Upcycling Sunday!

*Sorry this is getting out to you a little later than usual; I had technical issues, aka I forgot to press the 'publish' button. Oops!

Upcycling, def. the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.

Wikipedia.org

Maybe it's the colder weather keeping us indoors more, or maybe the fact that we are getting the house ready for guests in a couple of weeks, but I have suddenly been hit by a bit of a de-cluttering bug.

I've been toying with the idea of becoming more minimalist for a while. Our small home feels so much smaller with lots of 'stuff' in it.

I always like to find other people who are doing the smae thing as me, so I was excited to find a group on Diaper Swappers who have given themselves a challenge; 2012 in 2012 - that is re-gifting, donating, selling or throwing away 2012 items in the year 2012. Joining a little late, I signed up for the mini-challenge of 168 items in the month of December. (2012 items equals 168 items each month!)

I love a challenge!

One day in, and I am already 63 items down, leaving only 105 more items to pass on to reach the challenge. (I was lucky enough to be able to Freecycle most of these items, but some just had to go in the trash ... old tea bags from 2002 and dried out markers are two examples).

I won't bore you with pictures of all 63 items, but here a couple of highlights!

 

So, yes! - this is all kid's stuff. But, going through it and getting stuff out of the house feels so good :-)

How about you? What did you Upcycle this week? Feel free to share; I'd love to hear from you!

Upcycling Sunday!

Upcycling, def. the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.

Wikipedia.org

I keep a box next to my desk in my home office, and each time I find something that can be Freecycled I just pop it into the box. Then when I have a spare couple of minutes, I'll sit down to post a couple of items ... very efficient!!

This week I worked through the box a little more and found new homes for these ...

and these ...

and this ... (with thanks to Baby Girl for the help ;-)

and these ... 

and this ...

I had a major Upcycling project underway this week involving Freecycle and gifted clothing, a broken umbrella, a re-purposed hat, and some old felt! But the project is behind schedule, so you will have to wait until next week to hear more about it I'm afraid. But at least I've now piqued your curiosity!

And what about you? What are you Upcycling this week? Feel free to share in comments below; I'd love to hear from you!

Upcycling Sunday

Upcycling def. the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.

Wikipedia.org

One of my major goals with living a simpler life, is to clear some of the 'stuff' out of our home. I don't think I have it in me to become a strict minimalist, but less clutter and more space in our snug little home would be a good thing.

I'd love to start a weekly feature tracking the items that I am able to 'upcycle' to a new home each week, whether it be through Freecyle, selling, gifting or donating.

If you are unfamiliar with Freecycle, check out my link ... I just love this organization, and they seem to be growing rapidly. I really find Craig's List to be another good place to either sell or give away items, as well as Diaper Swappers, for diapers, children and baby items and clothes, and some mama items (such as maternity wear and nursing items).

I gave away a stack of pre-fold diapers, through Diaper Swappers ...

 ... and a stack of covers,

 ... and this changing mat,

  ... and this cover! All of the above were gifted to me by someone through Freecycle, and I just wasn't using them. This was a great way to find them a new home where they'll get used!

Speaking of Freecycle, I found new homes for two lamps that weren't being used.

A good week!

And what about you? What were you able to Upcycle this week?


What are you Upcycling this week?

1. Please enter the direct link to your Upcycling Sunday blog post in the Linky tool below. If you don’t have a blog but still have something to share, feel free to add it to the comments.
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