Waste Not, Want Not - what have you reused/recycled today?

sparrer

I save all peel, scraps, ends of veg, fruit etc in a polythene bag. When it's full I put it in the sc with a tray of liver, a couple of eggs, a couple of garlic cloves and a glug of olive oil, let it cook through then blitz with a stick blender. Add flour (any will do) til dropping consistency, put it in a big roasting tin, mark into squares with a pizza wheel and bake til set. Results in enough dog biscuits for about a month, you know what's in them, and costs about 1/10th the cost of shop bought.

Bobarella

Ilona wrote: »

Hello, I am not sure that using up food found at the back of the cupboard comes under the heading re use and re cycle. I took it to mean an item which has been changed or altered to make something else entirely different. Like take something apart and put it back together again to give it another life. Something you would normally throw away, but keep it because it might come in useful for something else, and to keep things out of landfill. Last week

I rescued two big pallets from a house renovation down the street. They are now in my garage because I will use them to make something else. Up to now I have made a shoe rack, an outdoor table, raised beds, and a greenhouse out of old recycled timber and pallets.

Also I don't consider using up my leftovers as re-using. Yes, I might make something the following day with it, because I never throw left overs away.
Ilona

I took the thread title of waste not want not, which is often applied to food waste, particularly in the current climate as appropriate. But apologise if I have got the wrong end of the stick.

GreyQueen

Have finally got around to scrubbing and using the tiny marbles, those titchy h.g spuds which are so fiddly that they get overlooked. They are in the steamer now, will be part of my evening meal. Be great not to have the dish of them sitting on the counter waiting for attention.

Loving the story of the re-purposed brown primarni bags. I really love parcels wrapped in brown paper, it's lovely stuff, and those bags are good and strong, and you've saved buying new paper (plus they can still go in the recycling afterwards). Win-win.

Was on my allotment today and sorted out the stuff in the bucket, the one I sling non-organic thingies from the soil into (itself a bucket sold with fat balls for the birdies in it, I always ask that they be kept for me). Fished out the four chunks of bottle glass to wash and they are now in the bottle bank. I reckon 95% of the stray glass on the allotment is window pane glass and thus not suitable for recycling in the bottle banks, but where I can, I like to recycle the bottle glass.

I have balls of yarn in two different colours, both pulled out sweaters hand-knitted by Mum which had got rather limp and tired, and which I shall knit a lap rug from, which I shall enjoy doing and which will save them from being chewed up for textile recycling.

And I have been given a pumpkin. Or a small squash, dunno what you'd classify it as but I shall make it into something next week, such as a chili or a soup.

samanthaneww2d

I'm just inspired by what people comment on here to be more proactive with the things I waste tbh. I am going to try to do more repurposing of items

p00

I was cleaning out the baking cupboard today and found some gelatine dated 2012:eek:

The other dayI found a box with essential oils and fragrances in that disappeared years ago.

I asked my son to save me all the baby food jars they have and yesterday he brought me a dozen or so of them. I feel like getting into candle making since I had a gift of a candle kit years ago and its sitting in the loft doing nothing.

Today I made 5 gel air fresheners with half the gelatine and some drops of the essential oils.

5 minutes and cost virtually free since the stuff probably would have ended up in the bin eventually. Im using one now in the conservatory and it smells lovely. Not something I have ever though of doing before.

xxp00

Airthrey

I cut up old cotton clothes too holey and tatty to give to charity shops into small pieces and use them instead of paper towel in the kitchen. Don't use them for food but for minor clean ups.

Evil_Olive

Groan - thanks tru - that's my evening gone now - have you seen the length of those threads - I won't be able to not read them now though

I was hoping to find something more geared to sewing, particularly clothing though - must be a lot of old stylers that do dressmaking or upcycle old/charity shop clothes, surely?

it would be fun to see how other people have altered things beyond all recognition, customised them, made them fit or brought them up to date

I'm thinking along the lines of people posting before and after pics of their projects with a bit of blurb about what they did to it to achieve the end result.
Tips & tricks for minimum effort size/style alterations, stories of really nasty things you've managed to turn into wearable things, how you've managed to incorporate bits of your scrap or haberdashery stash you thought you'd never use.
Pics of things you don't know what to do with so that other posters can suggest ideas,
that kind of thing.

Will keep looking (once I've finished reading those two threads)

tru

I've found THIS, it's not what you're looking for but it's the closest I could find - looks like you'll have to start your own thread

kboss2010

Bobarella wrote: »

I took the thread title of waste not want not, which is often applied to food waste, particularly in the current climate as appropriate. But apologise if I have got the wrong end of the stick.

Personally I'm not that fussy about what people post in here, all forms of reducing wastage in whatever form are cool!

I'm just enjoying reading everyone's interpretations of "waste not, want not", re-cycling, re-using and general using up odds and ends instead of throwing things into landfill.

Thank you to everyone who has posted so far and good job on saving money and keeping things out of the bin :beer:

katkin

I've lost a bit of weight due to being a bit more frugal with my portion sizes. It's good news, I could be doing with losing a good few pounds. However, my clothes are getting loose - including my knickers lol!!! Instead of buying new things I've had my sewing machine out, taking in and altering things. It's been a big success, I'm well chuffed.