Sorry that there have been fewer posts than normal recently – I’ve been taking full advantage of both of the long weekends to have time in the garden and not on my computer. Normal programming should return from now on!

Anyway, at least I’ve been busy reusing/recycling in our garden. Last week, I turned our old bathroom cupboard doors into raised bed for foot square gardening then on Monday, my not-in-law’s neighbours were throwing away a solid curtain pelmet and I made that into a herb trough/window box style planter. And both are now filled with produced-here compost – so that’s more recycling ;)

Back to the pelmet though, while I was doing the minimal work required for its transformation, I was thinking what else it could be used for. It was still in pretty decent condition so a sand down and repaint could easily continue being used for its original purpose – sitting on top of the curtains to hide the rail. It could be given away via Freecycle/Freegle if the original owners didn’t want it any more. (Pelmets are seen as a bit fussy and old fashioned by some but they are supposed to help keep rooms warmer by cutting down convection currents around the window.)

When I first saw the pelmet, I thought it was a mantlepiece – it could easily be turned into a decorative fire surround (for a small gas/electric fireplace or not used real one) by adding legs, which could be made quite easily from cheap planking. Or simply used as a floating shelf.

As for actual recycling, it was mostly wood — but wood that had been frequently painted over the years so wouldn’t be suitable for burning. If it had been less sturdy, I’d probably still have taken it to just use for the lengths of lumber – I’m all about scrap wood at the moment.

Any other ideas? How would you reuse it?

It’s been a few weeks since I shared some links so here are some of my favourite sightings and emails from the last month:

• First up, it has to be Scott’s coke can and chopsticks bird feeder – as always, a fab recycled item with very fun how-to instructions. Unfortunately (for us in the UK) the full instructions will be in Make magazine – but if you’re crafty, you can kinda get the idea from the pictures/preview ;)
• And sticking with gorgeous things in the Make/Craft universe, I love these denim storage bags – easy to make from the legs of old jeans — a perfect companion project if you’re turning some jeans into cut-offs this summer :)
• I also love these sweet packet purses/pouches. I wonder if clear plastic bags could be fused onto the packets rather than having to use iron on vinyl…
• As a fan of both buttons and nature, I think these buttons from twigs are great too. As the how-to explains, it’s a little tedious to cut them all with a handsaw but if you just want a few and don’t have a table saw, then it’s still a viable project.
• And speaking of the great outdoors, I’m planting out a lot of stuff at the moment. I’ve been using sliced up plastic bottles, drinks cans and other packaging for plant markers but these labels – made from skewers and wine corks – are very cute too.
• Roo has turned an old nightstand/chest of drawers into a unique and fun doll house – just a little handy work is needed before the fun decorating starts!
• Shopping lists save money & food waste but our lists and pens tend to wander from our kitchen noticeboard — they wouldn’t if we had one of these. The similar pretty wood backing/bulldog clip/elastic band idea would work well with reclaimed scrap paper as well as a new roll.
• And finally, I had an email from Jackie: “I recycled this awning frame by making it a pot rack. A little bit of chain and I hooks and s hooks bring it all together” — looks great and super practical, great work.

I mentioned on Twitter yesterday that it was Recycle This’s fifth birthday earlier this week – we launched on the 24th April 2006.

In the intervening five years, I’ve published 1026 posts about reusing and recycling random stuff. We’ve had over 14,000 suggestions/comments (and 1,259,497 attempted spam comments! ;) ) and had about 5million people visit the site — not bad for an idea I had in the bath :)

In those five years, recycling as a concept as boomed – nearly all local authorities in the UK offer extensive kerbside collections now, packaging is getting better (both in terms of labelling and using more easily recyclable materials to start with) and there are tons of recycling information websites now, and upcycling crafts are very popular too. There is still a long way to go – but it’s great to see that progress is being made.

I’ve (virtually and in real life) met so many lovely people as a result of the site and heard so many fantastic recycling ideas that I couldn’t possible begin to pick favourites – but I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has sent over a question or added an suggestion, idea or advice — you’re all super wonderful :)

I did hope to have a new fancy design finished as a birthday present for the site but that’s … not happened. It should happen some time in the next few months though – and I’ve got some new ideas for the site too. Stay tuned :)

We’ve had an email from Melissa:

I’m Melissa from Argentina. I love recycling but there are not many things I can do here.

That’s why I’ve got to ask you… Is there any way of recycling more stuff on my own??? I recycle paper, bottle caps and cardboard.

In my country there aren’t a lot of places where I can recycle and I think that’s because people (not everyone) don’t care about that.. That’s very sad!

It is very sad – but an interesting question: these days so much recycling in the UK etc relies on local council provision (or in some areas, on supermarkets/other businesses) – how would we recycle if those systems weren’t in place?

I think we’d reuse more – a plastic bottle repurposed as a plant cloche doesn’t need recycling, neither does a glass jar reused for homemade preserves, a t-shirt upcycled into a shopping bag or scrap paper clipped together to make a notebook. We know that we should reuse before recycling – but I think that would be even more apparent if there wasn’t an option to recycle. Despite the name, this site is more about reusing than recycling – because it should come first and is easier to do on an individual level.

What we think of as proper recycling – breaking something down and making something new from the base material – is a lot harder to do at home, especially without specialist skills or equipment. It would probably be easier (but not exactly easy) to work with local authorities/community groups to set up recycling schemes working with local recycling/reclamation companies. Does anyone have any experience/advice about doing that sort of thing? Or are there any things that can easily be recycled (not just reused) at home?

Any other thoughts/advice for Melissa?

(Photo by septober)

Readers of my simple/DIY living blog The Really Good Life will already know that I’m trying to make more efficient use of the space in my garden this year – I’ve been making lots of planters and raised beds from scrap wood (including this weekend, a 3ftx3ft bed for square foot gardening from our old bathroom cupboard doors) and I’m also interested in vertical gardening – creating a living wall of salad, herbs and companion plants.

I’ve explored the various different types of wall planters/hangers that you can buy – from essentially shelves, to window boxes, fabric bags and complicated systems – but me being me, I would prefer to make them myself, ideally reusing and recycling stuff I already have stashed around the place.

Some lovely people have already made some suggestions – I’m going to try making upside down planters from squash bottles and a fancy living wall type system from an old pallet when I find a suitable one – but I thought I’d ask on here as well in case anyone else has any suggestions.

I realise we’ve already covered similar areas like this before but I think the wall-mounted aspect opens up some other options – and I’d love to hear them.

What have you used to make wall planters? Have you made a vertical garden or a living wall? Or have you made any hanging baskets from anything interesting?