ENVIRONMENT

Recreate The Old To Become The New, Some Simple Saving-Hacks

And be kinder to our mother nature at the same time.

My ‘cropped’ T-shirt. Photo from the author

Imagine how much money I could save if I could recycle all the things I purchased, and turn them into another useful item! Sometimes I think about how nice it would be if I never needed to spend what I have earned? hahaha….

Clothes

I’ve grown tired of shopping online for cropped T-shirts during the lockdown…I still don’t feel comfortable going out shopping now even with the easing of the lockdown, where I could feel the fabric texture with my fingers and try it on in person to ensure satisfaction.

I’ve purchased some cropped T-shirts online but few reached my expectation. Most of the time it was because the fabric was not cooling enough, or the length was too short or too long.

Phew..! I still have a bit of perfectionism in me, hahaha! I don’t want to create future garbage as I don’t think I will wear it if it’s uncomfortable.

So here am I, got an old T-shirt which I didn’t feel like giving away because I like the soft and breathable fabric so much! This is the perfect fabric for hot and humid weather! However, its length is long which doesn’t look nice on hot pants, I want a cropped T-shirt to go with this humid weather!

I used my favorite cropped T-shirt as a guide for the ideal length I wanted. I Laid them flat on the table and put my old T-shirt on top of it, then cut it with a sharp scissor. Simple!

Woo-hoo! I tried it on and it was perfect! Though the cutting edge was a little uneven with the zigzag, I loved it for its natural creativity! Rather than the boring conventional robotic edging.

I dislike wasting everything, I’ll think of what can I do to recycle even if things are still in good condition. I may not be able to use them now for any purpose but I’ll keep them. One day they could come as handy and perfect for something.

Do you know that the average American throws away 80 lbs of clothing annually? That’s an insane amount of clothes! Do you know where the clothing goes after being dumped? Please watch the video below:

Decoration/Storage

The things I use for recycling can vary from the nice, quality packaging of a gift box/hamper basket, ribbons, or decorative items, e.g. artificial flowers. I always feel they are too pretty to be thrown away and become garbage in such a short time!

You can use them for some seasonal or celebration decorations and you’ll be surprised how nice and unique they look if you just use a bit of your creative sense! I’ve used some pretty boxes as an organizer box in my cupboard drawer. They turned out to be very nice and unique, and they didn’t cost me a penny!

Plant/Nursery Pot

I’ve also turned some plastic bottles into gardening pots. To me, it’s added some personality to my plant decorations as they are unique and represent my style!

I’ve even turned some beer cans into nursery pots by cutting them in half and poking some holes at the bottom. I got this idea during the Covid-19 lockdown where I wasn’t able to go out to buy. Besides, the shop also wasn’t allowed to open for business. It was a good pastime for me!

Recycled a plastic bottle to be a plant pot in my bathroom. Photo by the author

Natural Fertilizer

Even surplus food, especially fruit peel, onion skin, etc can be used again. I use them as a natural fertilizer for my gardening. It’s very easy, just cut them into smaller pieces and bury them under the soil.

I do this almost every day as I eat fruit every day and it’s simple and easy. Besides it also serves as a little exercise for me! I can kill two birds with one stone.

It works wonders for me and has helped turn my small piece of infertile land outside my house compound became fertile to grow my veggies. It amazed me!

I also regrow vegetables by simply putting fresh roots into the soil, such as leek and spring onion. You can do the same if the onion is no longer in the best of condition. It’s handy when you need it in your cooking, free of pesticides!

All these help me not only to save some money on buying these commonly used veggies, but also save on fertilizer, seeds, plant pots, or new soil. The soil fertility decreases after repeated use over time thus needing fertilizer or new soil.

My dragonfruit peel is my natural fertilizer. Photo from the author.

Final Thought

To me, for every creation, there’s a cycle from birth to death. We can turn them into another entity that’s beneficial without harming our environment. I hope that we humans do not create any evil man-made entity that’s harmful and cannot be recycled, for the benefit of our many next generations!

Thanks for reading!

My Inspiration From Nature While Doing Gardening.

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