organisers, check out our &#8220;<a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100408/how-can-i-reduce-the-waste-i-receive-at-conferences-etc">how can I reduce the waste I receive at conferences etc</a>?&#8221; post &#8211; reduce in the first place so you&#8217;re not stuck looking for reuse and recycling ideas afterwards!)</p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle carpet underlay?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100521/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-carpet-underlay</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100521/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-carpet-underlay#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 09:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carpet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DIY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[underlay]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=2637</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not ones to rush, we&#8217;re finally getting some carpet fitted in the room we started renovating when we first bought this house last September. Now this might be carpet sales person nonsense but all the guides we&#8217;ve read about choosing a carpet say that the carpet will last a lot longer and wear better if [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/carpet-underlay.jpg" alt="" title="carpet-underlay" width="250" height="200" />Not ones to rush, we&#8217;re finally getting some carpet fitted in the room we started renovating when we first bought this house last September.</p>
<p>Now this might be carpet sales person nonsense but all the guides we&#8217;ve read about choosing a carpet say that the carpet will last a lot longer and wear better if you replace the underlay at the same time.  The underlay in the room in question is a very good make apparently but judging by the carpet, has been there for at least 20 years.  The old carpet is clearly worn along certain paths and we&#8217;re guessing even though it&#8217;s harder to see it, the underlay is similarly worn &#8211; so we&#8217;ve listened to the advice and are replacing it.</p>
<p>Now of course that means we know have both carpet and carpet underlay to get rid of &#8211; doubling the amount of stuff to reuse or recycle.</p>
<p>We&#8217;ve already <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20060601/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-carpet">covered old carpet in the past</a> and I will certainly keep some of the carpet for those reuses &#8211; insulating the floor of our greenhouse for one, and I think some of the carpet might be suitable for making into doormats etc.  But what can I do with the underlay?</p>
<p>This is a lot thicker and floppier than <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090206/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-foam-floor-underlay">the stuff used under wooden or laminate floors</a>.  I&#8217;m tempted to say it&#8217;s foam rubber but I&#8217;m not sure it is, and I can&#8217;t find out any more about it online, other than it uses &#8220;advanced polymers&#8221;.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?  And any advice on whether the &#8220;you have to get new underlay&#8221; thing is true or bunk?</p>
<p>(Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hannah_and_simon/2122364069/">Haxxah and KraZug</a>)</p>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle veg boxes?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100414/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-veg-boxes</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100414/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-veg-boxes#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[packaging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reducing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[veg box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vegetables]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wooden box]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=2466</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Krystyna left a comment on the Suggestions page asking: I&#8217;ve just had my first veg box delivery and was wondering if anyone had good re-use suggestions for the wooden veg boxes&#8230;? First off, reduce &#8211; you should probably check with your veg box company to see if they have a scheme to take them back [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/veg-box.jpg" alt="" title="veg-box" width="250" height="200" />Krystyna left a comment on the Suggestions page asking:</p>
<blockquote><p>I&#8217;ve just had my first veg box delivery and was wondering if anyone had good re-use suggestions for the wooden veg boxes&#8230;?</p></blockquote>
<p>First off, reduce &#8211; you should probably check with your veg box company to see if they have a scheme to take them back and reuse them as veg boxes.  They might be able to collect old ones when they drop off new ones.</p>
<p>If that&#8217;s not possible, cute vintage apple boxes sell for a mint on eBay so if they&#8217;re nice, one idea might be to keep hold of them for 50 years then put them on eBay in 2060 ;)</p>
<p>More practically, my dad used to use those sort of boxes in the garden &#8211; as trays for holding pots of plants and for storage &#8211; and they&#8217;re great as veg storage boxes too funnily enough &#8211; people who grow their own root veg will probably be particularly interested in them (offer them on Freecycle/Freegle if you don&#8217;t grow yourself).</p>
<p>They&#8217;d be perfect for storage in general around the house &#8211; if they&#8217;re like the ones I&#8217;ve seen, the wood might be a little cheap/rough for fine/snaggable items but sanding &#038; painting might take care of that.</p>
<p>And if all else fails, they&#8217;d make great kindling for anyone with an open fire/stove (assuming they&#8217;ve not been treated with anything to protect the wood).</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
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		<title>How can I repair a vinyl folding door?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20091210/how-can-i-repair-a-vinyl-folding-door</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20091210/how-can-i-repair-a-vinyl-folding-door#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[repair this]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reducing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[repairing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vinyl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=1972</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Yvonne, asking: I have a small vinyl accordion door (single door size). One of the vinyl folds are tearing. How can I fix? There seem to be a range of vinyl repair kits available for fixing small holes in furnishings, which might do the job. Searching around for general advice [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;ve had an email from Yvonne, asking:</p>
<blockquote><p>I have a small vinyl accordion door (single door size).  One of the vinyl folds are tearing.  How can I fix?</p></blockquote>
<p>There seem to be a range of vinyl repair kits available for fixing small holes in furnishings, which might do the job.</p>
<p>Searching around for general advice on repairing vinyl, it seems there is a difference between fixing it and fixing it neatly.  It some places the latter is seen as important but it can be a pain to find vinyl to match the colour of your aged/sun-bleached stuff. On an accordion door, you could make a feature of the repair by using a contrasting stripe of colour &#8211; and uses more stripes to reinforce the other folds to stop their tearing in the future.  That would probably take more vinyl than you&#8217;d get in a little kit though.</p>
<p>Any more detailed fix suggestions?</p>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How can I reduce the amount of bin bags I use?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090827/how-can-i-reduce-the-amount-of-bin-bags-i-use</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090827/how-can-i-reduce-the-amount-of-bin-bags-i-use#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:23:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reduce this]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bags]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bleach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reducing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/?p=1614</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is a lot of chatter in the US and the UK at the moment about putting a &#8220;tax&#8221; on plastic carrier bags to stop shops giving them out willy-nilly. There is already a charge in place in Ireland and I read something the other day that explained while the amount of carrier bags given [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/garbage-bag.jpg" alt="garbage-bag" title="garbage-bag" />There is a lot of chatter in the US and the UK at the moment about putting a &#8220;tax&#8221; on plastic carrier bags to stop shops giving them out willy-nilly.  </p>
<p>There is already a charge in place in Ireland and I read something the other day that explained while the amount of carrier bags given out by shops has dropped dramatically, the number of bin liners and garbage bags sold has increased because so many people used to reuse the carriers in the bin.  That makes it feel like less of a victory &#8211; and it&#8217;s not exactly a huge victory to start with.</p>
<p>The thought of buying something to use to aid throwing stuff away seems really counter-intuitive to my brain but without using bin liners or the like, we&#8217;re constantly having to scrub out our kitchen bin with pretty harsh chemicals &#8211; we&#8217;re not big wasters, we compost as much as we can and most packaging we get is recyclable, so usually the only things that end up in there are pretty yacky.</p>
<p>So is there a line between disposable plastic bags and endless bleachy scrubbing?  I thought about newspapers &#8211; a sheet as a throwaway liner would probably be fine for all but the wettest stuff &#8211; but since we don&#8217;t buy them either, that&#8217;s not an option really &#8211; what is?</p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle a toaster grill?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090513/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-toaster-grill</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090513/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-toaster-grill#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 09:54:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electronics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toaster]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090513/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-toaster-grill</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Rebecca: I have a grill I no longer need, but it&#8217;s a bit grotty so I don&#8217;t think I could sell it on. It looks like this &#8211;> Are there any facilities for recycling items like this? It seems a waste to bin it, but it&#8217;s difficult to clean so [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/toaster-grill.jpg' alt='toaster-grill.jpg' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Rebecca:</p>
<blockquote><p>I have a grill I no longer need, but it&#8217;s a bit grotty so I don&#8217;t think I could sell it on. It looks like this &#8211;></p>
<p>Are there any facilities for recycling items like this? It seems a waste to bin it, but it&#8217;s difficult to clean so we couldn&#8217;t get it into a resaleable state.</p></blockquote>
<p>In the UK, it will be covered by <a href="http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32096.aspx">the WEEE Directive</a> so the place you bought it from might take it back &#8211; or if nothing else, there should be an electricals spot at your local &#8220;household waste sorting site&#8221; (ie, the local tip), where they&#8217;ll get disposed of properly.</p>
<p>If it still works though, it would be a shame to scrap it just because it&#8217;s a bit grotty.  If you don&#8217;t think you can sell it, try giving it away on <a href="http://www.freecycle.org/">Freecycle</a> instead &#8211; someone might be grateful for it in whatever state it is in &#8211; particularly if they have a non-food use for it.  The only non-food use that springs to mind instantly is for making shrinky-dinks but I bet someone with some electrical knowledge could use the heating element/timer for something fancy and useful.</p>
<p>Any other ideas?</p>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle random bits of china/crockery?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090406/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-random-bits-of-chinacrockery</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090406/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-random-bits-of-chinacrockery#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:16:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[china]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crockery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[saucer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090406/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-random-bits-of-chinacrockery</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from ReuseRecycleMom&#8216;s Von, saying: I am recycling my grandmother&#8217;s old tea cups into bird feeders. I thought I&#8217;d share&#8230;. I&#8217;d love other ideas with what to do with odd bits of china. We&#8217;ve already covered some bits and pieces &#8211; like mugs &#038; cups that have lost their handles, and broken [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/cup-and-saucer-bird-feeder.jpg' alt='cup and saucer bird feeder' />We&#8217;ve had an email from <a href="http://www.recyclereusemom.blogspot.com">ReuseRecycleMom</a>&#8216;s Von, saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>I am recycling my grandmother&#8217;s old tea cups into bird feeders. I thought I&#8217;d share&#8230;.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d love other ideas with what to do with odd bits of china.</p></blockquote>
<p>We&#8217;ve already covered some bits and pieces &#8211; like <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20070806/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-mugs-with-broken-handles">mugs &#038; cups that have lost their handles</a>, and <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20060915/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-broken-crockery">broken crockery in general</a> &#8211; but what about other odd bits: cups &#038; saucers like here, or gravy boats, milk jugs and other random tableware.</p>
<p>If they&#8217;re in good condition, they can of course go to charity shops or the like &#8211; the household bricabrac shelves are my favourite place for picking up beautifully ugly china &#8211; but what about stuff that chipped or cracked?</p>
<p>Like with last week&#8217;s baby food jars, I&#8217;ve seen old pretty cups and saucers used to make sewing kits (the cup topped with a pincushion and used for storage, the saucer used for holding pins/buttons mid-job) and old chipped shallow bowls around here are frequently used underneath plants.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle an old rubber bath mat?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090225/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-old-rubber-bath-mat</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090225/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-old-rubber-bath-mat#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:02:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[bathroom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bathmat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rubber]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090225/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-old-rubber-bath-mat</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had a message from Helen, asking: I have a rubber bath mat that the kids don&#8217;t seem to need any more. It&#8217;s (to be frank) a bit manky so I feel I can&#8217;t freecycle it. However I don&#8217;t want to just chuck it either. Is there a way to recycle something like this? All [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/rubber_bathmat.jpg' alt='a rubber bathmat' />We&#8217;ve had a message from Helen, asking:</p>
<blockquote><p>I have a rubber bath mat that the kids don&#8217;t seem to need any more.  It&#8217;s (to be frank) a bit manky so I feel I can&#8217;t freecycle it. However I don&#8217;t want to just chuck it either.  Is there a way to recycle something like this?</p>
<p>All suggestions gratefully received!</p></blockquote>
<p>I&#8217;m sure there are tons of ways to reuse them around the home and garden.  The first ones that spring to mind take advantage of the fact it&#8217;s non-slip &#8211; cut circles out of the least manky parts and there you go, non-slip mats for underneath plant pots or the like</p>
<p>Any other ideas?</p>
<p>(Oh, and if you&#8217;re wondering about fabric bathmats, we <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20081219/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-an-old-bath-mat">covered them a few months ago</a>.)</p>
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		<slash:comments>17</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle a picture frame?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090121/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-picture-frame</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090121/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-picture-frame#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090121/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-a-picture-frame</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Gayle: What can I do with a picture frame now that the glass has broken? It would be cheaper to buy a new one than replace the glass but I don&#8217;t want to throw it out because it&#8217;s nice! I&#8217;d keep it around for use with pictures or other pieces [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/picture-frame.jpg' alt='picture frame' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Gayle:</p>
<blockquote><p>What can I do with a picture frame now that the glass has broken? It would be cheaper to buy a new one than replace the glass but I don&#8217;t want to throw it out because it&#8217;s nice!</p></blockquote>
<p>I&#8217;d keep it around for use with pictures or other pieces of artwork that stick out a bit too much to fit behind glass &#8211; for example, my <a href="http://www.polkadotmittens.com/catsinslacks.html">Cats in Slacks</a> picture (I&#8217;ve got Gordon, in dashing mustard slacks) needs a bit of breathing room because of the button, and Lego designs need loads of space.</p>
<p>You can also <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080708/how-can-i-make-something-to-display-jewellery-out-of-recycled-things">use them to store/display jewellery</a> or take the old <em>Friends</em> approach, and use it around a spy-hole on a door (or a light switch etc).</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>(Photo by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/qute">qute</a>)</p>
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		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How can I reuse or recycle lampshades?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20081024/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-lampshades</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20081024/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-lampshades#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:05:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lamp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lampshade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[light]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lightshade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20081024/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-lampshades</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Bonnie: I hate throwing things away but just found I have SIX redundant lampshades/ceiling light shades in my attic! I need to do something with them but what? Most of them are plastic and fabric but there is a glass dome one too. Presumably they&#8217;ve been dumped in the attic [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/lampshade.jpg' alt='lampshade' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Bonnie:</p>
<blockquote><p>I hate throwing things away but just found I have SIX redundant lampshades/ceiling light shades in my attic!  I need to do something with them but what?  Most of them are plastic and fabric but there is a glass dome one too.</p></blockquote>
<p>Presumably they&#8217;ve been dumped in the attic because they&#8217;ve been replaced/don&#8217;t fit with the decor any more &#8211; but how about trying to recover or modify them so you can use them next time you fancy a change?  There were lots of lightshade-modification suggests when we featured <a href="http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20071107/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-photo-negatives">photo negatives</a> on the site last year &#8211; any other suggestions on how they could be revamped?</p>
<p>What about other reuses?</p>
<p>Depending on the shape/opacity of the glass one, it could be used as a mini-greenhouse or made into a quirky ornament with random things (whatever takes your fancy) inside.  Other suggestions?</p>
<p>(Stock photo by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/L_Avi">L_Avi</a>)</p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle shot glasses?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080917/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-shot-glasses</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080917/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-shot-glasses#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:04:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reverse this]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shot glass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spice rack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spices]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080917/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-shot-glasses</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Clare which is a kinda reverse this thing and a kinda &#8216;how can I recycle?&#8217; thing: My boyfriend has a huge collection of shot glasses in various shapes and sizes (he&#8217;s not a great drinker, so I don&#8217;t know where they came from!) I thought some of them would make [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/shot_glass.jpg' alt='shot glass' />We&#8217;ve had an email from <a href="http://www.claregrant.me.uk">Clare</a> which is a kinda reverse this thing and a kinda &#8216;how can I recycle?&#8217; thing:</p>
<blockquote><p>My boyfriend has a huge collection of shot glasses in various shapes and sizes (he&#8217;s not a great drinker, so I don&#8217;t know where they came from!) I thought some of them would make great spice jars &#8212; but I need some lids for them.</p>
<p>Wine bottle corks are too small. I thought about begging Champagne corks from a local posh restaurant, soaking them to restore their tubular shape and carving them to fit. But I&#8217;m a danger to myself and those around me when using a scalpel.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any other ideas for making lids to fit shot glasses in a variety of shapes?</p></blockquote>
<p>So &#8230; any ideas?  I can&#8217;t think of anything other than those plastic lids you get for open tin cans &#8211; and they&#8217;d be too big and too ugly to use here.</p>
<p>Or any other suggestions for what Clare can do with the many shot glasses?</p>
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		<slash:comments>16</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle old baking trays (sheet pans)?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080822/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-baking-trays-sheet-pans</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080822/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-baking-trays-sheet-pans#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:09:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[baking tray]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sheet pan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080822/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-baking-trays-sheet-pans</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Ashleigh, asking: What can I do with old flat baking trays? They&#8217;re a bit rusty so we can&#8217;t use them for food anymore. Can they go in my green bin? I&#8217;m not sure about the green bin because everywhere has different rules and it also depends what they&#8217;re made out [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/baking_tray.jpg' alt='baking sheet' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Ashleigh, asking:</p>
<blockquote><p>What can I do with old flat baking trays?  They&#8217;re a bit rusty so we can&#8217;t use them for food anymore.  Can they go in my green bin?</p></blockquote>
<p>I&#8217;m not sure about the green bin because everywhere has different rules and it also depends what they&#8217;re made out of but the guys that collect scrap metal around here would probably take them.</p>
<p>As for reuses, the rust might come off with one of those metal scrubber things but it&#8217;ll obviously rust right up again if it gets wet a lot again &#8211; perhaps clean it up and paint it with some rust-preventing paint.  If it&#8217;s got a lip all the way around the edge, it could then be used as tray under plants or for kids to use during messy craft session (the lip might help stop things spilling/spreading all over the place).</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?  What about suggestions for trays that are completely flat or with just one raised edge?</p>
<p>(Photo (and craving for gingerbread caused) by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/buzzybee">Jenny Rollo</a>)</p>
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		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle old windows?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080611/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-windows</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080611/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-windows#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:09:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[windows]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080611/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-windows</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Beth: My husband installed replacement windows in our living room last weekend to replace single-paned, leaky originals. We now have large storm windows and wood-framed glass (non-tempered, I believe) that seems a shame to just break and throw away. Looking for ideas to recycle them ourselves into something useful or [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/windows.jpg' alt='windows' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Beth:</p>
<blockquote><p>My husband installed replacement windows in our living room last weekend to replace single-paned, leaky originals.  We now have large storm windows and wood-framed glass (non-tempered, I believe) that seems a shame to just break and throw away.  Looking for ideas to recycle them ourselves into something useful or someone to give them to that could make something out of them.  </p>
<p>I&#8217;ve <a href="http://twolittlevikings.blogspot.com/2008/06/tackle-it-tuesday.html">blogged about it</a> but you can&#8217;t see the actual window in those pics, just the storms.</p>
<p>Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?</p></blockquote>
<p>When we had our drafty, single-pane windows replaced a few years ago, I wanted to keep them to use in the garden &#8211; to make a greenhouse or cold frame &#8211; but the fitters had to pretty much smash every pane (and most of the walls around them) to get them out.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldframe">cold frame</a> is probably one of the easiest things to do with them &#8211; if you don&#8217;t want to do that, someone on your local Freecycle group probably will &#8211; but does anyone have any other suggestions?</p>
<p>(Photo by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/blatje">blatje</a>) </p>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle washing machine drums?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080502/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-washing-machine-drums</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080502/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-washing-machine-drums#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 May 2008 10:13:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electronics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furniture]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[washing machine drum]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080502/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-washing-machine-drums</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Nathalie, telling us about the fab ottoman she made from an old washing machine drum (links includes full instructions). She also links to another site where one has been turned into a floor lamp &#8211; very cool. Involving less crafts, I&#8217;ve also seen them used as planters in allotments (since [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/washing_machine_drum.jpg' alt='Washing machine drum turned into an ottoman' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Nathalie, telling us about <a href="http://en.espritcabane.com/recycling-crafts/washing-drum.php">the fab ottoman</a> she made from an old washing machine drum (links includes full instructions).  She also links to another site where one has been <a href="http://keetsa.com/blog/eco-friendly/washing-machine-drum-floor-lamp/">turned into a floor lamp</a> &#8211; very cool.</p>
<p>Involving less crafts, I&#8217;ve also seen them used as planters in allotments (since the holes let excess water drain away) and an outside toy bin in a garden &#8211; so they&#8217;re obviously versatile little chaps but has anyone else got any other suggestions?</p>
<p>(Image courtesy of Nathalie and <a href="http://en.espritcabane.com/">Esprit Cabane</a>)</p>
<p>(Oh, and we <a href="http://www.viropop.com/zaproot/episode/ZPR_20080430">got a mention</a> on <a href="http://www.viropop.com/zaproot">Zaproot</a> yesterday &#8211; a cool eco-show.  If you&#8217;re already here, you already know about us of course but still, it&#8217;s nice to be mentioned.)</p>
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		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle old hollow core doors?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080310/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-hollow-core-doors</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080310/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-hollow-core-doors#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:21:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[door]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[headboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hollow core]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[reusing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wood]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080310/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-hollow-core-doors</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Mary asking about recycling hollow core doors. I always see doors of one sort or another in skips around here but Mary has come up with an idea for an old one of hers &#8211; but needs a little help: I would like to make a rattan or seagrass headboard [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/hollow_core_door.jpg' alt='Hollow core door' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Mary asking about recycling hollow core doors.</p>
<p>I always see doors of one sort or another in skips around here but Mary has come up with an idea for an old one of hers &#8211; but needs a little help:</p>
<blockquote><p>I would like to make a rattan or seagrass headboard for my king size bed by covering an old hollow core door, maybe I can use old matchstick blinds, or I&#8217;ll buy some mats, any ideas?  I&#8217;d also need some kind of edging.</p></blockquote>
<p>I really like big headboards like that so it sounds like a great idea.  Mats would probably be a bit more flexible and may bend around edges &#8211; eliminating the need for separate edging &#8211; but I do like the idea of &#8220;bamboo&#8221; blinds &#8211; it seems like it would be less rough to lean against.</p>
<p>Any help for Mary?</p>
<p>Or any other ideas about what could be done with an old hollow door?</p>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
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		<title>How can I reuse or recycle old tableclothes and runners?</title>
		<link>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080305/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-tableclothes-and-runners</link>
		<comments>http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080305/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-tableclothes-and-runners#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:20:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>louisa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[clothes and fabric]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[household]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[material]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[runner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tablecloth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20080305/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-old-tableclothes-and-runners</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve had an email from Heather: I have old ripped worn tablecloths and runners and such and I would like to know how to recycle them or donate them. They are not in good condition to donate to the goodwill or such, but don&#8217;t want to just throw them into an already overfilled landfill. I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src='http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/tablecloth.jpg' alt='Tablecloth' />We&#8217;ve had an email from Heather:</p>
<blockquote><p>I have old ripped worn tablecloths and runners and such and I would like to know how to recycle them or donate them. They are not in good condition to donate to the goodwill or such, but don&#8217;t want to just throw them into an already overfilled landfill.</p>
<p>I was hoping to find something besides &#8220;use them for crafts&#8221;, so whatever you can come up with please help!!!</p></blockquote>
<p>Heh, crafts would be the obvious answer of course &#8211; I quite often buy ugly-cool old tableclothes from charity shops for quilting or whatever.</p>
<p>But non-craft ideas&#8230;  Cleaning rags? Protective packaging around parcels? Pretty drawer liners?</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t want to do anything with them, many council/municipal waste collection sites (and bigger recycling stations) have fabric bins where the textile fibres are collected for reclamation and reuse.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?  Non-craft ones for Heather &#8211; but feel free to leave crafty suggestions for those more inclined to that sort of thing.</p>
<p>(Photo by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ngould">ngould</a>)</p>
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