Re-use & Re-purpose

Makes me giggle just to read that title because I can be the most un-P.C. person I know.   I don't follow the whole "green earth" mantra that is so prevalent in our culture today.   I don't stop to consider how many miles my food traveled before I purchase it.(But I do grow a lot of our own food.)   I drive a big 'ole SUV and have no guilt about it whatsoever.   (Hey, it suits my needs, so, I drive it!)   And I run the air conditioner to keep us all comfortable instead of suffering in the heat.   ( Who cares if you have the windows open if the heat makes you miserable?!)

Now, having said that, I use my own brain (don't need the P.C. police to tell me what to do) and figure out ways to re-use what I have in my home, which helps me save money and makes me feel just a little smug and creative!  LOL  We used to call it "common sense" when I was a kid.........hey, just sayin'!    The years spent as a single mom have permanently imprinted its own form of frugality on my lifestyle.   I use appliances until they die, even if they're not the latest "trendy" color shown in the magazines.   I wear my shoes way beyond the time of being fashionable and I still have leather purses from 1988 that I use!   

 So, when I started eating the most fabulous ice cream(technically, it's gelato)  in the world, I almost threw the empty container away.   One look at the handy screw on lid got me thinking and I have been washing and saving the "empties" for quite a while now, and still keep coming up with ways to use them.  One year, I filled them with sugar and stuck a fresh Tahitian vanilla pod in the middle.   (Do this in September so it has time to scent the sugar)   Then I wrapped a ribbon around the container and labeled it Vanilla Sugar and gave it as presents to all my friends who love to bake.  It makes the most delicious sugar cookies.

After purchasing a cool shelf for my scrapbook supplies, I had an empty row and realized my Talenti containers fit in the shelf perfectly.  Now I have a row of them neatly holding various ribbons.  I'm saving some more because I just know I'll need a container with that handy Talenti screw on lid for something or another......maybe to hold all the little paraphernalia in my sewing room!

But, of course, the best part is using every little bit of that gelato.   My favorite way is to put a teaspoon of it in my tea.   It cools the tea to the right drinking temperature while subtly infusing the tea with vanilla.  Yum!

So, if you're like me and don't quite fit into the mold of being labeled as "environmentally friendly", maybe you should take another look at your life.   You may re-purpose more things than you realize, you just didn't need to be told to do it!  

Good for you!
Debbie
(Belligerent as ever)