Thursday, November 10, 2011

Ever wonder what you could do with your trash? Here are some ideas that will get your family recycling in ways that you thought you could never do.

Here is a website that has tons of ideas for creating those priceless treasures:
http://www.make-stuff.com/indexes/recyclingindex.html

http://recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com/category/dont-throw-that-away/

http://www.craftbits.com/recycled-crafts

http://factoidz.com/creative-recycling-ideas-things-you-never-thought-about-recycling/

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Donate your unused up to date products today!

Have you gone shopping just to buy the wrong flavor of tea or the wrong bottle of shampoo? Have you ever thought now what am I going to do as i don't have time to take it back? So you go ahead put it in the cupboard and there it sits for who knows how long.

I have done this so many times, and I just end of throwing it out. Until one day I got a bright idea like many lol. I wanted to get into the gift basket industry, but the costs are just nuts. From baskets to supplies I was looking over $5,ooo to just start. I nearly had a heart attack about it. So I pondered about it for a bit, and came up with another way to create a greener world. Why not create second hand gift baskets, filled with products and items donated by people like you.

Not only are we working together to create a greener world, we are also saving local landfills. As well bring customers a new way to shop without breaking the pocketbook. Some people rolled their eyes up at me, but others thought it was a wonderful idea to buy a second hand gift basket filled with past treasures.

So help us fill our baskets by donating your unused products, or used clothing etc that are is good condition and help build a better world by going green.

Written by Anita Riddell

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

We can help educate our families and communities about the importance of recycling for our environment, and how each of us can make a difference for a better world by recycling.
-- Robert Alan



But our waste problem is not the fault only of producers. It is the fault of an economy that is wasteful from top to bottom—a symbiosis of an unlimited greed at the top and a lazy, passive, and self-indulgent consumptiveness at the bottom—and all of us are involved in it.
-- Wendell Berry



Every moment has led to this moment. Now is the time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. Together we can create a better world. -- Robert Alan


Life is too short to waste stop and do something about it Anita Riddell


Do you have a famous quote about recycling, creating change etc. Tell me about it and I will post it. send emails to fromtrashtotreasures@gmx.com

Quotes on life

Here are some quotes that will make think about life and how privilege we are to have it.



My Inspirations

In my life and have been so inspired by the things I see and do. For example a few months back my hubby and I were at the local dump. Dropping off gravel and dirt we did not need. I was in shock by what I seen, useful items  that could have been reused by someone in need. There was also items that could have been fixed. Like a dresser with a missing leg. And a chair that could have been recovered. What is this world becoming.

It is sad to see so many struggle when in reality they don't have too. What happen to neighbors helping neighbors. Have we forgotten what matters the most.. Think about it if you were sick and had no one, wouldn't you want your neighbor to care. Wouldn't you welcome that hot chicken soup or that welcome companion ship. We need to reality need to start putting the shoe on the other foot and think about our actions before it is to late.

It is the same thing when it comes to recycling. Do we really need a new couch and chair? Can't we just reupholster it. Think about it would save you over $1000. What would you do with that extra $1000 that you didn't have to throw away. What about those old clothes ok so we lost 15 lbs. Well we could pass them on to someone else in need. Make some useful bags. Create some great dust rags etc. There is so many ideas it is priceless.

Think before you throw something away. can it be fixed, painted, or donated to help someone in need. By doing this you are doing your part in saving our earth. help a neighbor, help a friend so you care to make a better place for all us to live in.

Got some recycling ideas share them with us. email them to fromtrashtotreasures@gmx.com and I will post them.

Monday, September 19, 2011

great recycling Ideas for kids

Want to teach your children how to go green and have fun while doing in. Here is a great site to do just that http://www.craftbits.com/recycled-crafts  They offer recycling ideas from a beginner to the most experienced. You will have so much fun. You will want to get the whole family involved. So check out these great ideas and start recycling your world.

Recycling Tips to Create a Greener World/

Top Recycling Tips

  1. First things first, a little R & R & R The aphorism is so tired it almost might seem like "reduce, reuse, recycle" should go without saying. But in fact, most of us have only really heard the last third of the phrase, and they're ranked in order of importance. Reducing the amount that we consume, and shifting our consumption to well-designed products and services, is the first step. Finding constructive uses for "waste" materials is next. And tossing it in the blue bin is last. (The garbage can is not on the list, for good reason.) Through a balance of these three principals you can easily see your landfill-destined waste dwindle fast. A good example of recycling is setting your empty water bottles in the bin on the curb. But by using a water filter and reusable container you canreduce or completely eliminate your need for disposable plastic bottles.
  2. Know what you can and can't recycle Read up on the recycling rules for your area and make sure you don't send anything in that can't be processed. Each city has its own specifics, so try to follow those guidelines as best you can.
  3. Buy recycled The essence of recycling is the cyclical movement of materials through the system, eliminating waste and the need to extract more virgin materials. Supporting recycling means feeding this loop by not only recycling, but also supporting recycled products. We can now find high recycled content in everything from printer paper to office chairs.
  4. Encourage an artist If you know someone interested in making art from recycled materials, offer to provide supplies. Many school children need items like paper towel tubes for art projects. Older artists use everything from rubber bands to oven doors. If you know someone who teaches art classes, suggest that an emphasis be put on making art from trash. While you're at it, remind them to use recycled paper and biodegradable, earth-friendly glues, paints, and pencils whenever possible. See below for inspiration and groups that connect artists and students with useful "trash."
  5. Recycle your water If you're a homeowner, consider rearranging your plumbing so that rainwater or wastewater from your shower and tub is used to flush your toilet. If you have a garden, water it with leftover bathwater or dishwashing water (as long as you use a biodegradable soap). For more on water recycling see How to Go Green: Water.
  6. Recycle your greenery William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of the groundbreaking Cradle to Cradle, envision so-called "waste" divided into two categories: technical nutrients and biological nutrients. Biological nutrients are those that, at the end of their useful life, can safely and readily decompose and return to the soil. Composting is one of the simplest and most effective recycling methods. Both your garden cuttings and your green kitchen waste can go into an outdoor or indoor composter (with or without entertaining a population of worms). If you don't have a garden yourself, find neighbors or a community garden that can make use of your soil. Composting food scraps will mean your regular kitchen wastebasket fills up more slowly and also won't smell. Hotter, more active compost heaps can also consume tougher stuff like newspaper and paper napkins. After Christmas, many cities also have programs for turning your tree into mulch.
  7. Recycle your robots Electronics recycling is becoming more common in many urban areas, battery recycling is ubiquitous (rechargeable batteries are ecologically sounder, but even they wear out after a while), and there are a number of non-profit organizations that will take computer parts and turn them into working computers for others. Companies like Ebay have also developed programs to help your electronics find new homes. Other groups will gladly recycle your cell phone or give it to a senior citizen, as even without a contract it can still make emergency calls. If you have a major appliance that doesn't work and you'd rather replace it than try to fix it, offer it to local repair shops, trade schools, or hobbyists to tinker with. Many cities now offer hazardous waste recycling days when they will take not only hazardous waste, but electronics.
  8. Anticipate recycling In addition to buying recycled goods, keep a keen eye out for recyclable goods. Whenever you purchase something packaged, think about how you can reuse the packaging, return it to a shipping store for reuse, or try to otherwise recycle it. If you get something likely to run down or wear out over time, such as an electronic component, give preference to the model that can be easily upgraded or cannibalized for parts so that you don't have to junk the whole thing if one part breaks. Products that are impossibly fused together are often called "monstrous hybrids" and are, while often cheaper up front, frequently unfixable and unrecyclable.
  9. If you don't love something, let it go Lots of charities welcome your donations. Groups like Freecycle and Recycler's Exchange exist to help you get rid of useful objects that you just don't want to make use of. If you're in a Craigslist city, make use of the "free stuff" section. Give away clothes that don't fit, the boxes you used in your last house move, or scented soaps that don't appeal to your sensibilities. Make it a rule in your house that nothing useable goes in the trash until you've given the community a fair shot at it.
  10. Become a waste-stream analyst To better understand the kind of materials that enter and leave your home, office, or school, consider conducting a waste audit. Set a span of time like a week or a month, and separate your waste categories. Weigh the different kinds of material flows that go out the door (landfill waste, organic compost, aluminum, recyclable plastic, reusable material, etc.). Design a "material recovery" program that minimizes the amount going to the landfill. This is a great exercise to do with kids but can be very convincing to corporate higher-ups, too, especially since most companies pay to have their trash hauled away and can get money for recycled paper, containers, toner cartridges, corrugated cardboard, and such.

Recycling: By the Numbers

  • 544,000: Trees saved if every household in the United States or Canada  replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100 percent recycled ones.
  • 20 million: Tons of electronic waste thrown away each year. One ton of scrap from discarded computers contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tons of gold ore.
  • 9 cubic yards: Amount of landfill space saved by recycling one ton of cardboard.
  • $160 billion: Value of the global recycling industry that employs over 1.5 million people.
  • 79 million tons: Amount of waste material diverted away from disposal in 2005 through recycling and composting.
  • 5 percent: Fraction of the energy it takes to recycle aluminum versus mining and refining new aluminum.
  • 315 kg: Amount of carbon dioxide not released into the atmosphere each time a metric ton of glass is used to create new glass products.
  • 98 percent: Percentage of glass bottles in Denmark that are refillable. 98 percent of those are returned by consumers for reuse.
  • 51.5 percent: Percentage of the paper consumed in the U.S. that was recovered for recycling in 2005.
So consider this recycling even one thing can make this world a better. recycle and donate today!