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Friday Favorite: Repurposing

April 29th, 2016

I’m a big fan of reusing and repurposing items. I like being able to invest a little bit of time while making something new from something that would be discarded or recycled. Mr Chiots and I have been roasting our own coffee for many years (see here for more about that), it comes in 20lb in cloth bags. When we use up a bag I turn it into a coffee sack towel for the kitchen.
coffee sack towels 1
I love that we produce much less waste by purchasing coffee this way. We go through about 3 pounds of coffee a week, so we get a 20 lb bag every 8 months or so.
coffee sack towels 2
Our green coffee beans come from Sweet Maria’s, which is a fantastic resource if you’re wanting to get into coffee roasting. Just think, you too could be on your way to having coffee sack towels in your kitchen. They make great kitchen towels too!

What are you repurposing in your home or in the garden?

6 Comments to “Friday Favorite: Repurposing”
  1. susan ingle on April 29, 2016 at 10:03 am

    Susi, 3 pounds of coffee a week is a LOT of coffee. I think you might have meant 3 pounds a month. But, if not, that totally explains how you and the hubs get so much done! :D

    Reply to susan ingle's comment

    • Lee on April 30, 2016 at 9:20 am

      Now we know how she gets so much done! I love those towels.

      Reply to Lee's comment

  2. Jill on April 29, 2016 at 10:12 am

    I agree, Susy, it’s great to put to use things that might end up in a landfill or be trucked across the country to be recycled. We get wood pallets free from a carpet store and have used them for all kinds of things. There was lumber left over from building our garage which we used to build the forms for the concrete footing on our barn. Those same boards have been used to build bunny hutches, stalls and cold frames. The kids’ crib was not going to be safe for another child to use but the railings made a handy deck gate to keep the puppy from chewing the patio furniture lol. This year the same crib rail will be modified and used in a creep feeder for the baby lambs. Repurposing is affordable and sustainable. I wish more people would get the habit!

    Reply to Jill's comment

  3. Joan on April 29, 2016 at 10:48 am

    I repurpose a lot of wood, pulling out nails or using the short ends that were produced when I built the addition on my house. Just this morning I built a couple of stands for my bees out of short 2x4s that were left over from other projects. The pieces to short to use for anything else become kindling for my woodstove.

    Reply to Joan's comment

  4. Chris on April 29, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    I love those Sweet Maria’s coffee sack towels you made! Thanks for the inspiration! We have repurposed our hot air popcorn popper to roast coffee beans! )

    Reply to Chris's comment

  5. Nebraska Dave on April 30, 2016 at 8:25 pm

    Susie, oh, where do I start. My best repurposing for this year has been old carpet from apartment dumpsters for weed barriers. The best stuff ever. It absolutely will block weeds. Then when it comes time to plant, the carpet is pulled back revealing dark moist soil. The soil is heavily mulched with grass clippings from vacant lots that haven’t been dowsed with chemicals. I finally found the system that works for Terra Nova Gardens.

    have a great recycling day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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