Don't throw out! Use, Store, or Donate.

When it comes to spring cleaning and getting rid of all of the junk that you no longer use take a moment to consider where you might be able to send that stuff before concluding that it is rubbish doomed to a landfill. Also in your everyday dealings with waste consider these alternatives that are more environmentally friendly.

Getting started with the spring cleaning.

Appliances:
Old appliances when no longer useful or obsolete tend to take up space in a house. I still have an old Apple I-mac I am holding on to for no good reason. Some appliances still have value and it is easy to sell them on websites such as http://www.trademe.co.nz/ or in shops such as Cash Converters. If someone else can make use of it and you can profit from it then why not?

If that doesn't work you can try giving it away for free on websites such as https://nz.freecycle.org/. Here people give objects they don't want and take objects that other people no longer need. This website encourages re-purposing of everything from televisions and keyboards to glass jars and microphone stands.

Apple Imac. Taking up space and not being used.

Household items:
Anything intact and not electronic can generally be gifted to a second hand store, clothing, furniture, household goods, toys and books.

You can find your local Salvation Army Family Store here.
You can find your local SPCA Op Shop here.
You can find your local Wellington Vinnies Opshop here.
You can find your local Wellington Mary Potter Hospice Shop here

One of Wellington's many Op-shops.
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Clothing:
As well as the Op-shops listed above, there are some places that will take only clothing. Recycled clothing experts such as Rebound Clothing and SaveMart will take all clean clothing, even if it is ripped and useless.

Read here how SaveMart recycles through every step of their business:

Where does our stock come from?
It comes from various sources including:
1.Clothing Bin Contracts,
2.Recylcing Projects,
3.Woollen Mills,
4.Clothing Manufacturers,
5.Carpet Manufacturers,
6.Imports,
7.Surplus Stock,
8.Seconds and Opportunity Stores.

Hundreds of dedicated employees sort the incoming stock in to those items deemed suitable for sale in our stores, only the very best quality makes it onto the shop floor. It is value priced to sell in the same week. Unsold stock is removed after 4 weeks.

All wearable clothing etc that is unsuitable for sale in SaveMart stores is sent to Papua New Guinea where there is great need for clothing especially in the highland villages.

Inevitably there will be garments and material that are not able to be used again as originally intended, these can still be recycled as follows;

Cottons are made into Cleaning Rags, Knitted woollens and acrylic go to India to be made into blankets for relief organisations, Carpet yarn is used in the insulation industry.

Our aim is to recycle everything possible.

The inside of a SaveMart store, full of recycled clothing for sale.
http://savemart.co.nz/images/SaveMart_New_Brighton_065.jpg

Clothing Bins can be found in most suburbs throughout Wellington.
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As a person who always tries to make the most out of what I have got I tend to accumulate things, I'd like to differentiate between my thriftiness and being a hoarder because I try to use the things I accumulate. I have little containers filled with bits and bobs that I use from time to time. Here are a few examples of the stuff that I have that I hold onto for later use instead of throwing away.

Paper. Empty excercise books, blank paper, coloured paper, I have a pile of all sorts of paper that I can use whenever I need it. I use it to draw pictures, design my next project, scribble on, write lyrics or poems on, anything that I need blank paper for I have it sorted.

Shelf full of assorted leftover paper, to use when I have need. 

Scraps of paper. I tend to accumulate scraps of life in the form of paper, whether this be ticket stubs, pictures, words, cards, post cards, photographs, or any number of other beautiful things; I tend to keep them. I have previously organized these onto cork boards, but more recently I have compiled them into a scrapbook. My scrapbook is a way for me to remember many scraps of time in a creative way, I glue all of the different pieces into the book, and then draw and write words around it; I empty my brain of all of the memories associated with that physical piece of my history.

A few open pages of my scrapbook.

Some of the images and physical memories within my scrapbook.

I have old notebooks intended for drawing in. I challenge myself to fill them up, here I get the most crazy images that come from my mind, they are for my eyes only unless I choose to share them, and I get to use the pen and paper in a way that nobody judges. I challenge you to find an old notebook around and to fill it up with ink in anyway that you can.

A Sneak peek from my weird doodling book.

Other Junk: I keep a lot of other junk hidden away for when I need it. I use old containers to store things in. Have a look at this older blog post about storage conatiners for some examples.

As you can tell I try hard to reuse as much stuff as I can, however I am realistic and know when something is at the end of its life and should be recycled or thrown away. The key part is really trying to make things last.

When something reaches the end of its life be sure to recycle it if possible, some plastics can be added to your weekly recycling collection, as can some metals; other metals will need to be recycled by taking them to a scrap dealer, if the metal is worth anything you will also receive payment for it.

As the sun begins to stay around a bit longer and you approach spring cleaning, be sure to minimize waste, re-use and recycle.

Fixing a bag into my sewing kit.

This was a cool little project, not a difficult one but one that took some time to do.

It started at a party that was held at our place around four years ago; an unknown girl came along and dropped her bag in the bathroom, leaving it there without any indication of who she was we decided to hold onto it just in case she came back for it.

Inside the bag was a couple of coins and a key. Not much to go on, We never heard from this mysterious person again.

On occasion I have taken the bag out and  thought about how it could be of use. My girlfriend tried to use it as a going out bag once or twice, but we realized that the stitching that held it together was breaking.



Recently I've looked a the bag again and seen that it is actually a fairly old leather bag. the stitching looks like the original stitching and is only just getting old enough to break with the pressure of holding it together.



On the inside is a pocket made not of the original leather, and not sewn on, rather, just super glued on.

Upon looking exploring the properties of the bag I came up with a use; I would turn it into my sewing bag. Starting by removing the strap, I will be sewing this to my camp blanket when I get the chance.

For those of you who do not know I have a camp blanket  that I love dearly. I have hand sewn everything on there including all of the scarves. Some of the badges I share with my partner in crime Shellie, but a lot of them tell of my scouting journey.

For the bag itself I needed to replace the stitching and that's it. Not a hard task, but a task that needed to be done correctly. I took a trip down to spotlight and bought some brown waxed thread, the last of the roll. I hoped it was enough.



I cut out the old thread with some small scissors and a quick unpick, and explored the three leather pieces that I was left with, very simple shapes, a very simple way to make a bag. Next I sewed them back together with the new waxed thread. Not difficult, but it took a good half hour to do.





There it is.

I sorted all of my sewing supplies out, cotton, needles, badges. And fit them all into my new sewing bag.

I think the difference between myself as a sustainability conscious designer and other people as hoarders, is that I intend to use the things that I collect.

A bag that has sat around for years now being used in a way that is beneficial to me. This has many more years of use left in it.

Storage - Shelves/Containers

Have you ever seen those television shows about people who seem to hoard lots of things who have the inability to be able throw anything away?
I reckon a lot of people are like them only different. I will admit I hoard things, useful things, and maybe some useless things. Pens. String. Ribbon. Broken cellphones. The only difference between myself and these hoarders is I know how to store my stuff without it looking like I live in filth.

http://thecorp.org/blog/2014/04/a-hoarders-guide-to-spring-cleaning-2/

When I buy music I am a sucker for a physical compact disc. I love opening the case, admiring the artwork, and then displaying the CD for all to see. For this reason I use CD racks, eclectic shaped, yet, densely packed CD racks. They don't look like mess, they look like furniture. (More frequently CD cases are being made from paper rather than the classic smashable plastic case).

Centre: Cast iron, cactus shaped CD holder.

You've seen the shelves I made from old timber, Storage using shelves is a space-wise way to not only hold things, but also to have easy access to them. Without good shelves everything would be stacked up and the things at the bottom would be lost and forgotten about. Or scooped into a heap and thrown away.

Seen above is a picture of some more shelves that we use in our small house. It may look somewhat messy but you can see some organization amongst the chaos, from bottom to top we have shoes and tramping packs, my toolbox, craft materials, clothing, bags, linen, kitchen appliances, non perishable food and drink, outdoors gear, hats etc.
Every little section is sorted into an efficent storage space, for example, here is how I keep my shoes ordered in an old beer crate.

I have found whilst living with stuff it is easier to sort your stuff than to not. Using containers to store your belongings is a practical way to contain your stuff that means easy access to it whenever you need it. I use a range of containers to achieve organized cleanliness, many of which are recycled junk. We use lolly tins for hair ties, bobby pins, and earrings. We use plastic moisturizer tubs for scout woggles, old cards and ribbons.

A Wooden box to house lose cords and headphones,

A decent metal toolbox is a useful container in a number of ways, it can lock so the tools stay safe from people who know not how to use them, and keeps potentially dangerous tools away from accident prone people. It is waterproof, inside and out, and it can be carried anywhere I need using the side handles. But as a toolbox is intended I can throw my tools into it and close the lid.

A thing of near-retro beauty that I do not want to part with is my old apple I-mac Computer. But it takes up a lot of table space. Using scraps of wood from around the property my partner Shellie knocked together a shelf that holds the moniter up and allows the keyboard and mouse space to slide underneath.

By using old old and recycled materials you can become more efficient with the space you have available. Organize your stuff and your life will become less cluttered. By keeping and organizing objects instead of throwing them away you begin to accumulate resources that will one day when needed be given a second life instead of merely being thrown out, you don't have to buy the material when you need it brand new.