Modern Homesteading: Upcycling Save Money and Help the Environment
Recycling is a big deal right now as we work to save the planet, save money, and reduce waste. By now everyone knows what recycling is. But what is upcycling you ask? Is it a new fad? No. Is it another environmental thing that we are now being told to do? Well, yes, and no. So what is it anyway?
Upcycling is using things that you might normally throw away for something else. You know. Using glass baby-food jars for nuts, bolts, and screws in your workshop. Remember the jelly-jar drinking glasses at grandma’s house when we were little? How about Grandpa’s cigar boxes used for storing other items once the cigars were gone? I remember my mom keeping all of the cottage cheese containers for storing food in the fridge or keeping used oil in the metal coffee cans because there was no place else to keep it (I actually still do this though it’s hard to find the metal coffee cans to keep it in anymore).
Upcycling on the Farm
On our farm, we try to reuse things as much as we possibly can. Pickle jars are used for fermenting Sauerkraut or reusing canning jars year after year, just buying new lids/rings. Here I am going to tell you about 2 bigger upcycles that you can do to help keep larger things from going to the landfill because you have no idea what else to do with it.