Recycle Week: Re-use, Recycle and Save Money

Given Andrea's upturned shampoo bottle, it is perhaps in order to express a pet hate of mine; namely the inability of some people to correctly stack the dishwasher.


We all regularly use the same crockery and glasses and it doesn't take long to learn how they can fit in the racks in most efficient manner; and thus maximise the load.


In my house, my wife and adult daughter(both with Masters degrees - so not thick!)) seem unable to grasp the concept. A plate can be inserted at an angle covering three spaces and everything else placed without any consideration of stacking efficiently.


At the risk of appearing sexist! can I(tongue in cheek) ask if this is something along the lines of a lack of spatial awareness often attributed to the fair sex.


I have asked several of my male friends who to a greater or lesser degree share my concerns.

I saved £ today by picking sweet pea's from our garden. Colourful home grown flowers grown from seed , in a little pink vase on our table.
The scent is quite strong. No scented candles needed in summer.

Reuse - my grandbabies, that are just learning to sit up are often put in my laundry basket with a few toys at the feet end.
One of their faverote make do toys is a large plastic kitchen spoon. Easy and light to hold. Lots of banging.

Mend - today, I threaded some thin wire from an ex calander top, to the cage of a fan. The fan cage was missing a clip.

I reuse food bags and tin foil too! Shoe boxes are great for storing bits and bobs as well, I've been doing that since I was little!

In addition to participating in the usual recycling schemes run by my local council my other recycling efforts include:

​I use hessian type shopping bags instead of plastic ones;

Repair holes and tears in clothing;

Re-use shoe boxes to pack away items such as socks, toiletries, etc.;

Use cardboard boxes as insulation under the bath, carpets, rugs and under the dog bed;

Compost garden clippings, grass as well as potato and other veg peelings, hair brushing my hair, biodegradable packaging from parcels etc.;

Offer items on Freecycle and donate unclaimed items to charity shops;

Sell outgrown clothing to my local cash for clothes place;

Feed any scraps to the family dog instead of putting them in the bin; ​

Filter used cooking oil and put it in a spare container to be reused;

Re-cycle mushroom punnets to store small knick knacks and other small kitchen items;

Re-use tin foil when it has not torn or gotten sticky from previous dish;

Make chicken soup from the chicken carcass and veg peelings;

Use the free carrier bags from the supermarkets as bin liners;

I use vinegar as fabric softener and as a rinse aid in the dish washer;

I have a battery bin that I bought from Lakeland for testing whether batteries still have any life in them, and those that do not are put into the supermarket battery recycling bin;

I use the small Pringles tins as money boxes;

I also clean out margarine tubs and use them for storing screws, nails etc.;

I use the water from the dehumidifier to water the plants;

I use the unprinted side of paper as a notepad;

I use the same sandwich bag until it becomes tatty for taking a portion of cereal to work each day for my breakfast;

I use clothing that is not in a good enough state to sell to the cash for clothes place as dust clothes;

I use old towels as dust sheets and to dry off the dog after a walk in the rain;

I crush and sprinkle egg shells on my plants to keep the slugs and snails at bay;

Use face wipes to remove my make-up and then wipe down either the toilet or the basin with it before it gets binned;

And finally - save and reuse any gift bags that I may receive