One person’s trash is another one’s treasure … a pretty fair comment if you pass any of the gazillion yard sales each summer weekend. Some things on offer are questionable at best (hello Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer), though I did score a snazzy backpack-style picnic basket. It brims with promises of bikerides and strolls followed by al fresco wine and cheese, all local/organic of course. The family that sold the picnic basket had those very same dreams, but after years of anticipation and neglect, they realized it needed a new home to be used and loved. With that, the picnic basket’s second chapter began.

All things deserve a second chapter (and people do too, but that’s a whole other article). There are the obvious environmental savings; not piling on the ol’ landfill (some predict Toronto’s will be full by 2026), not wasting fuel to haul it there in the first place, not having to mine/harvest/produce as many virgin materials to make new things … and you probably know a bunch more 3-R friendly reasons. There are pages and pinterest boards all dedicated to cleverly, creatively repurposing the old to become something new and exciting (loving this guitar bookcase, MUCH better than listening to me play an actual guitar).

image credit: SnappyPixels.com 43 Ways to Reuse

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