We’ve had an email from Su:

I do like to tax the minds of all who read these sites, not intentionally, but in a ‘why don’t I know how to do that’ sort of way.

Here goes, I collect all the water from my washing machine, and use it to flush the loo. However, hauling watering cans of water up the stairs with a frozen shoulder is not especially easy. So I would like to construct (if possible) some sort of pump, preferably from reused bits. Unfortunately, I have not the remotest idea where to start!

I can easily put a pipe out of the bathroom window into the container of water, but it would be easiest if the pump, or at least the switch was at the ‘top’ end, so that I don’t end up running up and down stairs to switch it on and off. Would a washing machine pump (not that I have one lying around) do the job? Could it be solar powered?

All ideas gratefully received.

I haven’t had much experience with setting up greywater systems so I can’t really advice – hopefully someone else will be in a better position to comment. As someone who has an incredibly vertical house, I’d love to learn more about options for pumping water too.

One thing I will say though is could you change it around so you don’t need to pump upwards? For example, using greywater from shower/bath for the toilet, and using the stuff from the washing machine elsewhere (such as on the garden, if it’s chemical free). It obviously depends on the set up of your home – there might not be storage room on that level for the water – but it might be easier to rejig things that way then get a powered pump working.

Any ideas, suggestions or advice?

After last month’s straw placemats and coasters post, I got thinking about plastic “disposable” tablecloths – the type people buy as a cheap way to decorate their table for children’s (and other) parties.

They’re usually thin sheets of plastic, either brightly coloured or covered with character pictures – so they seem like ideal candidates for upcycling — any specific ideas?

They’re also good as table/floor/everything covers for during messy crafts sessions – or use a no sew poncho pattern to turn them into splash-proof ponchos for very messy art activities!

Of course, it would be better to reduce in the first place – buy multi-purpose washable textiles or easy-clean oilcloth ones. Or if you don’t want a bunch of 5 year olds to ruin your best linen, cover tables with cheap blank newsprint/sugar paper and let the kids decorate it themselves — the best bits can be cut out and kept as a memento and the rest can go into your paper recycling.

As for actually recycling plastic ones, they’re usually made from HDPE (resin code 2) like carrier bags – so can be recycled alongside shopping bags.

Any other ideas for reusing and upcycling them?

We’ve had an email from Karen:

How can I recycle a baby cot, stair gate and play pen?? Cant bear to throw them away but seems difficult to give away!!

It doesn’t have to be difficult to give them away – join your local Freecycle/Freegle group, post an “offer” message and chances are someone will come to collect it from your house, at your convenience, within a few days if not hours (or post an ad on GumTree [like Craig’s List in the UK] or on eBay – if your goal is to get rid of it, start it at 99p and mark it “collection only” and it’s almost sure to go).

Or give them to a charity shop – it might have to be a furniture focused charity or charity shop but there should be one of those near you – and some places even collect furniture donations. The NCT also regularly organise local “nearly new” sales – for parents to pass items onto new parents in need.

As for reuses, we covered baby cots a few weeks ago – some nice ideas on there including making the cot into a bench seat/sofa for the growing kid’s bedroom. Stairgates are also used by people with dogs as well as babies, to keep pesky mutts in or out of certain places – if you know anyone with dogs (particularly small ones), they might be interested. Ditto a play pen to some extent – they’re useful for penning in all sorts of small animals, not just baby humans – someone who breeds cats or puppies might like to use it for a birthing area, or it could be used as a temporary run for ill/pregnant/new rabbits or chickens.

If they’re still in good condition, it would definitely be best to pass them on – any other suggestions for how to pass them on easily? Or for reuses/recycling ideas?

(Photo, which illustrates my doggy point, by ewen and donabel)

We’ve talked about envelopes in general and special types of envelopes – liked padded ones and plastic mailing bags – but I wondered if there are any reuses that take advantage of the see-through bit of window envelopes.

Different places have different policies on whether or not they can be including in general paper recycling bins – some complain about the window, others about the window & glue. The only snail mail I send is either parcels or things that arrived with a pre-addressed/pre-paid envelope so I can’t really reuse them as envelopes. Instead, the blank parts from the backs of envelopes goes into my desk scrap paper pad. If it’s been printed on, it goes into the kindling pile for our stove – but either way, the window comes out.

So any reusing/recycling ideas for intact window envelopes, that take advantage of the window? Or any suggestions for reusing the window by itself?

(Btw, I’ve noticed that some window envelopes are now made from glassine – a largely transparent type of paper. Glassine is not accepted in all paper recycling collection bin and it takes its sweet sweet time to compost because it is water-resistant – best to leave it out of your bin if you want a quick turnover.)

We’ve had an email from Katy:

Cleaning out my mum’s cupboards I’ve found some tatty straw tablemats and a set of coasters that must be as old as me! Can I compost them?

Maybe. A cautious composter might want to leave them out – you don’t know if the straw has been treated with anything and the thread used to hold them together might be synthetic too – but if you were less concerned about things like that, the straw ((or similar woven wood, if it’s not actually straw) would probably rot down pretty quickly once it got warm & damp and you could just remove the thread if it remained intact.

However, before you throw them on your compost heap, you might want to consider reusing or upcycling them first.

How about using them to make a fun casual bag or purse? There is a how-to on Craftster on making a bag from a big placemat – I’m sure it could be modified if the placemats were smaller and not embroidered. Very floppy straw placemats can apparently be made into hats as well.

Is the tattiness just at the edges? Perhaps they could be neatened up with a bit of sewing – attach any stray strands back into the mat and/or cover the edges with strip of fun fabric. If one side is tatty or stained but the other side ok, they could be covered with a thin layer of fabric – the straw would still protect the table.

Any other recycling ideas?