Reduce, Reuse, Recycle-Aluminum

Aluminium cans can be recycled at your curbside pickup, and Americans actually do a pretty decent job of recycling this material, but we can continue to do a better job by reusing cans and other aluminum materials  around our house in many great ways.  According to Greenwaste.com, less than 1% of the total US waste stream was made up of aluminum cans, however the energy required to replace that 1% of waste would be enough to meet the electricity needs of Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and Seattle combined!  Keep America Beautiful states that recycling 1 aluminum can could save the approximate amount of energy needed to run your television for 3 hours-just one little can!

So, in honor of these statistics, we've found some creative and useful ways to reuse cans and other metal items in your own household to keep these items out of the trash.

Have some old aluminum bakeware?  Cookie sheets can be turned into cute message boards for the kitchen.  Cupcake tins can be great drawer organizers or paint holders for the artist in your family.

courtesy of FamilyFun Magazine

Courtesy of Domestic Charm

As for reusing aluminum cans, the possibilities are endless.  Everything from functional organization to decor, food serving and kitchen ideas to gardening containers-take a look at these great ideas (also found on our Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Pinterest Board).

Drawer organizer and Art Supply organizer from HGTV

Can tabs to coordinate outfits from Ideabottle and a scarf organizer from HGTV

4th of July Windsock, 3 Tiered Vase, Hydrangea Vase Collection can all be found at Under The Table and Dreaming; Twig Vase from Simple Homemade

Fruit and Cupcake Pedestals can be found with many other crafts from this page on Under The Table and Dreaming

Biscuit cutter and wine rack from Real Simple

Wall garden (can also be used for herbs) and flower caddy from Under The Table and Dreaming

Spring Cleaning: Ridding Yourself of the Unwanted

So you've gone through your closets, pantry, and drawers and realized...there's a bunch of stuff here I don't want.  So get rid of it!  If it's something you haven't worn in over 6 months-get rid of it.  If it hasn't expired, but has sat in your pantry for several months and you have no intention of using it-get rid of it.  If it has expired and has sat in your pantry (or refrigerator)-get rid of it FAST!

Once you've pulled out all of the unwanted things-be it clothing, food, or knick knacks-sort it into two or three categories.  1.) Donate 2.) Trash  3.)Sell (only if you really, really, REALLY think you can and will sell it).

If food is past its prime-toss it.  If you have unopened items that are still good, think about donating it to a homeless shelter or food drive.

You have several options if the unwanted item is clothing.  If they are in good condition you could sell them in a garage sale or to a consignment store.  You can also just donate them to Goodwill or The Salvation Army to get them out of your house.  For t-shirts in poor condition-turn them into rags to clean the house or wash the car.  Jeans can sometimes be cut into shorts, turned into a skirt, or even a purse.  Old sweaters can be turned into mittens or even pillows!




http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/




http://www.notjusthandbags.blogspot.com/

http://www.brassyapple.blogspot.com/

Collect the miscellaneous items hiding in drawers like batteries, old electronics, the excessive amounts of plastic grocery bags, or even old appliances hiding out in your garage and find out where you can donate them.  Some companies will even come to your house to pick up items free of charge.

Now that the clutter has been cleared stay tuned for the next post about what products can help you stay organized.

Happy Cleaning!