Antique Pharmacy Jar: Now Holds Sea Glass as an Art Piece
Moving on Up. Give Throwaways a Second Life
Old to New. Take your well-worn, destined for the dumpster discards, and give them a second life. Transform an item’s colorful history, its varied back-story, its one of a kind persona into a masterpiece—whole or by parts. Save it from a long life at the land ill. Upcycle It!
Coined by William McDonaugh and Michael Braugart in their book, “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things”, upcycling in the simplest terms is taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something new. It’s a sustainable practice that should happen weekly, if not daily. But what does it mean to you—to me—in our daily lives. How do we upcycle? How to we practice cradle to cradle to make a more sustainable future. Follow these simple tips:
Buy Upcycled Items
You won’t find what you need in your local Home Depot (you shouldn’t shop at Big Boxes anyway), so you’ll have to expend a little elbow grease to find a short list of upcycled items. But it’s worth the hunt from both a utilitarian perspective as well as the evolving the back-story of your new find. Before you purchase an item, look for an item that is equal in functionality but created from the parts of something old.
Grow Basil! Not only to puree into a beautiful summer pesto, but to toss in salads, adorn pizzas, and feed to the red wigglers in your worm bin. For Weekend Hippie's pesto, mix to taste: fresh, homegrown or farmers' market basil, toasted pine nuts, whole garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and sea salt. Drizzle a thin layer of olive over the top, seal, and store in glass jars. Use or freeze within ten days. I make five jars at at time and share with friends and neighbors. Enjoy!!
