By Victoria Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y.
I’m sure you are all familiar with that old adage, “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle.”. Well, I would like to focus this column on just one aspect of that dictum–the reuse component. We here at the old Rolfe homestead go for reusing in a big way. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is ever casually tossed away in this house. Can it be fixed? What else can we do with it? Before anything gets thrown out, it is very carefully scrutinized for any possible future use.
First of all, we do not buy things with tossing away in mind. By this I refer to “disposable” products–in other words, paper and plastic one-use items. Even if we are eating outdoors or have company, we use real dishes, never paper or plastic. The same goes for cups and utensils. On the rare occasion that we have a big party here with too many people for our dishes to accommodate, we have (ostensibly) “disposable” sturdy plastic plates and knives and forks that we just wash and reuse for the next party.
The same goes for cleaning and personal care supplies. We use rags and sponges rather than paper towels. No Swiffers for the Rolfes, just an old-fashioned mop and bucket. We use cloth napkins for dining. A face cloth rather than a “wipe.” Our vacuum cleaner does not have a bag to throw out. We just empty its contents (into the compost bin). Even when we did have a vacuum with a bag, we would empty the bag and reuse it as many times as possible.
We try to buy food with as little packaging as possible, but of course there is still plenty of packaging that we can’t avoid. So, we reuse plastic tubs to store leftovers in. And when they get too icky for that purpose, they move on to their next life as a garden container. Maybe a scoop for potting soil, or a container for chicken food, or perhaps they get holes in the bottom to become planters.
In fact, the garden in general is a great place for reusing things. Anytime we buy a plant, the pot gets washed out to be used again. I use the same cell packs (that I originally bought plants in) over and over again, year after year, to plant my seeds in. Mushroom and takeout containers with a few holes punched in the bottom are also great for seed-starting.
But it’s not just plant pots that get reused in the garden. Everything gets a second life. The straw that we use as mulch for the tomato plant then gets tossed in the chicken yard as bedding. Once the coop needs refreshing, the straw gets thrown into the compost to break down and become an amendment for the soil in our garden. How’s that for reuse, reuse, reuse?
Not everything gets reused for the purpose it was originally intended. The garden is a great spot for some creative reusing. An old bed frame gets new life as a pea trellis. Old boots become planters. You are only limited by your imagination.
As another way of reusing in the garden, we “reuse” plants. I divide them up to add new gardens. I collect the seeds from them to grow new flowers and veggies the following year. I gather cuttings from shrubs to grow new ones. It’s all just reusing what I already have.
Even water gets reused. It never just goes to waste. If I am just rinsing something out. I don’t dump the water down the drain. I pour it into something else that needs soaking, or water a plant with it. If I am letting the faucet run to get hot water, that water is running into jugs to water plants later.
We even reuse items that our fellow Americans typically don’t. We wash out Ziploc bags many times over. We fold up tin foil for another use. We save any cardboard boxes that come into our home to use again or to break down and use under mulch in the garden. We wipe and reuse parchment paper. Any paper with a blank side gets printed on the other side or is saved for scrap paper. I even get several uses out of a tea bag before it gets tossed in the compost.
All this goes to alleviate more stuff in the world. The more people reuse what is already here, the less they will purchase more stuff. The more they can hold onto things at home, the less stuff goes into the landfill. Let’s all do what we can to close that circle a little bit. Less stuff coming into our homes means (eventually) less stuff being manufactured. Less stuff going out means less accumulation of garbage and pollution in our world. It really is that simple and in my humble opinion so easy to do.
So, take a few moments to think before you buy. “Where is this item going to end up?” “How many uses will I have for it?” And before you toss it, “Can I (or someone else) reuse this item?” I thank you for your consideration and our Mother Earth thanks you even more.
A long, long time ago, after the birth of her third child, Victoria made the life-changing decision to leave the work world behind and devote herself to being a full-time mom and homemaker. Along with her new title of Domestic Engineer, she took on the role of the Chief Home Economist for the family.
At first, it was scary to try to live on less than half their income, but Victoria found that she not only rose to the challenge but thrived in the enjoyment of learning to live their best life with limited resources. She embraced this new frugal lifestyle of the at-home-mom and went on to add a fourth child to the mix. And their family was complete.
Along the way she acquired a great deal of wisdom in how to not only avoid debt, but pay off mortgages early, buy cars for cash, travel on a shoe-string budget, and send kids to college with no student loans, all while also saving a tidy nest egg for retirement. She currently educates others in these skills through her business Bright Future.
Now living the life of a modern homesteader in the Hudson Valley, New York, Victoria has added gardening to her list of skill sets as she grows many of her own vegetables to supplement her family’s primarily vegan diet. And she has come to realize that this waste-not, want-not, carbon-friendly, sustainable life she is living is not only benefiting her own family but also our Mother Earth, and that each of us has the obligation to live a responsibly sustainable life not only for ourselves, but for the greater good of our community, and our planet. We can all do this one household and backyard at a time. We are the world! And it all begins right at home.
Victoria can be reached at brightfuture2budget4@gmail.com
I went to cloth paper towels, cut back in use of plastic and plastic containers with changes to shampoo, laundry and dishwasher products. I collect plastic bags for a program at the library that recycles them into benches.
I appreciate the clever reuse ideas in the article. These articles are important to keep inspiring folks to examine what they can do to prevent creating a waste and then reusing when they can. A while back I was inspired about replacing paper towels with washcloths. There are always occasions in a household with pets/kids that paper towels are helpful (e.g. dog diarrhea on a carpet) I DRASTICALLY reduced my paper towel use. My current paper roll has lasted since Nov 22 of 2022 with only half being used so far.
Keep up the great work Ms. Rolfe!