The Great 'Are you a re-user - what items do you reuse for max value?' Hunt

Austin_Allegro

Old leather shoe uppers can be cut up with a stanley knife to make patching/repair material, for example on the lining of other shoes.

Obviously only do this if the shoes are absolutely beyond repair; good shoes can be donated to charity.

(Victorian cobblers were adept at this and could apparently make a new pair of boots out of two old pairs).

tenuissent

"The sides of leaky wellingtons can have insoles cut out of them"

That is brilliant - but what about this:

My daughter (very busy hospital consultant, 3 children, relies on me to buy her wellingtons...) has worn the last wellies (bright red) to shreds, and although I have bought her tough new ones, the snow has prevented me from driving 55 miles to deliver them.

Just as I was saying to her on the phone "Can't you wear plastic bags over them?" it popped into my head to say "Actually, why don't you wear the plastic bags inside them, over your socks? That way they don't wear out in 10 minutes."

She has been doing this for 2 weeks now, and it is so successful that she is thinking of keeping her red wellies in London, and her new wellies out here.

Win, win. Recycled boots, recycled plastic bags, hours and hours of sledging with her children, warm dry feet.

SharkyGeorge

Primrose wrote: »

One pint plastic milk bottles will hold two servings of whizzed soup for freezing.

For anybody selling small individual cakes like cup cakes at fund-raising cake sales, the plastic punnets from supermarkets which contain tomatoes, nectarines, etc, are ideal for selling small amounts as the cakes don't get squashed as they would do in plastic or paper bags.

Egg cartons could be good for this too!

fizzlebottom

Everything 'vegetable' goes on the compost heap
Everything 'edible' goes to the cats which live on the allotment

When I have used face cleansing cloths I don't throw them away but put them in the hot wash and reuse them as face cloths with a bottle of supermarket cleanser. They are lovely and get softer which each wash. I buy new wipes (hardly ever) when they are on offer to replace worn out ones.:D

mp11h

Some packaging ideas:

Even if padded bags are beyond re-using you can separate the bubble wrap from them

Sturdy plastic carrier bags can be turned inside out and wrapped around parcels for posting or used to make mail sacs

Lots of household containers can be used for sending things in the post - my favourite is laundry tablet boxes which open up easily if you want a blank exterior

You can use the contents of your shredder for packing the spaces in boxes, or, for making up gifts, e.g in baskets, try shredding tissue paper for a more decorative effect

Don't buy sticky labels - just use the blank sides of junk mail and some sellotape

Parcel tape is my biggest ally in the cheaper packaging battle!

Talking about making up gifts - if you have a box of toiletries you're going to pass on, try splitting it. You can put a couple of items into a little basket, a make-up bag or simply make into a gift pack with cellophane and ribbon. Especially good for little tombola prizes at Christmas Fairs etc.

blackberry-rum

Eenymeeny wrote: »

Maybe I should be putting this on the hoarders thread but like a lot of others I've kept a lot of gift bags and find that I don't give a lot of gifts these days. (Not working now, family abroad, economising etc) I wonder if anyone can suggest an alternative use, or somewhere who would use them?

Hi EenyMeeny: I bet the local charity shop could sell your used gift bags ... otherwise if there are people on a pension living near you, or an old peoples' home, they might appreciate them as they don't always have money to spare for fancy wrappings (I reuse the bottle bags, I don't care if it's christmassy and I'm giving a bottle in june, I'll still re-use the bag!)

Figgerty

I use a lot of the tips already mentioned by others but I was amused by the suggestions for toilet paper but nobody has mentioned the one below.

When I visited my grandmother back in the 1940's, she had a basic outside lavatory and in summer she kept a stock of large soft green leaves for use as toilet paper, they worked very well - a tip for gardeners.

I cover the crossbar of wire hangers with bubblewrap and they make excellent hangers without leaving a mark on trousers. Bubblewrap curtesy of jiffybags or free packaging.

I reuse old tatty socks to shine boots and shoes. Old socks can also be stuffed in the toes of shoes or boots.

I cut large cardboard boxes to make trees for my tall boots, they work very well and are free.

I rarely have carrier bags but when I do they are used in the kitchen bin and the small bags in the bathroom bin. I see some idiot in our flat recycling scheme uses them for their papers.

Clear film canisters are the most useful container over many years. I have used them for storing many small items in my tool box or sewing box incl. assorted spare buttons, small nails and screws and many other small items. I also used to use them for potions to take on holiday. I now use free hotel size bottles for potions.

Good luck with all your reusing.

Figgerty

My grandmother 'turned' the collar inside out on my grandfathers shirts. The side against the neck wore out long before the rest of the shirt and by undoing the stitching, turning the collar around, stiching it back on, the shirt was wearable again. She also knitted all their socks and when the heel wore she would darn it to get another years use. It was a make do and mend time and they did it out of necessity.

Another trick she used was to cut a worn sheet in half and stitch the unworn sides together leaving the worn sides on the outer edge to be tucked under the mattdress.

building_with_lego

My OH met one of our elderly neighbours out walking in the snow this week. He asked her whether she needed any help so she could stay inside, but she pointed to her feet and said, "It's ok, I've got my socks on!" She was wearing bands of old sock around the middle of her feet, over her shoes. It struck me as a great way to utilise an old sock, as you could easily make two bands out of each one.

It's getting harder to come up with new ideas on this thread...did I manage it?! :rotfl:

Firemunchkin

I'm trying to get better at mending clothing, but haven't a clue how to darn! I think I will practice turning a collar inside out on one of OH's old shirts, but usually the cuffs are also worn too so might see if it works there too. If all else fails, his shirts are great for patchworks or bunting!

I'm trying to see if I've a use for those wire hangers you get from the dry cleaners. Sometimes I gather them together and take them back in - it saves my local a little money and means they get re-used. I wish more people did that, there must be millions of the things in the rubbish bins!

At work we have those large tubs of coffee, and I'm trying to think of another use for them. They're foil lined with a plastic lid - not totally airtight but they've got to be good for something. I don't need any more containers at home so struggling for ideas.

Since joining this thread I've been noticing what I do and don't re-use a lot more. My preference is always to reuse as much as possible than to recycle straight away, and I do throw away more plastic than I'd like to. Plastic bottles, plastic meat containers, plastic veg containers (the ones without lids) etc. I don't want my house to look like Steptoe's but I'd like to think there's something worthwhile to do with these things.

Any ideas??