"Reduce, re-use, recycle"-- each of these actions is mighty important for living a sustainable life. But one of them should be remembered more often: "re-use"! Recycling is important and useful, and it uses less energy to recycle than it does to throw everything in the garbage and produce new ones, but it is not the eqivalent of "giving back". It takes energy and waste to recycle. This is why we should try to re-use whatever we can before it hits the bins. That being said, lets look at some cool ways to re-use our metal cans and glass/plastic jars:
1) Remove any labels to create a pencil holder for your desk. You can decorate it, if you'd like, with pictures, colourful (recycled) paper, ticket stubs, etc.
2) For glass jars, put the dry ingredients to a recipe in them and tape baking instructions to the side. Give the gift of instant-freshly-baked-brownies to a loved one!
3) Re-use as a container for just about anything-- elastics, pennies, cookies... you name it!
4) Use to hold homemade pasta sauce or vinaigrette salad dressing.
5) Make candles in them!
6) Turn into a plant nursery for little tomato plants, etc.
7) Use as flower pot.
8) Use as lamp covers-- no, seriously, see this site for cool pics: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/james-shaw-jar-lamps.php
9) Turn trash into art! Paint your cans and jars, and get creative. These can make perfect gifts even if you have no artistic talent. (And if you are an artist, you could even sell them!)
10) If all else fails, give them to a child as a craft material. You never know what they'll come up with...
Do you want more? Go to: http://www.squidoo.com/reuseglassjars
Lastly, remember to celebrate Earth Hour tomorrow! See my previous blog post for details!
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