We’ve had an email from Ang, asking:

What can I make with the wire dippers in the PAAS egg dying kit? I have a whole bag of them.. how can I recycle these?

Maybe offer them to a local school for them to use at Easter?

I’ve never dyed eggs so I don’t know how strong they are but could they be made into little hanging pen pots? Nail/push-pin the hoop to a wall/noticeboard/cubicle and clip pens onto the ring – or stitch a small fabric pouch onto the ring to drop pencils into?

Any other suggestions?

We’ve covered the nasty cheap plastic good-for-little coat hangers you get given (usually whether you want them or not) at clothes stores but Elizabeth Phelan wants to know about other types:

I have lots of wire hangers and nicer quality plastic hangers (not the ones they give you from the retail stores). Do you know where I can take them to have them recycled or reused?

I’d see if the local charity shops could use the better quality ones and I’d keep some wire ones around the house for those emergency prodding and poking situations that require a sturdy bit of thin wire – but that wouldn’t be suitable for Elizabeth’s “lots”.

So any suggestions? Elizabeth lives in Northern California so location specific recycling points would be great – but if you know somewhere outside that locale, feel free to add it in case it’s of use for someone else.

(Photo by Capgros)

Had an email from Brian Hunting:

I’ve got an office waste paper bin, the wire framed sort, that’s gone rusty. After it left rust stains on the carpet my wife banned it from the house.

I thought about making it into a hanging basket for the garden but think it’ll be too deep as is and I don’t know if I’ll be able to cut it down without losing its shape. I wondered if your readers had any better suggestions instead.

So then?

(Original photo by brokenarts)

Had an email last week from Kate Spencer. She had lots of good ideas for ways we can develop the sites (thanks Kate!) and a couple of suggestions so here’s the first:

I’m busy tidying up after Christmas, and because I have a 3 year old I have lots of those annoying plastic ties that manufacturers use to fasten toys into the packaging.

She realises there are some obvious reuses – such as bag-ties, “I fastened our Christmas lights onto our balcony with them” and to tie-up plants in the garden – but wanted to know if anyone has any other suggestions.

For anyone not familiar with what she means, it’s little thin strips of wire coated in plastic that can be bent over and the ends twisted together to make a secure (ish) tie. They’re also used in computer components packaging and that sort of thing. The photo is of the lightweight sandwich bag equivalent – because I couldn’t find any others. : )

(Oh, and happy new year everyone!)