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

sumi

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Hi all, I'm curious to see how we can re-use and recycle and up cycle things that usually goes into the trash, or landfills. Some examples from my side (sorry I don't have pics):

I used to know a girl that washed out the plastic sachets she bought milk in and re-use them for bagging plants.

We used small yoghurt containers for the same: plants.

A guy I knew turned a broken freezer into a shelter/kennel for his dog!

Show us some pics of your projects and uses?
 

Denim Deb

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No pics, but I found some plastic mesh netting (fence?) out in the trash. I grabbed it up real quick. It will be part of the cover for my new chicken pen. And I used a bunch of broken 4x4s to make a round pen.
 

Mini Horses

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Some peoples trash is another's treasure :hugs

My son is always saying "why do you have THIS" about some of my finds/saves. When you are frugal, you re-cycle. On a farm there is rarely a day when I don't need a piece of wood, fence, etc. My stockpile is often the saving grace. No cash outlay or trip to store.
 

sumi

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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…
 

Britesea

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My in-laws are on opposite sides of that fence; she saves, he doesn't. There's an old family story about a time when they were living in a tiny old mobile home with two kids; not much extra room. MIL had finally broken down and bought a new broom and she gave the old one to FIL, telling him to cut off the old bristles and store the handle because it was a perfectly good piece of wood. "Where am I going to put it?" he said. "You can slide it under the house- it will fit just fine."
About a month later, he was fussing because he needed a piece of round dowel for a project he was making and he didn't have the money to buy it. "Why not use that old broom handle?" Dead silence... and a stricken look. He had obviously not done as she'd suggested, lol. After that, he got a lot better about saving stuff.
 

baymule

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We got 3 feeder pigs about a week ago. Prior to that, we built them shelter. I call it the Hawg Hut. I already had everything that went into building the Hawg Hut, except the tube of black asphalt roof patch. Even the screws were leftovers from other projects. I posted it on BYH, here's a link. And the pigs are really enjoying their Hawg Hut!

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/hawg-hut-or-goat-or-sheep-or-dhs-new-digs.32088/
 

Beekissed

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Just about everything I build is recycled, upcycled, refurbished, etc....I could write pages about them all, but I'll spare ya. The past few weeks I kept 250 large bags of leaves out of the landfill....some on the garden, some stored for coop bedding(they are currently being used to form a warm dog house for the new pup in my spare pen...pen is made from scavenged pallets), some went straight to the coop, some will go on perennial beds.

LL


LL


Also scavenged some overripe pumpkins and melons at a farmer's market...for free! They were just tossing them out into the field next to the stand, so I stopped and asked for them. Will feed them to chooks this winter.

LL


Saved this old rocking chair from the curbside trash, put a fresh coat of paint on it, reinforced the seat where it had split and put turnbuckles on the legs. The pup LOVES it..so does the Grand Girl.

LL


LL


This is just a few things from this fall but have many more. I'm always making something out of nothing here...I like it and I find it to be a creative outlet for me that goes along with my frugal nature.

Need to get a pic of the forge my son just built out of an old steel drum, some weedeater shafts, a brake drum from a car, an old metal grate, some pieces of lumber(salvaged from a gymnasium floor many years ago) and a few pipes. I'll get a pic when he fires it up next time.
 

Beekissed

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Today I repurposed the top portion of an old cat carrier into a tunnel to place on my back coop pop door to keep out my 4 mo. old LGD pup. If this doesn't work, I'll use the bottom portion to extend the tunnel even further.

LL


LL
 
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