We have a stone floor in the kitchen; a very hard, very cold, stone floor. In the summer, when it’s hot, it’s fantastic but in the winter, it becomes a game how we can step on it the least (I’ve cooked dinner kneeling on a stool on more than one occasion).

As much as we dislike it then, there is one collective entity that hates it more: our crockery. One slip when we’re washing up and – smash! It has no chance really.

When saucers or shallow dishes break cleanly, into just a couple of pieces, we glue them back together to use under plant pots and handle-less mugs are collected in the under-sink cupboard to be used for “bits” – but are there any other ways we could re-use them? What about stuff that can’t be glued back together?

Or should we just bury them deep down in the soil for future archeologists to find and give them final proof that our society worshipped a God named “Microwave safe”?

(Photo by acerin)

I know most water cooler bottles already go back to the supplier for reuse or recycling (she says, hopefully) but what about ideas for those ones that get lost along the way?

John rescued one from a skip near his work the other day and brought it home thinking we could use it as a cloche or something in the garden – but since we already have lots of drinks bottles set aside for that purpose, I’m trying to think of something else to do with it instead.

The plastic is so solid it seems a shame to cut it up but there isn’t a lid so I can’t think what we would bottle in it.

Any suggestions?

A few years ago, I went through a spate of buying candles. We don’t use them much any more but have been known to have the old candle-light game of Scrabble or lit by candles, eat soup inside a den built out of cushions and quilts in the middle of the living room (we are possibly not as mature as we should be at our age and still like building dens).

Anyway, from those times when we have used them, we’ve got a number of chunky candles still around the place but while their external wax is still fine, they’re insides are all melted away and the wick is pretty much non-existent.

So what can I do with old candles?

Can we make new candles by reusing the wax from the old ones?

Or are there any other good/fun things we could do with them?

(Photo by jilted)

A few weeks ago, I did a post about old tennis rackets but what about old tennis balls?

What can you do with them once they’ve been punctured or misshapen to such an extent that even the dog rejects them as a play thing?

(Photo by vierdrie)

We’ve had a message from Lindsay, wondering what she can do with an old radiator.

She’s posted it on Freecycle but hasn’t had any interested in it – so has anyone got any ideas about how she can recycle or reuse it?

She hasn’t said whether it’s a cool old one like in the picture or a more modern one but suggestions for either would be appreciated.

(Photo by bzride)