LIFE A LITTLE SIDEWAYS

Photos by Lynette George. Old, worn fence panels were turned into a colorful ceiling.

Photos by Lynette George

With very little money and some elbow grease, these old, wooden fence panels will become the ceiling of a tiny home. R epurposing things seems to be all the rage today – a handy, worthwhile practice that many think is a new and fresh idea. Sorry to burst your bubble, folks, but that’s been going on for generations. Not as a trendy, “in” thing to do, but simply as a mode for surviving.

I was raised by parents who saved everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING, right down to my umbilical cord sealed in a baby food jar. I’m serious as a heart attack. Mom saved every twist tie, bread bag, scraps of fabric from sewing projects, candle wax, paper sacks, tin cans, seeds from the garden, glass and plastic containers and all things in between. Dad kept all baling wire, bailing twine, burlap and paper feed bags, old equipment that even he wasn’t sure how to operate, tools and the like. They’d grown up during the Depression and it was engrained into their very DNA that any of these things might come in handy down the road. (How my umbilical cord could be useful escapes me unless they were way ahead of their time and were thinking of cloning me in hopes of making vast improvements.)

Besides saving everything, my folks also lived with the firm belief that NOTHING should be replaced until all other options had failed. Only if something was broken or worn out to the point it couldn’t be fixed with any of the above-mentioned saved items, would it be relegated to the repurposing pile. There, if possible, it would be taken apart and put back together as something different but useful. Only if the item was so far gone that nothing could be salvaged would it be burned in mom’s weekly trash fire or taken to the dump not far from our house. Nine times out of 10, dad would take one or two items to the dump, but come back with at least double that number of things he felt we could use. As for the replacement items, they had, more often than not, been gently used themselves before being ushered into our home or barn.

That being said, some of that saving and repurposing was engrained into me too. Don’t panic. I’m fairly sure I won’t be turning a broken toilet into yard art or anything like that. However, I’m a firm believer in choosing good, used things at an affordable price – free if possible. That’s coming in handy as I and my boyfriend work to build our “garden shed” home.

LYNETTE GEORGE is the former editor and some times reporter for the Herald Democrat (Denison-Sherman, TX) for about 20 years. Her sometimes zany outlook on life gives her an enviable sense of humor like no other. She lives in Denison and her love of animals prevents her from ever passing an animal in need. She may be reached at nettiegeorge79@gmail.com.