Birds on a String: Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

These used to be pine log pieces that Kevin made into these beautiful fish!

Don't you just love those words? I think we have always been a family that is conscious of what we are using and throwing away. My youngest brother would line the cans up like dominoes on the basement floor. He would then use a concrete block to crush them one by one. So, thirty years ago, he was reducing the amount of aluminum going to the landfill, recycling them by turning them in for cash, and repurposed a concrete block into a can crusher. He was incredibly efficient, much more than the can crusher we have on the garage wall. First, he had to space all of the cans so he didn't knock one over while crushing, and there were lots of them! Winding all over the basement he would then start crushing, lifting that concrete block over and over again and he could get pretty fast so not only was he building muscle, he was getting a good aerobic workout. Then he had to pick them all up and carry the bags upstairs and off to the can man! I really can't remember a time when we didn't recycle something. Newspapers, cans, bottles and jars, plastics...just about anything! We did throw stuff away, but we also reused stuff too! I don't remember our clothes being handed down, I was the only girl with four brothers so maybe the boys had some. Reruns maybe? I have three daughters so there were some hand me downs there. Not so many though because they always seemed to be different sizes when the clothes would be in season. We still recycle cans, plastic bags, and newspapers, have a compost pile, grow a vegetable garden and try to buy items that have minimal packaging. Do I sound like a tree hugger or what?! Not really, I just like to think I'm aware of what we really use and try to keep stuff out of our landfills!
The repurpose part is pretty new! With all of the girls moving out over the last couple of years and needing to furnish houses and apartments, we have been frequenting Habitat ReStore and the second had shops. Who knew there was so much great stuff out there!

Check out some of the stuff we repurposed into really great "new" stuff!

Chairs from Habitat ReStore that we recovered, I think they should be painted glossy black!

An old parking meter that is now a garage ornament.

An umbrella base that now supports a parking meter.

An old ceiling tin is now wall art! Click the link below to add to your cart. Each piece is custom order, after you purchase, you will be contacted for more information. These take 2-3 weeks to deliver from the time of order. Shipping is additional and depends on your location. Contact us for more information.