"Repurposing" at it's Finest.

I realize "repurposing" can't be summed up in "Days." "Repurposing" is on-going. The most you can hope for is to one day start a "repurposing" pile and keep adding to it as you come across things you don't need. I met my own goal of repurposing more stuff by October 7. This time Easter Seals got my donation. October 7 was the day Easter Seals had scheduled a pickup in my area. I was determined to get a healthy load ready by the time the Easter Seals truck backed into my driveway. My "Day One" blog told how I focused on repurposing large items, but this time I focused on the smaller stuff that I could carry to the garage on my own power--the things that I could fit into manageable sized boxes and bags. First I cleaned out my closet and drawers. If something hadn't been worn in a year or didn't fit anymore, into the bag it went. There was no room for sentimentality or for wishful thinking that "I might fit into that someday." Well, except for the two dresses I wore at each of my two daughter's weddings. Some sentiment is absolutely priceless. Next I hit the basement storage room and the armoire that was full of board games and remotes for video games that hadn't been played since my daughter's grade school days--some even from my grade school days! Collectible games? Things of value, you may ask? Perhaps. I didn't allow myself to think that way. I looked on line to see what kinds of articles Easter Seals accepted and noticed that "antiques" was on the list. In fact, there isn't much that Easter Seals does not take. I repurposed luggage, books, cassette and video tapes, boxes of yarn and fabric, light fixtures, small tables, to name a few--even my husband's old bowling ball. (Sorry Bill, don't know if you knew that. :)) We have a two car garage and I managed to repurpose enough to fill the area in front of one garage door two rows across. I felt good about my healthy donation, the space I had acquired in my storage room and armoire, and the fact that someone might find a purpose for things I no longer needed. My next project is the workshop and garage. The next Easter Seals pickup in my area is November 11. So if I start my "repurposing" pile now, I might get another load ready by November 11. I'm not looking forward to cleaning the workshop and garage, however. The recent "clean out" of my parent's estate including my dad's workshop resulted in lots of things being added to my own estate--the hazard of cleaning out someone's else's stuff. Yes, the "repurposing" saga continues.

A Church Restoration Story

Had the most wonderful breakfast conversation with some recent Catholic guests. They shared this link to a You-tube video of the history and restoration of St. Stanislaus Church in Milwaukee--absolutely captivating and extremely interesting especially for people like me who live and breathe historic restoration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55qVIlw6n8k St. Stanislaus Church: The Restorationhttp://www.StStanislausMilwaukee.com/

Day 1 of "Repurposing"

Day One of the "repurposing" mission to clean my house turned out to be a lot of work. I got rid of unused big items like furniture, an exercycle, storage trunks, an old clothes rack, and cabinets. This allowed me to look at my old space with new eyes and figure out how I wanted to rearrange/reorganize items I was keeping. I discovered that with a little sifting, sorting and rearranging, I could eliminate some of the large furniture type items I was using for storage. I made a list of large items I wanted to repurpose and then enlisted the help of J & S Salvage of Stevens Point. I discovered that J & S will not only take anything, but will also pick items up for free--even my old TV and my husband's beater recliner. Making a list of all the things I was repurposing made sure that nothing would be left behind when J & S pulled out of my driveway. At 6:00 PM last night J & S loaded up all my big items and hauled them away--what a beautiful sight as that truck loaded with all my big items I was repurposing rolled down the street. What a great feeling of accomplishment! That wonderful feeling, didn't last long however. What I didn't count on, was my husband's "bad attitude" toward my giving away his old delapidated recliner and his TV. I think the words Bill used while storming off to a meeting were something like, "next you'll be getting rid of me." Well, I'm not getting rid of Bill. :) I guess I should have included him in my "repurposing" plan. Oops! He didn't know that I was making room for a newer recliner and TV I had around the house. More repurposing was about to unfold. I plan to use things I have lying around in other ways in my own house. You can bet while Bill was at his meeting, I worked hard to refurbish the "man cave" with a newer recliner and a much lighter flat screen TV. I even added a floor lamp we inherited from Bill's father next to his easy chair. I guess Bill liked his new digs since he treated me to ice cream later. :) So that was day one of repurposing. With the big items out of the way, my next step is to find plenty of boxes and then go through smaller items that I think Easter Seals can use--clothers, dishes, tools, and even antiques. The next Easter Seals pickup is October 7, so I've set October 7 as my deadline for going through closets and cupboards. Repurposing continues.