My grandmothers seemed to keep everything and threw away nothing – or very little. Amazingly, they did well at it and their homes never looked cluttered or messy. Mine however, looks like a flea market gone wild.
In the kitchen they would save food scraps for the chickens and family dog. The egg shells, banana peels, coffee grounds, etc. were dumped around plants and rose bushes while bread heals (the ends of the loaf) were saved for bread crumbs or for making croutons. I get that and other than feeding the dog table scraps, totally agree with everything they did.
Toilet paper rolls were saved to encase cords on appliances and extension cords not in use. Empty bottles were saved to hold other “liquidy” things around the house or were made into cut-out wind mill type things to scare away the birds in the garden. The list goes on! Matter of fact, here is a lovely little list of how to recycle and reuse common items around the house.
However, who has the room for all of this stuff to sit around waiting for a use? Not me and in my little living space, it is even more of a challenge to keep it clutter free.
So in an effort to de-clutter my life (mentioned in an earlier post) I have been sorting and giving away or selling off my unwanted items while recycling those plastic, paper, glass and metal items that most people don’t want to bother with.
Like I said in that earlier post, I usually haul off my stuff to Goodwill or save it up for our Church’s Annual Teen Garage Sale but few weeks ago, I ran across a few online selling sites (Listia.com and Yardsellr.com) and soon after that, I was introduced to a few “fan pages” and “groups” on Facebook that encourage you to list your “free” stuff to keep the landfills… well, empty!
Bartlesville is just starting to get into the swing of recycling and people are catching the bug; or at least are finding ways to encourage the process. These sites have allowed me to meet other people and exchange items that I no longer need or want. A precious lady took about 15 books off my hands last week and another lady is gaining a pile of fabric that I had good intentions for, but no time to work on those intentions; if you know what I mean.
If you can’t find anything in your area like this – then start one on Facebook. Invite all of your friends and they will invite their friends and voila’ you have a way to share your stuff with others without leaving your couch or where ever you are.
I noticed that the top items being traded, sold or given away, were baby items. We all know how expensive THOSE things can be and what a great way to save money or make a return on our investments?!
The next big thing was movies and books. These are hard to sell unless someone is specifically looking for them or they are best-sellers. I gave mine away after having listed them on Yardsellr for a week and no bites. So, someone else gets to enjoy them. To be honest, I am actually limiting my book shelf to a few “books” since I have converted to the Kindle. Saves space and money, but more on that later.
All in all, everyone wins and the planet is a bit happier.
Happy Recycling!
The Graham Cottage
Here are the links to the Bartlesville Facebook pages:
The Gingham Cottage 