How to Think Like a Crafty Recycler

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By bossypants
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Think Like a Crafty Recycler

Scratch the surface of any clever crafter (Ow! Not literally!) and you’ll likely find a consummate recycler. You’re poised to drop something in the trash bin and you’ll glimpse a sparkle in the eye, hear the wheels begin to spin, perhaps even catch the faint whiff of wood burning… and you know whatever is in your hand will never see the curb. How does the crafty recycler come up with these reasons for keeping what looks like trash to anyone else? As near as craft anthropologists can tell, it’s probably linked to a primitive survival instinct. (Try to pry that empty cereal box out of the crafty recycler’s hand and you’ll understand just how powerful instinct can be!) You can learn a lot from careful observation. Learn to think like a crafty recycler.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Anything you thought was trash
Imagination
Humor

Step 1

SEE WHAT THE CRAFTY RECYCLER SEES.

You see a stack of newspapers, magazines, old calendars, or used gift wrap? The crafty recycler sees home décor (wall paper or a decoupaged table top), gift boxes, scrapbooks, book marks, and origami sculpture. Oh, the crafty recycler sees gift wrap, too, but it’s the newspaper (not what you naively thought was gift wrap). That “previously owned” gift wrap is really an envelope waiting to be born.

You see the contents of the junk drawer? The crafty recycler sees treasures of untold value. Mismatched buttons await designer bracelet status; orphaned keys are collage focal points, and masking tape and twist ties? Well, don’t get me started.

You see old clothes? The crafty recycler sees ample reason to never darken the door of the local fabric store again. Worn sweaters are felted into ski caps. Threadbare blue jeans become a shopping bag, pillow, or bedspread. Impossibly small scraps of fabric transform themselves into a rug or a quilt. Socks are suddenly puppets or stuffed animals.

You see food jars draining in the sink? The crafty recycler has plans for those. The baby food jar is a candle holder; the pickle jar is a candy dish. The spaghetti sauce jar? That’s going to hold the buttons from the junk drawer until there are enough for that bracelet. And, it’ll add country charm to the bookshelf in the process.
Step 2

FOLLOW THE CRAFTY RECYCLER AROUND.

Garage sales, auctions and flea markets will never look the same to you. Those pieces of beat up flatware are wind chimes and key chains in their raw state. Old board games and jigsaw puzzles contain pieces for brooches and picture frames. What would you do with those old machinery gears? (That’s a test question – the answer is under the Resources section.) Well, you’d better buy that dented wagon to cart it all home in – and then the Radio Flyer can go into the garden as a planter.
Step 3

APPRENTICE TO THE CRAFTY RECYCLER.

If you aspire to crafty recycler status, it may be best to start slowly. It can take time to make the leap from empty bleach bottle to designer tote. You could start by using junk mail to make handmade paper. Melt down candle stubs to make your own votives. Your local crafty recycler will notice and appreciate your efforts, and may take you under his or her wing. You’ll be surprised how quickly crafty recycling can infect – er – I mean rub off on you.
Step 4

WATCH THE CRAFTY RECYLCER AT WORK.

As any craft anthropologist can tell you, if you want to think like a crafty recycler, you need to see the crafty recycler in his or her native habitat. Click on any (and many!) of the links under Resources, for a firsthand crafty recycler experience.
Step 5

HAPPY CRAFTING, AND GO GREEN!

Comments

nwgirl said

Flag This Comment

on 11/20/2009 Love this!

art2cee2 said

on 7/4/2009 how true and how current in thought. Most people want to recycle and what better way than to create something usable from something usually thrown away. 5*