Be sustainable

 Ready To Reuse

Reusing, refilling, repairing and swapping are better for the environment than buying new or even recycling. I don't particularly like recycling because I really don't know what actually happens to the stuff I "recycle". Of course, it is a lot better to try and recycle stuff than to just chuck it into landfill, but is my "recycled" glass jar really getting turned into new glass or is it better to hang on to it for future use? I tend to hang on to it. Is the plastic I do put into the recycling bin really turned into new material or will it end up as waste to be burned or stored in another country? 

I think it is better not to create rubbish in the first place and to try reuse, refill, repair and swap when ever possible. I know that it is not always possible to avoid things going into landfill, but a bit of thought might help you stay more alert. I changed my shopping habits and avoid things which are wrapped in too many layers like big bags with lots of small bags inside or fruit and veg being wrapped. Things being over packed now really turns me off buying them. 

Thinking about this I was always a person who would reuse stuff, doing it all my life. It started with tearing used pages out of my sisters old exercise books to reuse them in school and save my pocket money which I would have needed to buy new ones. I also wore lots of hand-me-downs from my sisters and cousins. So there was no need to be envious about my sisters new silky green dress because I knew, next year it would be mine.  

My first flat, and all the subsequent places where I have lived, were mostly furnished with things other people didn't want any more. My furniture came from the spread out rubbish. Crockery and cutlery, as well as linen, was mostly stuff my mother and my aunt didn't need or didn't want any more. I can remember that it was difficult to find chairs and so I was sitting on crates before I had saved enough to buy some. I also remember that I found a table once which I carried back home on my bike and shoulder. Do you know what? I still have that table and it is still in my dining room. It is rather big and I would never part with it, unless I find a good home for it. I still have most of the furniture I found on the roads of Offenbach. I like things with a history and they are precious to me because it is not only that they have a past but they have a past with me as well. They are not really something special but they are special to me and they fulfil a function. 

Reusing old furniture, old cutlery, old linen and old crockery is not only kind to the planet and the environment. It is also kind to your purse and leaves you with more money for more important stuff like looking after your health with Homoeopathy, so that you can give me a ring on 07813 195468. Ah, and Homoeopathy is also very good for the environment and the planet, so book an appointment. 

One of my beauties, I guess it is 1950's.