How many times have you been cutting a pattern out of felt and looked at the remaining scraps feeling guilty? They aren't really big enough to make anything out of but you just can't bare to throw them away. Or maybe, you slice through cardstock at a whirlwind pace while making exploding boxes, scrapbook pages, etc. and just swipe the left over bits of polka dot papers and strips of patterned vellum into the recycling bin. And I bet you have all looked at a few inches of remaining yarn, thread, or ribbon and just known there is nothing you can do with such a small scrap!?
Ruth, Gracie and I are constantly trying to think of things we can do with what others view as trash, rubbish, disposable or unusable. It really isn't hard - it just takes a change of mindset. And before you start calling us things like "green police" or "tree huggers" please realize that half of our motivation is financial. Well,, maybe a third! The more you reuse, recycle, upcycle and repurpose, the less you have to buy. And for three girls who aren't the richest crafters in the world - that's huge!
What is upcycling and repurposing anyway?
Most people who grew up with the three Rs are pretty aware of what reusing and recycling is. But what about the 4th R, Repurposing? Repurposing is literally what is sounds like. It basically means revamping something with a new use. Reusing a coffee can to capture used oil, keeping your PF Chang's left-overs container to feed Grover his morning kibble, etc.
Now, what about that pesky U?
Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Similar to repurposing but the important part is that upcycling maintains or improves the quality of the materials . Many of the handmade items sold on Etsy are made with upcycled items. There are coin purses made from sweaters, earrings cut out of vinyl records and an old travel case made into a clock, to name just a few. Another example might be taking the Starbucks coffee sleeves that you would normally throw away and using them as mini album pages such as the Las Vegas mini album Gracie made below.
So, the next time you find yourself walking over to your trash can or recycling bin, take a moment to pause. Ask yourself, is there something I can use this for?
