The art of recycling for a greener environment starts with seeing trash as "abandoned material" so that we can create "Abundance from the Abandoned" in "Amazing Ways".
What does this empty ice cream tub has in common with the cooking oil container?
Their diameters are close in size. So what?
I cut the top off an empty oil container at the right height and I can store my less often use stuff. Then I placed the ice cream cover over its top, to prevent cockroaches or lizards from running all over and staining them. Got the picture?
They are also handy drawers for my kitchen shelves for storing my 3 in 1 packets drinks.
You have to be blind if you are not able to find your stuff with these modified containers.
Traveling light does not mean that I have to pack in less and bear the cold in the place I will be going to. Check out this little piece I have just created for my next holiday trip.
It's a one size fits all blouse...
cum bag...
...so that I don't have to buy another bag to hold souvenirs I will be buying.
It's one of my "1 more need less" ideas that my daughter is looking forward to bag and wear. And have I reuse anything to create this? You bet! The draw strings looped into the top of the blouse were from a paper bag while the one that gathers it's bottom into a bag is from a pair of my son's sports pant.
Hmmm, do you think I can turn this green idea into a business venture?
Instead of cut strips of plastic, my friend weaved this with wool on a commercial tool and sealed one of its ends up to form a bag. All I did was crochet two strips and weaved it through the centre, equidistant apart so that when I pull both strings and tie each into a knot, I have a crunch bag variation.
A group of disadvantaged Malaysian women are not recycling their old newspaper and magazines. There is something more ECOnomical they can do with their collection of newsprint.
With the support of eHomemakers, they have discovered abundance from the abandoned.
Children of my time are allowed to play with sand. We didn't have to wait till we were brought to a beach to start. We could find sand to play with in our gardens or in that of our neighbours'.
There was a lot of sand to play with in the compound surrounding our houses too. So, we didn't need paper or pen to express our creativity as we played and drew on the sand.
The houses that our children grow up in now are usually built close knit and all paved up. Most parents of today will be aghast if they caught their children playing with sand and with crime rate rising, they wouldn't encourage their children to play outdoor.
Maybe it is time for us to revive that interest again to reduce usage of paper. How? Let Ilana Yahav shows you with her sand art, "Let's Get Together".
Yes, one can make a living playing with sand! And don't forget that playing with sand can be therapeutic for children and adult. Sand play therapy has been used by therapists as an Emotional Literacy tool for personal development and as an aid for emotional healing.
Let's find a tray or build a pit and play sand with our kids.
You can view pictures of a sand tray and the kits used by therapist, courtesy of Kristina Walter on Wikipedia.
If you can't think green, think poverty. Denise Caron shared on SlideShare what poverty is about. Maybe compassion will help to remind everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle for a greener environment.
