Recycle, Reduce, Reclaim, Repurpose

Since we are snow bound again today--now a weekly Friday event apparently and subject for another blog--its time to check in with y'all. Snowbound means its not TBTB (too busy to blog).  As my New Year's blog suggested I'm big on reusing things in various ways. In fact I am big on all four of the concepts in the title. No I am not a minimalist and I don't dumpster dive (but I have picked up furniture from the side of the road much to CD's chagrin--it was a white wicker headboard and we had to put the top down on Petunia to get it in).  We recycle as much as possible with what's available in our county and without roadside pickup. Yup we haul it all into town to the recycling center there--paper,glass, mental cans,plastic,aluminum, cardboard.  I also like to go through stuff and give away as much as possible--sometimes in exchange for labor, a little bartering. Our Dish guy is going to help me set up the new wide screen when I get it in exchange for the old rear projection TV. He will even help move furniture. In the last week I have given a non profit a printer and a desk chair. I have also given a good friend 7 almost new shirts--5 from Fresh Produce and 2 Foxcrofts in a rainbow of colors--which I have gotten too small for (another blog).  My books are going to the library book sale as I slowly shed most of those. Once I gave a trunk load of silver pieces to a friend who loves silver. This was after I realized I hated polishing silver. We also compost (1-15-10 blog). I have pieces of lumber that have been shelves in four different place--dining room in old home, guest bedroom this house, my Ex D office, and now garden house here at the lake.
Today's blog is about repurposing. I love candles, especially those that come in glass containers. Many of these containers are just too attractive to pitch. I went through a time when I saved all the containers. I also save candles pieces with the idea that I would melt them down together and refill the glass candle containers with new wicks and the melted candle wax.  Well that never happened and I was just beginning to feel like a hoarder. So, the glass got recycled but still.....
I have come up with some really pretty good uses for some of these containers. This little one was just perfect for holding paper clips on my desk .

My latest one however was to use three containers as party nibble bowls. Two of these--the dark green and the clear with green lines--are from Thymes Fraiser Fir candles. The dark green is really heavy glass and feels like the real deal, The amber one is a no name candle picked up cheap at TJ Maxx. What attracted me to it was an elaborate filigree pattern in slightly darker amber. I actully bought it for the container not the candle. 

These three on a wooden tray--not the one shown-- looked fabulous.  One had a walnut cranberry mixture, one an oyster cracker/ranch dip powder combo, and the third wasabi almonds. 
To prep these containers after the candle is burned down I put the candle on a candle warmer and then pour the resulting liguid into a paper cup. I wipe the glass out with paper towels while still warm, pulling out the ends of the wicks with the metal disks. Next I spray Goo Be Gone into the container and wipe out again with paper towels. Next it goes through the dish washer to get rid of any Goo Be Gone residue. The containers come out sparkling. I tried skipping the spary step but the dish washer will not get out all of the wax that inevitably remains when the liquid wax is wiped out.  I've also used this method to create jars to fill with decorative items like CD's beloved purples (as in sea shells).

BTW, a way to extend some candle life of those that burn down in center and live a thick wall of wax around the container is to melt down the candle on warmer pushing wax from the sides into the middle. Remove old wick and insert a new one--can be bought at places that sell candle making supplies or even Wally World. Wrap free end of new wick around a pencil or pen (I often use a chop stick) laid across top of container. This keeps wick upright while candle wax is cooling. When cool snip wick to desired length and voila--more candle time. It also makes for a low residue candle when its time to repurpose.

Well, y'all be good and we'll talk at you soon. Gotta check the snow situation.

New Years Luck

There are many traditions surrounding New Years from partying hardy to First Night Watch.  One I have followed faithfully for years because it feels right to me is the idea that cleaning something out on New Years Day brings you good luck for the year--an out with the old, in with the new which feels good. Usually this actually starts in the getting-ready-for-Christmas period at my house.  I start to see stored things that really don't need to continue to live at my house and either get pitched or donated.  This year's plan actually emerged from a long term renovation of a renovation of my study. When I retired from professorhood in 2005 I got rid of hundreds of academic books and their bookcases as well as a two wall desk. This was replaced by a smaller desk made of filing cabinets and plywood.

Here I have already started removing stuff from the top of the desk in anticipation of the renovation. The chair by the way is Mr P's and came from his study in Dallas when we moved his stuff in 1990. Actually the whole re-enovation was prompted by two things: my retiring from the nonprofit as executive director in Spring 2010 and the purchase of an HP notebook somewhere along the line.  I also got a neat desk from pottery barn that lived in the bedroom.  I found that I simply did not use the computer in the the way I had when I worked. I used to spend hours in the study. Now only in the morning for meditation and prayer. 
It had become filled with left over office stuff and files from two careers that were just sitting around. In the fall I started going through filing cabinets and ditching--mostly recycling-- what really we no longer needed.  I also had moved my old laptop, etc up to the upstairs bedroom. Finally at Lutyens bench I had bought for the front porch was wintering in the study. There was definitely a stuff overload.
Soooo, New Years morning was do it day.  First I moved the oak filing cabinets that were empty out of the study and into the livingroom to move into storage where they can store stuff.

The next step was getting all the crap off the rest of the desk. The old printer is in the trunk of my car to be donated. Some stuff is already set aside for burning (has SS# on it), some in trash, and some in recycle but alot will have to be sorted through piece by piece. So the next step was getting rid of the other plywood desk top. The remaining two oak filing cabinets are still full and I had decided to leave them for now was end tables

The white shelf in the forground was also holding up plywood and needs to be sorted and put somewhere. Needs a wood top as well. Once the last piece of plywood was out the vacuuming could begin. There was a lot of stuff as well that had lived under and behind the desk which got stacked around like old brief cases.

Here is the final product. A whole new seating area. No you can't see the rest of the study. It looks terrible. But each day I though more stuff which gets pitched, donated, recycled, or reused. What I like about this tradition is if you keep it up you do not show up on Lifetime's Hoarders.

By the way, I told Mr P that I had taken apart the desk down in the study. He laughed and said "Again." I sat there and thought about it what he meant and then realized he was talking about seven, yes, seven years ago. His desk has been there over 20 years. It may have the original dust on some parts. Just ask CDuckster.