What do you do, to make something out of nothing or out of trash???

[mom-from-missouri]

I am wanting to spread some inspiration here....

Is there some item that is trash or next to it, that you take and turn into "something"? Something that saves you money or that you could sell to earn cash??

I'll give you an example or two.

1. Right now I am taking some stained and ripped sweats and t shirts, cutting them into strips and crocheting them into coasters (t shirts) and rugs (sweats). Normally these would have gone into the trash. I got the idea after seeing them being sold for big bucks at a Christmas craft show. I doubt I sell any, but figure they will make good gifts.

2. One of our 4H kiddos is taking empty nylon feed bags (normally headed for the trash), and making them into reusuable grocery bags--selling them for $12 each. On a similar note, I did the same with my husbands worn out bibs--I made the top part into purses and grocery totes.

Any ideas?????

[disneysteve]

I have made empty cereal boxes into magazine holders. I cut a wedge out so that there is a triangular opening and the magazines fit in nicely and easily line up on a bookcase. I have either painted them or covered them with giftwrap or wrapping paper to pretty them up.

[disneysteve]

At work (I'm a doctor) we often get vaccine shipments. They come in styrofoam coolers packed with reusable cold packs. Although they are reusable, I'm sure that 98% of them end up in the trash. Not ours. I take them home and store them until we have a yard sale. Then I put out a few cases of them and sell them cheap - 25¢ each or 5 for $1. People love them and grab them up, sometimes buying several dollars worth at a time. I'm sure I could easily double the price but I'm just happy to find them a good home and keep them out of the landfills. We even had someone knock on the door a couple of days after our sale and ask if we still had any and proceeded to buy a bunch more because his wife was so happy with them.

[bjl584]

Old tee shirts that are in too bad a shape for Goodwill make great rags for washing the car and general work around the house.

[disneysteve]

We give our worn out towels to my cousin who uses those to clean his two antique cars.

[disneysteve]

Thought of another. There is a table in the lobby of our synagogue filled with flyers for various upcoming events. Once the event passes, we often grab the stack of flyers and take them home where we use them for scrap paper and notes before ultimately recycling them. They are only printed on one side so we even use them as computer paper to print draft copies of things where appearance isn't important.

[FrugalTexan75]

Worn out towels also make great donations to animal shelters to keep animals warm in their kennels.

[mom-from-missouri]

Saw another one yesterday. At Michaels, they had large soup cans, with a star cut out of them on the side. They were painted with red, white and blue stripes with a t light candle inside them. They sold for $8. I bought one, thinking our 4H or Scout group could possiblly make some for a craft for either sale or painted in Christmas colors to make gifts.

[gogirlanime]

I take extra fabric and sew them into bags that are about 8x5 inches large and fill them with dry rice and sometimes dry herbs and sew them shut, you can put them in the microwave for 3 minutes and it keeps you warm for hours (also saves money oh heat) or you can put them on your body when you have pain

[JoeP]

I try not to save anything considered "junk" that I cannot think of putting to use within a year. The exception is small electrical or plumbing parts, power cords, or anything with copper.

For woodworkers, sawdust is abundant, so I asked a friend for and received several bags that we use to make fire starters (put sawdust in paper egg cartons, pour in melted wax).

My wife is a nurse, and they throw out battery powered irrigators after use or even if the package was opened and they were not used. Inside each is a pack of I think 8 AA batteries, so people get them out of the trash and take the batteries out. We have probably 40 of them at home, perfect for remotes and game controllers.

When we have bbq catered in to work, they usually supply some cheap plastic tongs. I grab them and use them at home. They last only a short time. Our coffee pouches come in a plastic bag with a draw string, so I grab a few before they go into the garbage and use them for dirty laundry when we travel.

When they throw out copier paper boxes, I grab a couple. They come in handy for holiday decorations, and they stack well.

[dmunoz651]

Eco way to make money

So I`m always tryen to figure out how to make something with out nothing. So here is a idea I will be doing.You first have to have some kind of transportation.
1-put a add in your local newspaper, nickles worth, Craigslist.KEEP IT LOCAL
2-In your add you are going to say" Eco Friendly way to dispose of those old car Batteries. Do you have old car batteries at home? And you just do not know what to do with them.I will pick them up! Put your batteries out at the end of your drive way.And I will come get it.
I know your thinking car Batteries Really. Yes, you can take them to your local recycle centers for 10-15.00 dollars apiece. You do the math. There is alot of old batteries sitting in garages, or around peoples homes.
I have tried this before and it worked G Great, I was just to young to keep it going. Good Luck!
3-Almost forgot. get a cheap pre-paid phone. Its going to ring