Everyday Recycling Tips Happy Meal boxes - Save the boxes, and when your child needs to be cheered up, make them their own happy meal! Add your own nutritious foods and a favorite toy. Or pick up inexpensive items from the dollar store: stickers, special pencils, etc (usually 10 for a dollar) as the toy. Ziplock bags - Wash and rinse bags, then store them in the freezer to prevent mildew. Coffee cans (big ones) - Make toy “stilts”! Poke holes (with a can opener) on either side of the can and thread a jump rope through and they can walk on the cans while holding the jump ropes. Cool! Egg cartons - Use to make seed starter trays. If you use the heavy cardboard trays, you can compost the cardboard when you pop the seedling out, or you could bury it next to the seedling to decompose. Use to make extra ice cubes or to freeze soup stock and gravy. Broken candles - Melt them down to make new candles. Add broken crayons for color. Dryer softener sheets - Use for dusting instead of the Pledge grab-it or Swiffer cloths. Impossible to clean pots and pans - fill with water and used sheet, let sit for awhile, and stains will be easier to clean. Great for removing soap scum from shower doors! Old pillow cases - Use for laundry bag. Frisbees - Use as paper plate holders at a picnic. Newspaper - Use to clean windows, line trash cans, wrap presents. Use in place of peanuts when mailing packages, as fire starter, or as garden mulch. Glass jars & bottles - Use as a vase, for canning, or melt and pour wax in for candles. Plastic grocery bags - Donate to local Salvation Army. They deliver Meals on Wheels to elderly and are a nonprofit organization and need bags to put food in to deliver. Broken crayons - Sort by color, melt in old can, pour into molds that come with Jello gigglers, then kids have new crayons in all different shapes. Junk Mail - Put it through paper shredder and use as packing material when shipping gifts. More tips can be found at: www.thefrugalshopper.com/tips/recycling.shtml
24 | FYI APRIL 2012
Upcycling with the Fort Gordon Thrift Store Arial Marsh/MWR Staff
Earth Day inspires images of trees, freshly planted gardens, and children learning ways they can impact the environment for the better. Now it’s the adults’ turn. Simple changes in your lifestyle have been proven to have a momentous impact on the state of the planet, and now, your pocketbook. The Fort Gordon Thrift Store, located behind the PX, offers Military personnel the opportunity to “Forget the Garage Sale,” upcycle their belongings, and buy, shop, or donate gently used items, ranging from furniture, appliances, electronics, toys, sporting and workout equipment, media, brand name accessories, and a wide variety of clothing styles and sizes. Diana Marsh, the Thrift Store’s new manager, says, “In these tight times, it is hard to justify spending $50 on those new shoes or designer jeans, but with the Thrift Store,
you can get five pairs of shoes or jeans for the same price. We have such a wide selection, from so many people contributing; it is amazing what can be done with seemingly simple and shockingly inexpensive items. Much of our furniture and even household décor has come from here, often consigned by families who are PCS-ing, as well as our wardrobe. Rather than buying new clothing for my three teenage daughters every few months, I bring their things here, and are able to purchase them new items with the profits I made by consigning ... Not only have we, and the countless other families who ‘recycle their closets,’ saved a significant amount of money by doing this, but knowing we are contributing to removing the need for new raw materials to be manufactured is definitely a ‘green bonus.’”