Wire coat hangers? Easy peasy of course; I often find myself craving wire coat hangers just so I can reuse them – perfect stiff but malleable wire for all sorts of household and garden uses, as well as craft stuff.
But plastic ones from shops? With those, I’m at a loose end. The vast majority of clothes I buy are super casual t-shirts & tops but the shops always try to insist I take the hangers too even though the t-shirts have “I will live in a drawer” stamped all over them (well, not literally. Except on that one shirt).
Knickers too. Who on earth hangs knickers up apart from shops? Those hangers are the worse because they’re so flimsy you can’t even reuse them as hangers around the home.
I always say ‘no, thanks’ when asked about hangers – and try to mention it if they don’t ask – but I don’t always get a chance and so we have a surplus around the house. I’m also rather sceptical about what happens to, particularly the flimsy ones, when left in the shop: am I just leaving it from them to throw away instead of me?
Sigh. So any ideas? Anyone know of any recycling companies collecting clothes hangers? Any reuses or upcycling ideas?
Best Suggestions
- Reduce: Just say no! Leave them at the shop. But do make sure they’ll reuse or recycle them.
- Pass them on: Some charity shops take donations of good quality hangers to use in their shops. And some shelters/re-homing organisations provide them for residents use in the shelter and when they move onto their own homes.
- Reuse: Upcycle them to make peg bags, hanging storage units, mobiles or fun padded hangers.
- Recycle: Some big supermarkets collect plastic clothes hangers for recycling – check with your local store or local council for locations.
- See the comments below for more suggestions and ideas
(Photo by Capgros)
Categories: household, items
Posted by louisa
on 23 June 2006
For some reason, all our towels have decided to go threadbare at exactly the same time. Well, when I say “ALL our towels”, I mean the top two bathsheets and hand towels that are in the endless use/wash/cupboard/use/wash… cycle – the ones underneath those in the stack are, presumably, fine since we’ve not used them for years (we’re not thoughtful enough to rotate stuff like that).
So anyway, we have a holey bathsheet and two holey handtowels – both gone in pretty much the centre and in patches elsewhere – so my initial idea of chopping them down into flannels/smaller towels has been somewhat eliminated.
Any suggestions about how they can be reborn? Any crafts/upcycling ideas?
Best Suggestions
- Reduce Make your towels last longer by hanging them in a well ventilated place to dry between uses (so they don’t get damp & smelly as quickly) and after washing, line dry them rather than using a tumble dryer – like with clothes, the intensity of washing & machine drying damages the fabric over time. (Also avoid using too much fabric softener – the chemical deposits quickly build up and make towels hard and scratchy.)
- Pass Them On: Animal shelters use a lot of towels – unless they’re completely falling apart, they’d probably welcome a donation.
- Reuse: Reclaim as much fabric as you can and turn it into a bath mitt, a dog tug toy, or a rag rug bath mat. If there aren’t any big enough pieces for that type of thing, cut it into small pieces and use it for toy/cushion stuffing.
- Recycle: Towels are usually 100% cotton and the fabric can often be reclaimed. Look for textile recycling bins in your area.
(Photo by jellofishy, c/o sxc.hu)
Categories: bathroom, clothes and fabric, items
Posted by louisa
on 22 June 2006
Oh, I hate trying to photograph transparent things but oh how I love muffins. Sweet, sweet muffins with your sugar and your chocolate and your ability to crumble all over my clean white t-shirts (thanks muffin, thaaaaanks).
How I love the way you’re there for me in the morning when I want a snack and how well you coordinate with both tea and orange juice (although not both beverages at the same time, bleugh).
But how I hate your packaging: its formed plastic and its inability to photograph well. Boo! Boo!
If only there were some other uses for your packaging so I could enjoy your goodness without feeling green guilty at the same time…
(Today’s post brought to you c/o a muffin-induced sugar rush)
Categories: items, kitchen, packaging
Posted by louisa
on 21 June 2006
Another suggestion from SaraR:
Hi guys. Thanks for the great ideas for what to do with the leftover coffee – I told one of my colleagues and now she’s taking it home to use on her garden.
Anyway, I have another one for you based on another of my naughty addictions – red wine. We have a number of cork-corks and plastic-corks lying around the house and add to the number regularly, but I don’t know what to do with them. Do you have any ideas?
We’re not wine drinkers so we don’t have much call to reuse or recycle wine corks or the plastic synthetic equivalents so any suggestions for SaraR would be very useful indeed.
I know there are a number of popular wine cork crafts – most commonly noticeboards or trivets – anyone got any specific favourites?
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Categories: food, items, kitchen, packaging
Posted by louisa
on 20 June 2006
I know, we all hate them with a passion. But despite taking cotton bags when we go shopping (most of the time…) and using them as bin liners, we still have about seventy-nine billion plastic bags in the house.
We have two of those bag tidy things full, another load wedged between the freezer and the wall, and then ones from clothes shops and the like in the bedroom (because they’ve yet to walk downstairs yet).
What, oh what, can we do with the accursed things?
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Categories: household, items, packaging
Posted by louisa
on 19 June 2006
