Reuse and Up-cycling: How to get the most out of your items [Week 16]

Posted On December 17, 2020

You don’t have to be super creative to find ways to reuse or up-cycle items after they’ve fulfilled their purpose. But it does help.

Amanda Drews, 7 minute read

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Reuse is right up there near the top of the Waste Management Hierarchy Pyramid.

I’m going to include up-cycling in there since it’s a type of reusing. Remember how we want to stay near the top of the pyramid? When we are making choices on buying things, we concentrate on first reducing the amount we have. If you find you are constantly trying to figure out what to do with certain items that you frequently buy, you might want to reconsider why and how you are buying that item in the first place in order to reduce waste.

But what if we already have an item?!

So part of reducing our consumption includes the reuse of the things we already have. I know this seems like common knowledge but when you consider that Americans throw away about 81 lbs of clothing every year (BBC, 2020), it seems like the point is not quite getting across. Even if you no longer care about the items you have, you are still responsible for trying to find a way for them to be reused again.

Even if you no longer care about the items you have, you are still responsible for trying to find a way for them to be reused again.

Reusing an item means you use it multiple times for the same purpose.

This could mean you yourself are benefiting from multiple uses, you’re using something that someone else bought new or you pass on an item to another person. Here’s some examples of reuse:

• Using a reusable water bottle (I’ve found the Klean Kanteen one below is the most leakproof bottle I’ve ever used)
• Giving your kids old clothes to a neighbor that just had a baby
• Bringing a cutlery set to work instead of using disposable forks, knives or spoons
• Keeping a reusable straw in your car for drinks (we have both types below that we like)
• Shopping for items in antique or thrift stores, buying them used online, or accepting family heirlooms
• Keeping plastic food containers, like yogurt tubs, for holidays and sending leftovers home with visiting family

Look and see what you have or what others have before purchasing new items for reuse. If you do want to buy some new reusable things though, there are lots of options for swaps.

Up-cycling involves changing or reimagining an item, sometimes for an entirely different purpose

Up-cycling is where crafty and creative folks can really shine! Some people have an eye for seeing the potential in an item where everyone else just sees trash. They might have the skills to fix something that was broken or just know that a coat of paint can make all the difference. Or maybe it still looks hideous but is now serving a functional purpose instead of just ending up in the trash. Here are some examples of up-cycling items:

• Using a wooden pallet and some leftover siding to create a vertical herb garden
• Taking a hanging wire shelving unit and creating a cucumber trellis
• Old baby food jars that now contain touch up paint for rooms in the house
• Cardboard boxes, wine bottle separators, and tubes being used for hides or enrichment for animals
• Transforming an old entertainment center into a dress up wardrobe (like my friends Erin and Josh did! pictured at top)
• Adding a fresh coat of paint to an old bathroom vanity

Reusing or up-cycling an item sometimes means we are going to have to put a little work into fixing it.

In our county, we have Fix-It clinics throughout the year where volunteers help people try and fix items they feel they can’t fix themselves. The volunteers try to teach the people with the item how to fix it for the future.

Here are some other resources for finding items or ways to pass on your items to someone else. Or if you live outside of the Twin Cities, they may be a good idea for a start up in your area!

• Tool libraries– The Minnesota Tool Library has over 5,000 tools you can use! This would be especially helpful for a project that you are only going to need that tool for once. They even have project series learning opportunities and workshop space.
• Toy Libraries– Boy, wish I knew about this before having kids and filling up my house with toys! The Minneapolis Toy Library is available for families with kids under 5 and works much like a regular library.
• The actual library-remember those?! Also those Little Free Libraries people put in their front yards are awesome for both using and donating books to. They can serve as a good motivator for getting your kids out on a walk as well!
• Online Resources– Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Buy Nothing groups-Odds are if you are looking at buying a piece of furniture from Ikea, you can probably find it on one of these sites for much cheaper and already assembled. Be sure to exercise caution when dealing with people you don’t know online.
• Your friends and family-if you need something, ask around. Or share items within your community. Does every family in the cul-de-sac really need a snow blower or lawn mower or could you all go in on one and work out rules for it’s use?
• Thrift stores, consignment and antique stores– all of these deal with taking an item and finding a new home for them. Some local specialties around Minneapolis are Repair Lair for outdoor gear, Bellies to Babies for used maternity wear and Wild Things Antiques for vintage finds for the home.

An awesome thing the city of Bloomington does is have their Citywide Curbside Cleanup weeks. They section off neighborhoods and once a year will pick up bulky items that normally can’t be put out for the people that pay into it on their hauling bill. Not only can people have the chance to clear out their homes but the city becomes a haven for pickers! The sound of rented trailers can be heard throughout town from people who have found items they need. Mattresses, furniture, odd construction material. You never know what you are going to find!

Steps to help you practice getting into the habit of reusing and upcycling instead of chucking things into the trash

1. Think “Is this something I don’t need or is it something I don’t want?” This can straddle a thin line between good reusing and hoarding. So watch out! If that’s becoming a problem, assess your “collection” every year and get rid of the things you didn’t end up reusing or set a date for that item.
2. Is it broken? Can I fix it? Could someone else fix it?
3. Could someone else benefit from having this? This is where you want to have your arsenal of resources on how to share items with people in your community.
4. Could I change it to serve some other purpose? This could be for you or someone else. If that item was even just a different color, would that make a difference?
5. If you are all done with it, what’s the best way to dispose of it. Sometimes you get to this point and that’s that. Think about the Rules of Recycling and whether or not your item may be Household Hazardous Waste.

Local Feature: Wild Things Antiques

Here is a local Minnesota antique store with a twist. They basically sell cool stuff to cool people.

Meet Josh and Dave of Wild Things Antiques. Josh is a emergency room nurse and Dave has been a part of the antique business his whole life. This married couple started out their shop in Cincinnati, Ohio but have recently opened a storefront in Fridley, Minnesota. They have a base of mid-century pieces but also love anything that’s fun and funky.

They buy and sell things they like so it’s not your Grandma’s antique store. Well, parts of it may be. Which is part of the fun and can bring back a lot of the nostalgic memories people have. Everything you are going to see there is being reused and will help keep items out of landfills. For items needing some love, Dave is the guy in charge of refurbishing and Josh takes care of the hardware and structural changes.

Here are some transformations they’ve made with items they have saved:

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Check their store out or browse their collection online. Whether you are in Minnesota or across the globe they can get the item you want to you. Bring the family with! They want everyone to have fun with their experience in the shop.

1. Take a few minutes to Google what resources your community has to offer as far as used items go. What stores or groups are out around you that deal with reusing and up-cycling.
2. Start your own Buy Nothing group if you don’t already belong to one. Not only is it a great way to find or get rid of things, it’s an awesome way to meet people you live close to.
3. Move on to Week 17 to learn about Dandelions.