• Last month one of the biggest discussion points was how to get into the habit of taking packed lunches; this month it’s how to freshen up a tired winter coat. I only asked the question on Tuesday but we’ve already had some great responses – and an impromptu confessional session about the size of our wardrobes! Thanks to Jayne, Linda, bookstorebabe, Su and Alice!
• Unsurprisingly, we’ve been talking a lot about Christmas too – Anna suggested a great modern recycled gift wrap idea – using brown paper or foreign language newspapers while Pauline suggested decorating shoeboxes to reuse for gifts year after year. Cipollina posted a fun Christmas basket made from old Christmas cards and when it came to ideas for using up leftover turkey, I had the bookstorebabe at bacon croutons.
• Another popular seasonal talking point was how to make draft excluders (aka draft dodgers) – lots of great suggestions on there including Lyndsey’s idea using old jumpers, the Crafty Green Poet’s silky one using an old kimono robe and Alexis’s clear modern one stuffed with barley.
• Less seasonally, Linda was a commenting machine when it came to generating ideas for things to do with old disposable hairnets – keep scrolling down that page for more ideas from her!
• And speaking of net related things, Su had some great suggestions for things to do with old net curtains.
• Finally, I asked about making placemats and Anna had a great idea – use an old shower curtain as a backing to any pretty fabric to make waterproof tablemats.

Thanks to everyone who commented on our posts this month – and indeed through 2010 as a whole!

We were walking in the woods down the road the other day when we got a bit overexcited – there was a plastic sledge in the undergrowth under a holly bush! We’re far too grown-up to buy a sledge for us to play with but a found one? weeeeeee!

When we pulled it out, we found why it was under there – the plastic runners had snapped off and there were just holes the length of the sledge in their place. Cue two disappointed faces. We left it where it was because we were on the outward swing of our walk and forgot to pick it up on the way back – but we might go pick it up again if we can thing of a good reuse for it.

The plastic looked too thin/brittle to warrant a repair job to be reused as a sledge but that doesn’t mean it has to head for landfill.

The first reuse idea that springs to mind is the ubiquitous planter – I can always use new planters. The holes were only about 1cm across – some crocks or a bit of liner would stop the soil falling out but provide adequate drainage – but I’d be a little cautious about growing food in there because it’s unlikely to be decent quality plastic and may leach all sorts of stuff into the soil.

What else could I do with it instead?

Since sharing my favourite upcycled Christmas present ideas and recycled Christmas decoration suggestions, I’ve spotted another few awesome things that I thought I should mention in case you’ve got a few spare hours this afternoon and want to reduce, reuse and recycle!

• I love, love, love using the metal of drinks cans for things – and this is a wonderful reuse – a very special Christmas card. (Keep the prettiest cards from this year to make them next year!)
• Eaten your fill of shop-bought mince pies already? Use the pie tins to make a table centre piece for your Christmas meal!
• Still got to wrap your offerings? Here’s a cute wrapping idea: make a shiny bow from a sweet wrapper or crisp packet.
• These super simple tree decorations made from scrap card are great – from cutting out to on the tree in less than five minutes!
• A little more involved, these sheet music tree decorations would be very fun for musical families.
• And even more personal decoration idea: use old flour to make salt dough and make animal/children paw print tree ornaments to mark the year. I love the idea that making these could be incorporated into a family Christmas tradition – each year make more to add to the collection.

For all those celebrating Christmas, have a very merry one!

For all those not celebrating Christmas tomorrow, have a fab weekend!

So the big day is nearly upon us again.

Hopefully you’ve already been busy upcycling random stuff into Christmas presents and recycled Christmas decorations – it’s easy to keep the green theme going after Christmas too.

Give away unwanted gifts & replaced items

Don’t wait until you spring clean – declutter now while all the new additions are fresh in your mind.

Give away items that you don’t want or won’t use, or old items that have been replaced by something shiny and new – the sooner you give it away, the sooner someone else will get some use out of it, and it might stop them having to buy new-new in the January sales.

Reuse wrapping paper

Don’t throw away wrapping paper – reuse it instead. The bigger pieces can be flattened out and used again (kids especially won’t notice the same paper being used year on year), or made into reusable paper gift bags.

Smaller pieces can be used to make gift tags, festive envelopes or used to revamp Christmas decorations for use next year.

Particularly creased pieces can be shredded to provide protective cushioning for gifts throughout the year – or to protect delicate Christmas decorations while in storage, which brings me neatly onto…

Be kind to your Christmas decorations

Store them away carefully and you’ll be able to use them year on year – meaning less waste going to landfill and reducing your need to buy new stuff.

As well as shredded wrapping paper, you can use packaging (such as moulded expanded polystyrene foam and formed plastic) from new toys or gadgets to protect delicate items. Wrap tinsel and strings of Christmas lights around a kitchen roll tube or a plastic bottle to avoid tangling. Label boxes so you can find them again easily.

If you don’t have any space for storage, don’t throw away decorations – pack them away neatly and offer them on Freecycle/Freegle.

Reuse or recycle your Christmas cards

Similarly, keep your favourite Christmas cards to one side – possibly tucked into a decorations box – to recycle into gift tags or recycled decorations next year. Cut others into narrow strips to use as shopping lists – the card is easier to write on than paper when you’re on the go. Keep large cards for crafts – for when you need thin but strong card. There are lots of different ways to reuse them.

If you can’t see yourself reusing them, plenty of high street shops have recycling collection bins especially for cards – typically WH Smith, Tesco and M&S – often with a donation going from the store to a related charity (such as the Woodland Trust) for every bin of cards collected. Some charity shops also collect cards for reusing/upcycling into gift tags and the like – ask around to see who is collecting them in your area.

Use up every single bit of your turkey – and other food

A lot of energy went into growing the bird, transporting it around and cooking it – so make the most of it by using up all the leftover meat and making stock from the carcass.

Use leftover veg to make soup, stews and stock.

Use leftover Christmas cake to make fruity rum truffles – or throw it outside for wild birds to eat.

If don’t think you’re going to get through all your Christmas biscuits or mince pies, be proactive about it before they go stale – freeze some for later consumption (keep the festival spirit going all January!) or give them away to someone else – they might be very grateful for free treats!

What are your favourite ways to reduce waste at Christmas?

(Photos by soultga, Tombre and Vanessa Fitzgerald)

Following on from last week’s plastic dustbins and Monday’s broken ironing boards, Philip also suggested

Brooms and rakes.

I don’t know why, but people often throw out orphaned handles and heads of various garden tools. I simply play match maker. You can’t have too many garden tools on a farm. Reconditioned tools also make great presents.

Philip’s idea is a great one – my father-not-in-law collects and matchmakes them too. I think nearly all our garden tools now are refurbished old ones.

We went through a phase a couple of years ago of having a lot of brushes (and mops) break at the bottom of the handle – so had some brush heads lying around. I thought I’d covered it on the site and someone had suggested using them to make a boot brush/scraper – but I can’t find that now so many I dreamt it — a good idea though!

I imagine an old rake could be used to make a en masse berry picker like this one by kooky chap Atomic Shrimp.

Any other reuses for old/broken brooms, brushes and rakes?