Recently I went on a bit of a “clean out” purge! Not sure why, if I were pregnant I think they’d call it nesting. I’m not talking about your normal clean out, but seriously thought out “repurposing”. It feels very good, because in doing so, I was doing “good”.
I share with you just a few of my examples, just incase you decide to do a bit of a purge yourself!
- Your son’s old sports trophies. They live in the top of a closet, or under a bed because they can’t get rid of them, but they also don’t want them in THEIR homes, and it’s just fine thank you very much for them to live with me, LOL! After keeping them for years (really, my sons are now 37 and 34) I did a bit of research and found a place northwest of town that takes the old trophies apart, reassembles them with new nameplates, and gives them to teams who cannot afford the cost of trophies for their kids. Eldest son did go through the box one last time, a walk down memory lane I’m sure – but now those boxes are gone and the only thing in that closet currently? Empty hangers for the next house guest.
- Your old wedding dress. Yup, that dress you thought you would die if you didn’t have it when you spied it on the page of that bridal magazine in (EGAD!) 1976. You felt like a fairy princess when you walked down the aisle to marry the man of your dreams and live happily ever after. (That dress is so outta date it has sleeves! Have you seen sleeves on any dress on any bride in the past . . . say, . . . 10 years?) Even if your happily ever after or man of your dreams didn’t work out as mine didn’t, you still have that dress? Well, there’s a group in my city called “Angel Gowns” and a friend mentioned it to me when I was sharing how I didn’t know what to do with that huge gold foil wrapped “heirloom keepsake” box at the top of my closet. I contacted them and they were thrilled to take it off my hands. They take it apart, clean it and make it into small and beautiful burial gowns for the parents who have lost an infant. Goosebumps!
- Sampler size cosmetics, creams, hair products, etc. clogging up your bathroom drawers? We’ve all received them whether walking through the cosmetic department, or in the mail, or at a style show. Ever bought a beauty product and they give you a small tote full of tester samples? Can’t quite throw those away even if no one you know could possibly have a skin tone that color? Nail polish? I always bought the color I had put on at my manicure so that in case I chipped it, I’d have the right color to repair it . . . only I now have shellac’d nails now so no chips and no repairs. I must’ve had 20+ bottles of nail polish. A curling iron you never use? Why I ever bought it is beyond me since I spend most of my life fighting the curl, wave and frizz I have with a flat iron! Empty all those out of your drawers and take them to a Woman’s Home or shelter near you. When those abused women leave their homes, it’s generally quickly with little or no time to take anything with them. How easy to do something so simple and know you’re helping a woman on the road to recovery, and feeling beautiful again.
- Old towels, blankets, sheets, pads laying around? You think you can still get some use out of them but since they no longer match anything, or you’ve changed color schemes, or they have a slight stain that just won’t come out – yet you just can’t NOT use them, that would be wasteful, right? There are animal rescues and shelters galore that would gladly take them off your hands. If you’ve been to your local shelter and seen the scores of dogs and cats in kennels and standing/sleeping on cold concrete floors – it breaks your heart. They’re abandoned, they’re thrown away like household garbage, they’re lost, alone and scared and do not understand where they are and now they have to sleep on cold concrete? Call ahead but I’m betting they would be thrilled to take those old linens off your hands.
These are just a few of the examples of the repurposing I’ve been doing lately. It feels really good. So how about it? What can you repurpose today? And besides? You’re keeping these things out of a landfill and doing a small part to be eco friendly. A win-win!
Let me know if you think of another useful “repurpose”! I’m looking to keep this up for a while!!
suddenlysinglewomen 
So good to purge “stuff” and do good by doing so! I recently did the same and I will add to the list of donations that you can bring to an animal shelter: shredded paper! If you shred, think of taking the bag of shreddings to the local shelter instead of throwing it into a landfill.
Didn’t know about the shredded paper! Probably good for the bottom of cages. I usually shred old bills and either recycle them with packing fragile things when I ship, or recycle with the newspapers. All good ways to keep paper out of the landfills!! Thanks for the idea!!