"We'll have to see recycled as better than new."
~Brad Weiners (via)
~Brad Weiners (via)
Just a few ways I'm seeing "recycled" as beautiful + better than new:
- appreciating the lovely layering of patches that evolves with time
- making a useful pad of paper from one sided papers + a binder clip
- building gorgeous things with secondhand materials
- searching for lovely old furniture with worn surfaces
- making new candles out of the remains of spent ones
- squeezing a cute new top out of his loved-to-bits shirt
- finding recycled options for necessities
- mending it again + again
A couple of further thoughts:
- Reusing materials in their original form is preferable to what most of us think of as recycling...which involves breaking materials down, washing them + reconstituting them into new materials. That process is preferable to extracting new materials, but does take a lot of energy + water.
- For many of us, our proclivity for novelty is a barrier to fully using our things up.
- Let's be intentional about thinking through ways we can change our preferences toward reuse. :)
Labelled photos via links. Unlinked photos, mine.
Love,
Jane
