Serve you foods in edible bowls or vegetable bowls. Fry large corn tortillas and form them by laying over the back of a bowl. Use holooed out pumpkins, squash and gourds. Hollowed out round crusty bread is good also, although kind of Eighties. You can lay your paper plate down in the garden to block out weeds before laying mulch. Just a coulpe of ideas. Here is a link that might be useful: Adults and Kids Go Green at Frogpatch.com

It’s always good to refresh your bedroom with brand new sheets from time to time, but what do you do with the old ones? When brainstorming eco-friendly ways to re-use and recycle old ones, a better way to think about bed sheets might just be “large, all-purpose cloths.” Once the linens have been worn out a little too much for a comfortable sleep, it can easily turn them into several other useful things. From picnic blankets to planting heaters to make bags, here are 10 brilliant ways to reuse and re-use bed sheets and keep the waste out of our landfills. Take your bed sheets for a picnic. There’s certainly no reason to fork out a fancy picnic blanket when you’ve got perfectly good bed sheets in your wardrobe. Bring them along as a sit-upon for your next outdoor meal, fold the sheet twice for extra coverage if the ground is a little damp. Make a draft stoppers Drafty doors and windows make not only your house uncomfortable in the winter—they make your heating system work harder than it needs to. You can put bits of old bed sheets in drafty corners to block out cold air, or you can craft easy-to-make draft catchers: Cut the sheets into squares or rectangles, sew them on three sides, fill them with rice or dried beans, then sew them on the last side. Don’t want to make them? No issue at all. Check amazon for cheap ones or check this one. When microwaved for 30 seconds, mini catchers often make perfect hand warmers you can stick in your coat pockets or heat packs for sore muscles. Just be sure to test the warmers with a finger before you catch them with your entire hand, in case they’re too hot. check this article for more ideas.

I just found this list of reasons to recycle and thought you all might enjoy reading it, too. Lynn *If not recycled, one quart of used motor oil could pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water. �Recycling one ton of old paper saves, 7,000 gallons of water or, put another way, every ton of recycled paper requires 7,000 fewer gallons of water to manufacture than virgin paper. �Every ton of recycled paper requires 4100 KWH less energy than virgin paper to produce. � Recycling saves energy and reduces air pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions. � Half of all polyester carpet made in the United States is made from recycled plastic (PET) � Recycling the steel from six cars can provide enough steel framing for an entire new house. � Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 60-watt bulb for four hours. � Aluminum cans produced in the United States can contain at least 50 percent recycled content. � Americans represent only five percent of the world's population, but generate 30 percent of the world's garbage. � Forty percent of all U.S. municipal solid waste consists of paper and paperboard products. � Each ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees. � Each ton of recycled paper saves over 3 cubic yards of landfill space. � The estimated 272 billion aluminum cans reclaimed during the 1980s saved 2 billion feet of landfill space. � Recycling reduces taxes and landfill fees. � Making paper from recycled materials results in 74% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution than virgin paper. � Manufacturing with aluminum scrap saves an estimated 95% in energy costs. � Manufacturing with copper scrap saves an estimated 85% in energy costs. � Ninety-nine percent of all beer cans and 97 percent of all soda cans are made of aluminum. American consumers and industry throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the entire United States commercial air fleet every three months. � Recycling generates jobs and revenue.

Some of the tips below are for repurposing/recycling in general. Hope no one minds. Use binder clips to keep bags and other types of packaging for coffee, bread, frozen vegetables, etc. closed and to keep the air out. They provide a tight and secure closure. If your Pilates ring or exercise circle breaks, use extra thick pillows or shams to tone your thighs. Use 2 together for added resistance. Use sponges as cushions to miminize scratching the sink when washing heavy items such as stove grates. Check to see if you can get money off when you bring in your old broken items. For example, some retailers offer money off a new paper shredder when you bring in your broken one. The retailers will probably have it recycled. Not repurposed but at least there's hope that it doesn't end up in the landfill. I got a great micro cut shredder on sale with another $30 taken off. It's not green to buy bottled water but there are times when I just need to have it in the refrigerator. I recycle the corrugated bottoms that comes with cases of bottled water by using them as trays to cushion and protect pantry shelves and cabinet from stains and scuff marks. I use them to store spices, cooking oils, cleaners etc. They can also be used as drawer organizers too. Cover them with decorative contact paper. Another use: I use a corrugated bottom to create another layer inside a corrugated box. The materal/color blends in. My laptop is placed underneath the corrugated bottom and cleaning supplies are placed on top. I do this to hide my laptop from thieves in case my house gets burgled. A Shake and Bake box is used to hide my e-reader in the pantry. Place old broken laptops, Ipods, and other electronics in strategic areas to act as decoys when you're away. Burglars might take them and be satisfied with the loot and leave. I have an alarm system and I like to take extra precautions. Otherwise, drop them off at at responsible recycler. I use old terry face cloths as mats under my electric toothbrush and oral irrigator to absorb any drops of water. My bathroomm countertop is made of ultra-hard porcelain decorative squares. I feel uncomfortable not using something to at least cushion the surface. Use an old towel to clean floors by wrapping it around a Cuban mop. A Cuban mop is a simple T-shaped mop with no material mop head. Sham Wow type chamois cloths can be used with this mop too. Toss the towel in the wash. Sham Wows can simply be rinsed. At Lowes, a clerk once mistakenly threw in three 2-1/2 quart "Mix and Measure" containers in my bag without my knowledge. When I got home, the minimalist in me wanted to throw them out but I decided not to. I finally found a use for them. Instead of filling a big bucket, I fill one of the mix and measure containers with the right proportion of water and cleaner or water/vinegar to tackle small cleaning jobs such as the floor in one room. I also use them to store cleaning brushes. Keep an old toothbrush near the sink to clean ridged coffee filter holders, fork tines, ultra sharp knives etc. It sounds strange to mention soup and detergent in the same sentence. I use plastic takeout food containers with lids to store homemade soup in the freezer and store handy amounts of powder laundry detergent to keep near the washer. I designate specific containers for single purposes. Use old mouse pads as coasters or cushions to place jewelry, eyeglasses. The porcelain in my bathroom counter wore off a little of the finish on my eyeglass frame so I use an mouse pad in there. Empty garbage bag boxes are used to store plastic grocery bags. If you're using kitty litter that comes in a big plastic bucket, save the bucket when the kitty litter is used up. Wash it thoroughly and use it to brine a turkey. It actually fits in my refrigerator. I eventually switched over to a brand that doesn't use plastic. Plastic grocery bags or newspaper bags are used for dumping coffee grounds into them to prevent contents from spilling all over the garbage bin if the kitchen garbage bag breaks. Always Freecycle, and donate to Goodwill and the Salvation Army.