Re-USE

Recycle World image
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

Today I'm going to indulge my crazy habit for collecting vintage kitchen wares. I'm drawn to them because of their unique, colorful and retro designs. I justify the purchases because I believe that by RE-USING old stuff, it's a way of recycling. Plus buying this old "junk" from garage sales and thrift shops is often inexpensive.

Remember Pyrex from the 60's and 70's?
OK, maybe you're not old enough, not to say that I am :-) But one of the things I have collected is vintage Pyrex glass. Not only do they make the table fun and bright, but they are immensely useful for baking, storing leftovers, preparing food and many other uses! Bringing food in these dishes to parties is always a hit.

Check out all of the fun and wonderful ways people use their vintage Pyrex in this Flickr group called Pyrex in Action. It's really inspiring! Do click on the link, I think you'll enjoy it.

Can't we just re-use the old stuff?
It's a sad reality that we need to keep manufacturing new stuff that people buy to keep our economy going. But I also imagine a world where we can re-use as much old stuff as we can before sending them to our landfills. I'm so glad the retro design movement is popular right now... I know I'm not the only one acquiring old junk. :-)

To celebrate Earth Day, I'm thinking about having a contest and give away some vintage Pyrex. I'll decide later... come back soon!

April is Earth month

Earth Energy
Originally uploaded by Auntie K

April 22nd is Earth Day and it's awesome that during the whole month of April we see a lot of media coverage promoting activities and good practices to help keep our environment clean and healthy.

I too will dedicate the most of this month's blog entries to being good to our planet and environment.

I try my best to tread lightly on this earth. I'll admit that I don't do everything I know I should or should not do (for example, I do drive a car), but I believe that even the smallest daily practices help. For example...

1. CLOTHES LINE IN MY GARAGE
I try to hang most of my laundry, especially larger items like towels that soak up a lot of water. Yes, sometimes, I put those items in the dryer for about 10 minutes when they're still a little moist just to soften them up a bit, but at least I dried 90% of it without the use of the dryer.

It's also more gentle on clothes and makes them last longer. It seems like a lot of trouble but actually, once you get in the habit, it doesn't really take that much time - you don't have to hang it perfectly. I learned this from my parents so I've been practicing this my whole life.

2. WALKING TO THE GROCERY STORE
I'm lucky enough to be a 10-minute walking distance to a supermarket so when I don't have too big of a load to pick up, I walk over with my canvas bags. Luckily my bank/ATM and the post office are also in the vicinity so I run those errands at the same time.

I know, I know... life is very busy and who has time? For me it's only 20 minutes round trip by walking, but even if it's 30 minutes, it's a good way to get a little exercise (walk fast) and get away from the phones and computer. It's amazing what it can do to your mental state to stop the frenzy. I just make a choice to give up watching TV or reading a book for that amount of time. Sometimes the trade-offs aren't that easy, but the point is that I TRY to do it when I can. :-)

What small (or big) things do you do on a regular basis to help our environment? Please do share.

About the photo
This amazing photo was found on Flickr.com - click on the image to see the full credits.