Posted by Snow in 
Want to recycle but just never seem to find anything that appeals? Recycling works backwards. Re-use means you transform something old or used into something new. But the chicken has to come before the egg at some point. You can’t re-use stuff when you don’t know what to look for or what project it is likely to work for.
And some great opportunities pass by because the stuff that you might most want for some purpose has not been made clear for how it can be re-used.
1. Foam Beverage/Soda Can Holders
These insulating foam soda can holders are everywhere, usually with a slogan or some kind of promotional advertising motto because they are cheap to make and print. Use these to put under those terribly painful shin-barking bed frame corners that hurt really, really bad. Or send as a gift to those people with the really painful frame corners in the guest room.
2. Rulers/Slat Wood
Take as many of these as you can. Sand them down using grinder with sandpaper attached or sandpaper to smooth wood. Cut them down to size after dipping one each in shaken up paint cans lining your garage shelves. Bore or punch a hole in the end of each plain nonpainted end. Make a keyring and attach ball chain to each one (like rabbit’s foot chains). Use these when shopping to match project items, textiles, sale curtains or fabric, whatever you can re-use the paint for.
3. CD Spindles
If you have a knitter in the family, know a purl or two, or have a garage or scrapbooking maven who need some organization, source and collect those CD spindles with plastic covers. Thread, twine, yarn, or ribbon can go into these for seasonal wrapping, garage tasks, backyard growing, and garden uses. Anyone working with these knows stray ends can make a knotty mess in no time.
4. Giant Foam Fingers
These foam fingers start life as fun sporting event accessories for rabid fans. But after the old ball game, all that chemical foam and industrial strength coloring and chemicals rinsed down the drain to make them has gone to waste. Save this resource sustainably by using them as knee pads for garden work. This way cement poured driveways, knobbly concrete borders, and prickly twigs get blocked while doing those deep weeding jobs.
5. Baby Food Jars
Baby food jars make stunning catchalls for the tiny little things like tacks, bobby pins, makeup parts, project components for the re-assembly, the pantry, and more. Baby food jars can be washed and disinfected and the labels scraped off with dental floss, fishing line, or edge of razor blades. Glass baby food jars or any small jar makes an excellent emergency
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