Ideas/ways to re-use/recycle "rubbish"?

That's a really neat idea and super useful

That would work for many of the smaller animals we often have about. It makes a nice sling for weighing also. Kudos

I was gonna write about how i used an old egg carton to grow some herbs for the kitchen window sill. but, as usual, i see the things you guys do and i feel a little inadequate. . . (just kidding). it isn't only the things that get built, but the creativity! (with the possible exception of repainting the rocking chair... (i love the picture of the doggies, by the way)

This is why i keep coming back to this site. You guys provide me with continual insight and optimism. I'm gonna go out and wander the neighborhood and see if i can't find something to do with myself.

I am the least creative about re-purposing things. I am always amazed by what I find and usually I show my husband, who's like yeah... I already thought of that... He's a great re-purposer. I get mad at him because he saves everything, but he always proves me wrong by using random things to save us a ton of money!

sumi said:

When we lived in SA, we sometimes employed a wonderful man from Mozambique to help out on the farm with jobs. He was terrible, just terrible, about gathering things and dragging it home. Everything and I mean everything got dragged off. From defunct electric appliances to building junk. Gosh, he used to laugh and shake his head when he saw what we threw away... We asked him about it one day and he told us the most basic items in Mozambique costs the earth, so they learned to value and fix and reuse everything. When I first came here to Ireland and saw all the abandoned houses and cars I often thought of him and joked with my DH, that he'll need a container ship to go home on, should he ever come here…

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Sumi, you remind me of something i heard on the cooking show "Jacques Pepin". he told a story about his father and how he didn't like to throw anything away. Jacques said that if his father ever had to throw out a piece of stale old bread, he would "kiss it goodbye". Then Jacques added in a hushed tone: 'he probably didn't throw it away, he probably gave it to the dog...' that is very sweet, i think.

Aww, that is sweet!

Today I gathered all the bits and pieces of cut wood we have used for various projects. Not much to look at but it will be a nice dry area when it's raining or snow is on the ground.
Chickens dust bath area.

Now to clean out the wood stove and add ashes.

I love that!!!! I can't get chickens to dust bathe where I would like them to do so...that would be a dream. They only want to do that where it's going to cause a problem.

My son removed an old section of picket fence and small picket gates at his place recently and would have put them in the trash, but I snatched them up, along with the treated 4x4 posts they were on.

Made myself an old/new garden gate with one section but will have to splice together two of the gates to make a gate big enough for my other garden gate. Used a sticker scavenged at Lowe's(FREE...those things are free for the taking! ) to brace this gate. Used an antique drawer pull for the handle....I've got a whole bag full of those I picked up cheap at a flea market some years back, so I've been using them in the odd place here and there.

I love your gate Beekissed the older or older looking the better for me. I really like those drawer pulls too.

I built my chicken coop from materials I had in my "treasure pile" LOL