Reusing something unexpected as a flowerpot

My husband's old boot! Its partner is somewhere along the row.

New ways to use your Old stuff

Now the tenants are out (finally!) we can begin renovating in earnest. The next couple of months will be pretty hectic - house reno and moving, MagicLand and regular PV work. And then - the baby!

Here are some cool ways to give your old things a new lease of life

1. Ways to reuse old clothes
- make accessories eg. hair ties, bracelets, belts.
- make bean bag chairs out of huge old Ts
- make gift wraps

2. Ways to reuse old socks
- make sock dolls
- make rags
- use as cushioning for fragile items when housemoving
- make potpourri holders
- make ponytail bands
- make bottle covers for oily condiment bottles
- make bean bags for games

3. Ways to reuse old sheets
- make reusable shopping bags
- make pillow cases
- make aprons

4. Ways to reuse old CDs/DVDs
- make mobiles / suncatchers
- use as bike reflectors
- use as paper plate weights (glue on bottom of plates)
- make retro doorway screen/curtain
- use as mirror for back of computers
- use as carpet protectors
- use as garden markers
- use as invitation cards
- use as christmas tree decorations
- make wall art

More Gardening Plans

As my fatigue eases off slowly and I make fewer trips to the porcelain goddess, I remind myself that I really cannot let the garden go to ruin on account of the baby. So here are a few plans for some work to be done in the next few weeks, hopefully mostly in the March holidays.

1. Build a low wall around the bed out of bricks and rubble (note to self: buy a bag of cement from the hardware store), this will make for a more effective raised bed to keep the weeds out since I only have the one bed and paths are not necessary.

2. Clear away the old dead annuals in the bed - the french marigolds, the olde spicy basil bush that already has a few offspring growing beneath it.

3. Mix in some finished compost into the soil to build up nutrients. Mulch while waiting to complete point 4.

4. Transplant in the capsicum/chilli plants that have taken a turn for the better, and any new seedlings that we manage to seed in the next week, eg. red okra, ornamental capsicum. (note to self: start seeding!)

5. Divide Mum's thyme plants and repot or transplant into bed. A few clumps would be good.

6. Fertilise all plants with liquid kelp.

Back to bed. My energy has run down.

Egg cartons

My family buys 10 eggs on average of once a week and we end up with all these plastic egg cartons. They're not recyclable (no recycling marking) so the only thing I can think of is to return them to the egg farms so they can be reused.

However, doing that will cost time, money and effort, so I'm wondering whether I can strike up an agreement with one or other of the egg farms, to give me a certain discount off a new packet of eggs for every carton that I return to them. Or perhaps with Fairprice (I'm pretty sure Sheng Siong can't be bothered to do much about conservation).

In return, the farm can be assured of my loyalty to their brand, and I can also help spread the word. After all, every bit of conservation helps, and I expect there are millions of plastic egg cartons being throw away each day.

I do wish that there are predecessors I can consult though.

Fused Plastic Bag Tote side 2

Right I am unable to put more than one image in one post because I'm uploading them via Flickr, so here's the other side of the tote. Featuring Ruvie and Dad, courtesy of Ray.

I am so gonna use it when I next go grocery shopping... tomorrow, hiak hiak.

Now working on making another, taller tote with a larger base, better for groceries.

Fused Plastic Bag Tote side 1

My very first try at making a tote out of fused plastic bags. The bag
itself is from those HUGE red plastic bags my potties come in, and
the handles are from Xmas season Fairprice grocery bags. The silver
flower is the inside of our fav Nong Shim Korean noodles wrapper, and
the doodles are courtesy of Ray.

Practical Tips to Reuse your Plastic Bags

Kitchen and wastepaper bin liners

Protect your table when doing art and craft projects. Cut the bags up so you can lay them flat.

Shoe covers for wet/muddy places - put your whole foot, shoe and all, into the bag and tie the handles around your leg snugly.

Variation of the above - if you need to put on wet shoes or boots, put a plastic bag over the driest layer (socks or foot) to keep your feet dry.

Donate them to your local library so they can give out to patrons to carry their borrowed books / movies / CDs in (still checking up on whether Sg libraries will accept)

Donate them to your local thrift store eg. Cash Converters

Fuse a few sheets together under a sheet of paper to make a Tyvek sheet (a thicker plastic material) and use the result to make reusable shopping bags, wallets, cushion covers, waterproof linings for wet bags etc. Instructions at
http://mooneatsun.blogspot.com/2007/09/fused-plastic-bags-tutorial.html

Make a "bean-bag" out of plastic bags in a cloth exterior

Make a sock ring or napkin ring by twisting it then joining the ends neatly. Works well as towel rings too.

Tear them into strips to make a ball of plastic bag yarn, then crotchet your yarn into bags, coasters, rugs and more!
http://www.myrecycledbags.com/category/plastic-bag-crafts/

Please let me know if you know other neat ways of reusing your plastic bags.

Food safety

I've recently been bombarded with a lot of info on keeping toxins out of the food and drinks that we consume. Among the great and easy-to-read articles are:

Plastics
More on Plastics
Aluminium

Avoid:
Using plastics labelled with recycling code #3, #6, #7 (unless labelled as bio-based plastic), ESPECIALLY if it's polycarbonate, which is under #7
Using plastic containers to contain hot food or to heat food
Plastic bottled water except in areas where other water sources are questionable (eg. in BKK)
PVC-based cling wrap (mine is LDPE)
Aluminium cookware unless they are made from anodised aluminium
Aluminium can drinks (gosh, this is sooo hard!)
Canned foods

Cut down on:
Table salt, use a natural salt instead
Baking powder unless it's labelled as aluminium-free
Aluminium foil for food
Anti-dandruff stuff if it contains Al
Disposable containers in general

I am glad that both the kids' sports bottles turned out to be #4, since they both love their bottles so much - Ray's is Disney Princesses and Ruvie's is Dora, yep, DORA. Tomorrow I shall go and check the plastic feeding bowls and cutlery they're using.

I am VERY sad to discover that Avent milk bottles, the only ones I feel have suitable teats for breastfed babies, are made of polycarbonate. I hope they upgrade soon to a safer type of plastic, more customer feedback would help. It is interesting though, that Avent's Magic Cup is made from PE or PP, safer...

Many thanks to Lynnette for your posts on Asiaparents. I've been procrastinating about doing the right thing, but you've woken me up.