THE "R" WORD

RECYCLE  -  REUSE  -  REPURPOSE

Pick one. Shoot, pick 'em all! We're firmly entrenched in a world where activities beginning with "re" have taken on an importance we never envisioned--if "re" were a person, he/she would be crowned monarch of the universe.

Well, maybe not that important. But, important, yes.

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Recycling - Like many people here in my little town/city in Northeast Indiana, I recycle. 

As you no doubt know, that means I save my cardboard, junk mail, glass bottles, boxes of various types and sizes, plastics 1 through 7, and all advertising materials that come in the mail or are inserted in the crack between my storm door and the frame.

The above items are what my community allows to be recycled--the understanding is that these things don't end up in the landfill. Being a good citizen, I place all recyclables in the bin provided to my household so it can be emptied every other Monday. The bin in trundled out to the curb, and at the end of the day (or earlier) the bin is trundled back to its resting station near the garage.

Although I never see those same disposables again, I suspect I've purchased any number of items made from what I donated or what was donated by nice folks hundreds of miles away. Little hints: "This bag is made from 80% recycled plastic." Or, "Shipped in 100% recycled paper." 

But my favorite is something I rarely use--for several years I've saved and donated plastic caps from bottles, jugs, and other containers: medicine boxes, milk jugs, twist-off soda tops, and the flat plastic covering off the yogurt carton. All these I donate to whomever I know--or can locate--who is saving them for someone who is sending them to somebody somewhere who makes park benches. Yes, park benches. If you haven't come across these, go to a park or picnic area or other facility (the YMCA in my town has a bench on each of the four corners of its property)--all colors; our local ones are bright blue.

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Reusing - This has been a way of life since I was a pup, and long before. I don't think there was ever a time when I had a one-time-use item. Okay, I'll grant you facial tissues and toilet tissue and even paper towels--but before we had these disposables, we used: handkerchiefs, Monkey Ward catalogs, and old rags. Don't believe me? Ask somebody you know who's over 60 years old; make sure it's not somebody who grew up in a wealthy family.

The aforesaid old rags were the last vestiges of clothing somebody in the family had worn, and worn out. When there was no longer enough fabric to hold the patch over a hole, then it was time to "reuse"; for example:

buttons - removed and put in the button box for use on other pieces of clothing that had lost theirs

zippers - if in working order, then carefully removed from the dying fabric and stored for use in another garment

pants legs - please don't laugh until you hear the whole story. Thank you. I married into a family of collectors--books, stamps, rocks. . . yes, rocks. Lots of interesting things you can learn about the natural world by looking at rocks, and studying about them to find out what they can teach us. Rock hunting was a regular activity for my kids and their dad and granddad. Now, clearly, rocks can get heavy after a while. So the lower part of a pair of old jeans (buttons and zipper removed already; see above) was cut off, a seam stitched across one of the open ends, and the resulting sack, about 12 inches long, would hold an acceptable weight of rocks. A piece of rope or twine tied around the top was sufficient to keep the rocks in the sack until the rock hunter was back in the car.

And the leftovers after the above cannabilization became rags--for washing the car, wiping up spills, cleaning hands after changing the oil in the car--anything that called for a rag. Which would later be discarded, or, if not damaged beyond all keeping, washed (with other rags), hung on the clothesline, and added to the ragbag for a later date.

Another way to reuse an item is to restore it--another "re" word. Sometimes the restored (also called refurbished) thing can be used for the same purpose as before. You'll find people in the business of restoring--art work in museums; furniture in stately homes or museums; vintage clothing used in dramas, reenactments, festivals; or merely bringing an old piece of furniture up to date. I have an oak washstand that I purchased for ten bucks from my landlady nearly 40 years ago; it had been used to store nuts, bolts, and greasy tools. After restoring, which I think cost me about $300, it was said to be worth twice that, if I wanted to sell it. I didn't.

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Repurposing - this is the new buzzword. Take something old, worn out, unused, out of date, and find a new use for it. Give it a new lease on life. In my household, a wardrobe circa 1930s has become a storage unit for fabric, quilt patterns, leftover batting (large scraps only), and partially completed projects. The hanging area, intended for clothing not to be folded, now houses large pieces of fabric stored on padded hangers and pieced quilt tops ready to be finished.

One shallow drawer was reserved for painting supplies, and the other shallow drawer holds paintings, studies, and color charts, none of which is framed.

My daughter's nightstand is a vintage trunk; she's been known to use an old leather suitcase, sitting up on end, for the same purpose. Takes less room than the trunk in a small room.

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I don't know if we can somehow use the "R" words as guides in our lives. But let's explore that a bit:

Recycle - can I take my old feelings and disappointments, give them away for someone to transform them into something else? My church tells me I can do that very thing.

Reuse - can I take the same talents and gifts and flaws I've had all along and use them, perhaps, to help someone who's going through a hard time? 

Repurpose - can I, at my age, become a different kind of vessel for good?

Worth a try, don't you think?

Til next time,

Thursday's Child