upcycle Archives - Eco Thrifty Living

Introducing a new concept – upusing!

Zoe — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 19:52:00 +0000

Have you ever felt really frustrated because you couldn’t quite place a word you wanted and then felt so relieved when it eventually comes to you? I had a concept floating around in my head and I decided there wasn’t a word out there that was working for me. I had a burning need to put a word to it though, so I made one up and here it is: upuse – ta-da!

I might not be quite the Oxford dictionary, but here is my definition of upuse:

To use something for more functions than it was originally intended for without altering or damaging the original object in any way.

The reason this was bugging me so much was because it is something I have started doing semi-regularly. The closest descriptions to it I could think of were making do, but I didn’t feel that was specific enough and upcycling but I think that implies that the item is altered in some way.

Some examples of upusing I have done around the house include:

I used to have large mixing bowls and similar sized serving bowls. It honestly had never occurred to me that I could use my serving bowls for mixing (or vice-versa), but the mixing bowls disappeared during my Year of Eco Challenges (read more here) when I was buying nothing new for myself and it didn’t take long to realise that my serving bowls, which were rarely used previously, would work just fine as mixing bowls. Now I make bread dough in them regularly. Incidentally it turns out after getting Mr ETL to read this post before I published it, he has been been doing some upusing of his own and we do still have them!
I used to put the plastic bags I brought home from the supermarket in a plastic bag dispenser. Now I use the dispenser to store and dispense reusable cloth wipes for use around the kitchen (read more here)!
I have written about this quite a few times on the blog, but I now use a freezer bag to keep food cool and hot and as a kind of thermal cooker – perfect for making yogurt in or to keep bread dough warm .
My kids decorated some mugs at a club last summer, which I haven’t used because we didn’t really have room for them on our shelf of mugs. I didn’t want to get rid of them, so now they are being used as attractive and personalised pen and pencil holders!

The benefits of upusing things:

Looking at things with upusing goggles on might mean that you don’t need to buy something new (or replace something which is broken and can’t be repaired) if you find you could do the job with something you already have.
Upusing can also help guide decluttering – looking for the multiple uses in your stuff could help you identify duplicate equipment you might not have noticed before that you don’t really need.
Upusing doesn’t alter or damage the object in anyway, so it means you can still use it for what it was originally intended for as well.

I’m sure this kind of thing happens all the time and I’d love to hear your examples of upusing!

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What is the problem with fast fashion and a challenge for you all!

Zoe — Tue, 06 May 2014 10:53:00 +0000

My next challenge on My Year of Eco Challenges will be all about slowing down fashion. I am writing about it early, because I want to invite you all to join in with this one!

Why do I want to slow down fashion?

These days very cheap fashion items are readily available. Why mend, repair or embellish something, when it is so cheap to just buy something new? Why buy only what you need, when at those prices you can wear something new every day?

Well some of the problems with constantly buying new low quality clothes are as follows:

Many clothes contain cotton. To produce cotton takes a large volume of pesticides – according to this site cotton ‘soaks up 11-12% of the world’s pesticides. Pesticides can be very damaging to the environment and to those that work with them. The same site also claims that most of the cotton grown in the US is genetically modified.
New fashion trends are being turned around so quickly that it is putting tremendous pressure on factory workers, who in some cases are being locked in factories with no regard for health and safety, until the work has been finished e.g. Rana Plaza (read more here).
Clothes are being chucked out at a fast rate and a large proportion of them are ending up in landfill – according to WRAP ‘Around £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year’, ‘More than 30% of our unwanted clothing currently goes to landfill’ and ‘More than 60% of householders in the UK say they have unwanted clothes and textiles stored in their homes’ (see here for more info). There are a large proportion of clothes being recycled too, but recycling puts pressure on the environment too.

When I stopped buying new things and started shopping in charity shops, although it is a more eco-friendly way to shop, I had the same attitude. It was so cheap I felt that I could buy as much as I liked and I didn’t take quality into account at all. Last November I decided to take things further and haven’t bought any new clothes new or secondhand for myself (read more here), but I think I can do more.

Just because I’m not buying any new clothes it doesn’t mean I can’t have any fun or look good, so I am going to set myself and anyone who wants to join in a new challenge.

The challenge:

Over the course of a month (beginning on the 1st June 2014) I am going to try and create an outfit from my wardrobe i.e. without buying anything new, that fits in with the latest fashions. I don’t plan to buy new things, I just plan to modify or embellish things that I already have.

I appreciate that not everyone will have time for or will want to do this exact challenge so I have the following alternative suggestions for anyone who wants to join me in slowing fashion down for the month:

Wear the same pair of shoes every day for a month
Thin out your wardrobe and choose a set number of clothes to wear for the month – how low can you go? Do you need 20 items or could you cope with 5 or even less?
Get creative and embellish just one unloved item of clothing, shoes or accessories. You could even make an accessory like a brooch with scraps you find around your home..
Mend something that wouldn’t otherwise
Take on the Passion Fashion DoAction in support of my Year of Eco Challenges – see more info here

Or join me and create a whole new outfit – it doesn’t have to fit in with the latest fashion trends, it could just be a reflection of your own personal style!

In case you are wondering what the latest ladies fashions are, I have been doing a bit of research (sorry guys, I didn’t get as far as men’s fashion). Apparently pastels, culottes and ripped denim are in this spring. There is a whole article about wearing ripped denim here, with some of the jeans pictured looking like they might not make it until the end of the day! I feel so much better about letting my kids run around with massive holes in their trousers now! It’s hard to tell in the picture at the top, but there are holes in both kids trousers. The Metro has an article with spring / summer trends here, which features some patchwork Karen Millen jeans – I think I can rustle up some patchwork jeans without the £99 price tag!

Thanks to Nancy Carter who blogs at Mum-Ra (you can read her blog here) for inspiring this challenge! Nancy and Emma Northcott (who blogs here) have both agreed to join me in this challenge and there may be some more bloggers joining in (I will keep you posted about this). Everyone is welcome to join in and I would love to hear about how it goes for you. Keep me up to date on Twitter or Facebook (or even by email) and I will share what you are all up to (probably in a round up at the end of the challenge on the blog, but I will also retweet what you are up to on Twitter and share on Facebook).

I am currently undertaking a Year of Eco Challenges . If you have a moment I would really appreciate it if you would consider sponsoring me with an action (no money involved) on my DoNation page. Also if you liked this post please click like on Facebook and follow on Twitter – thanks so much!

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Rock IT!

Zoe — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Recently I went to the Eco Technology Show in Brighton and got chatting to various people at various stands. On one of those stands was Rock IT. I feel that they really deserve a mention on my blog as I think what they are doing is great! They are a not for profit social enterprise based in Burgess Hill in West Sussex. They ‘refurbish and sell [donated] IT equipment…and use the profits from sales to provide IT training to young people not in education, employment or training…’

It is a great way for businesses and individuals in the Brighton and Hove and surrounding areas to recycle their unwanted IT equipment and also a great way to purchase affordable IT equipment once the equipment has been refurbished. Another bonus is that if you are unable to go to them they are happy to come and collect the equipment. They are only after specific types of IT equipment, as specified on their website though and I’m not sure they are selling any refurbished equipment yet, but they will be soon!

So if you are local and you want your old IT equipment to go to a good cause, then what are you waiting for – send it over to Rock IT!

Are there similar organisations to this near you? I’d love to hear about them!

If you liked this post I would really appreciate it if you click like on Facebook and follow on Twitter – thanks!

Disclaimer – this is not a sponsored post.

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