Wayward socks and gloves

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

For some unknown reason washing machines seem to eat individual socks and, at times, it seems, also individual gloves, but they do seem to have a penchant for socks, and then a poor orphaned, wayward, sock or glove is left to fend all for itself. So, what do we do? We mix and don't match, that's what we do. Or that's what we should be doing.

I come across lost and never looked for again gloves, mostly single ones, as well as other clothing such as children's socks, again mostly single ones, but also others, in the municipal park here on a regular basis. Generally I do take them home, wash them and, in the case of gloves and socks, I try to, somehow, match them and make new unmatched pairs.

In fact, a number of years ago I wrote about turning odd gloves into unmatched pairs and that idea of mine was – shall we call it what it was – stolen by an enterprise online that then commercialized it by asking people to send odd gloves that they found to them for them, the “enterprise”, to “match” them up with others for sale.

When it comes to wayward socks at home – or when one sock is damaged beyond repair while the other one is still OK – why sort of not matching two of those up and wearing them should not be the way to go. Mismatched has, to some extent, it would seem, become fashionable even, at least among some. This can also be a way of rescuing found socks, especially for toddlers and children, and create unmatched pairs for them. Waste not want not.

When it comes to holy (not as in sacred but as in having holes) socks, nowadays, darning them is (almost) impossible due to the materials being used in the manufacture, with the exception of high quality expensive ones, maybe, and hand-knitted ones. So, let's pair up the unmatched and use those that are gone (beyond repair although often repair is not even possible) for other purposes before tossing them out. Worn out socks that are not repairable can be used as application cloths for shoe polish and even for polishing shoes, as dusters, and many other uses.

© 2018

Turning trash into treasure

Diverting waste is the ultimate act of sustainability

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

There are abundant resources for any home sustainability project you wish to undertake. All you have to do is learn to look in the right places first! And, these resources are completely free.

There is nothing more sustainable than trying to get the most use out of the embodied energy of any material. That means: if you have got an old cupboard you don’t have a place for anymore, don’t smash it and use it as firewood! Countless gallons of water and petroleum went into turning that wood into a cupboard, so brainstorm other ways to use it in its high-energy state, or give to someone who can use it. In fact I am normally the one who ends up with such an item from others, as I am generally happy to accept such donations, though I have to say that my home is currently a little overflowing with such items.

In “Cradle to Cradle”, the authors talk about how recycling materials often results in “downcycling”– where the subsequent use of the material results in low-grade, un-recyclable products. Since this is the current state of design, recycling is nowhere near “sustainable.” On the other hand, reusing materials and not thinking of them as “waste” leads to a more ecologically-responsible lifestyle.

Don't let me loose on any skip, as dumpsters are called over here, as long as there is place at home, in the garage or the shed. Alas there are times where stuff has to remain there for one or the other reason. The biggest one is that I am not a driver and do not own a motorcar. Thus transportation is a problem at times and other times it is the case, as it is at present, that there is simply no space either in the house, the grange or the shed. The grange is full of bicycles, abandoned and some damaged, to be rebuilt, and the shed is just, well, full. But using found and available materials makes everything in my home all the more specific, original, and creative!

Here are some tips for where you can find just about anything you need.

“Garbage picking” in affluent neighborhoods. This is by far the most successful means of acquiring excellent materials. Simply driving or biking around the streets on trash night (easily determined on the Internet), there are tons – at times literally – of interesting and useful things to be picked up.

The neighborhoods don’t have to be affluent either, but I think you’ll find that the rate of good materials is higher on a house-to-house basis in such neighborhoods. Shame on them for being so wasteful… but good for you and your projects.

Freecycle or the “Free” section on Craigslist. Dozens of furniture items, building materials, and miscellaneous household stuff are being given away right now in your neighborhood on these online forums! For FREE! When was the last time you could get loads of lumber for free? Also, check out the barter and other sections for good deals.

Dumpsters or skips, as they are called in Britain, or Containers in Germany: Ever driven around to the back of a grocery store or a strip mall? There is lots of great stuff there but, and here it comes; in many places going through those is, theoretically and practically, regarded as trespass and theft. So, you have been warned. Check your local ordinances and laws as to this.

Tag sales. Sometimes people just don’t know what goodies they are tossing out.

Free box. Some community projects, especially cooperatives, may offer a free box. Common items include clothing, slightly damaged tools, and miscellaneous small items.

Wholesalers. Occasionally you will find large, unusual items from food distributors, retailers, supply stores, etc. This includes 55-gallon drums. And don’t forget…

The Junkyard! Want to build a wind turbine for home use? It’s a pretty simple procedure… and it requires a car alternator. Get one for a couple bucks at a junk yard!

Well, I think you are getting the idea.

I am lucky, in a way, that I often find useful items thrown away by people in my day job. I love litter bins... and on top of that there is what people “fly tip”.

While, officially, I hate fly tippers, and that is true, there are times when the stuff is rather useful, such as a bow saw – perfectly usable still though may need a new blade – dumped by some tree surgeons that fly tipped a load of branches in the park.

I could start a very long list here of stuff people throw into bins, or not, as the case may be, and also lose and never bother to cone back for but that would be way too long and, I should think, boring. Suffice to say I won't have to buy a woolly hat for years.

© 2011

Waste not! Want not!

Found things that might come in handy

by Michael Smith

While I am definitely one of those that picks up all those things that may come in handy, and in my day job quite a few things come my way, there is certainly one problem with that philosophy. The problem is that one tends to run – sooner or later, and often it is sooner rather than later – out of storage space for it all and things can get rather cluttered.

The things that one can find, however, are, as I have said before, and can be, rather amazing; from the lost single glove or even a complete pair, over other items of clothing and here especially woolen hats, top abandoned bicycles. And then there are all the things in between.

While the “waste no – want not” attitude and philosophy is rather a green one the results of which can rather take up a lot of space and many of us want to live a life that is less cluttered, as this is also seen by many as one that is more friendly to the environment. I am not, necessarily, convinced as to that, however.

Personally I cannot see that we have an impact on the environment with regards to the stuff we have rescued and stored at home for use the “just in case” event. Those items that are – maybe – cluttering up my place or yours and which have been rescued from ending up in the trash and finally in landfill do less harm with me or you than they do in the landfill. And, given time, there may come the day that we can, indeed, make use of them.

Those of us that are recycling craft orientated do, I am sure, have a way or even ways, of turning many of such items into useful things for this or that purpose and even for sale.

I have a collection, as it could be called, of clothes that were found that are mostly children's sizes and I am looking at a way of giving those to those in need. The aim is to link up with trusted folks that will pass those to children that can make use of those and who will appreciate them.

This is one way of dealing with such found items of clothes that one cannot use oneself or that cannot be used by those that we know, maybe.

Other items, obviously, find their own uses and others lend themselves to be recycled into this or that usable thing. All that is needed, as I have said in previous articles on recycling, is the imagination to envision what this or that could be used for.

Only drawback with this all is that, until such a time that either you find what to use it for and turn it into or just simply find a use and user for it, you end up having to store it somewhere. It also requires the time to actually make this or that out of the items that you have thus acquired.

“Waste not – want not” also applies to other things, that is for sure and I can vouch for the clutter that creates as well. There are the computers that I hate to let go into the waste – anyway it all has to go to special recycling nowadays and rightly so – as they might just be upgraded for little money and then be turned into Linux workhorses. As long as the RAM can be upgraded to something useful, that is to say 256MB or higher than processor and processor speed will hardly matter.

While such computers are no longer of any use with Microsoft Windows they can be fast and powerful using the various Linux distros or other Open Source operating systems, such as BSD, for instance. It does not have to be Windows.

It is the likes of Microsoft – and as far as computers are concerned it is Microsoft – who build in obsolescence into computers and other things. Most computers that can no longer run the latest version(s) of Microsoft Windows are very happy indeed running this or that Linux or other Open Source operating system. Does it really always have to be the latest hardware? No, it does not.

But, I digressed a little again...

It is like that, however, with so many things and we can see that day in day out at the refuse centers, for instance. The things that people throw because of faults, very minor faults, is mind boggling. Nigh on brand-new bicycles are thrown away into the trash simply because they have nothing more wrong with them – and now hold on tight – a simply single puncture in the (back) tire. Stereo systems thrown out because the plug on the power cord has been torn off by some freak accident – as someone explained, having been trapped in a door. Erm, so? There are replacement plugs one can buy. We do not even have to talk about cycles with a flat tire. No one can be that stupid as to be incapable of fixing one of them. Well, apparently they are that stupid and also, more often than not, simply too lazy.

Well, as far as I am concerned, if they want to throw such things, although it hurts me to see that being done, I gladly take them and, if necessary, fix them up again, for own use and/or to give away or even sell.

The only problem is, and I said so before, where to store them all before they are fixed and then either put to use or passed on to another user.

In a perfect world people would just not even trash those things and would themselves continue to use them until replacement needed. The “must have new because there is a new one” is an attitude that is killing our planet and us, literally.

I rest my case...

© M Smith (Veshengro), January 2009
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