Look at this smashing bag, it's a big one, from Tesco, I found it this morning. It was in a bin outside the Village Hall. I always have a peek in there when I go to Crafty Club. Seems there was a party on over the weekend, all the catering debris was in the bin. It was mostly in plastic bags, but this bag had wrappings in it and looked like it had only been used just the once to carry food from the supermarket to the venue.
Why did they throw this bag away, why didn't they empty the contents straight into the bin and take the bag home to use again. The mentality of some people is beyond my comprehension. I don't know how much these bags cost because I have never bought one, but to throw it away when it could be used for at least another year is plain thoughtless and daft.
I love the Pop corn pots would be useful in the garden for little pots. I have just crochet 8 dishcloths for our stall at Breast Cancer, somebody gave us some knitting cotton at our Knit and Knatter. It's amazing what people throw away.
ReplyDeleteHazel c uk
You made me a bag a couple of years ago, Ilona, I use it all the time. I keep it folded up in my handbag, it's lovely and strong. I'd be happy to buy another one off you.
ReplyDeleteI would have pulled it from the bin also...what is wrong with people? I would also use the popcorn pots...for more popcorn! Love it!!
ReplyDeleteI only use reusable cloth bags for shopping, IF we get plastic they are used for kitty litter cleaning. Lots of time I use newspapers for cleaning the litter pan.
Love your blog! I feel like I am amongst my own kind reading your blog.
Joyce in Indiana
I use the bag that you made all of the time-it's great and I don't understand why people throw useful things away-maybe it's out of sight, out of mind and they really don't understand about the environmental impact. Good job you're a womble and can see treasure in their trash! Jane from Derby
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely bag, love the way you try to make use of everything as do I do myself, some people just don't think, I think they are thinking about the here and now and not about future generations.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever made pinnies to sell.
ReplyDeleteWould like to know this too please as i would love to buy one x
DeleteNo, I don't make pinnies.
DeleteI use the bag you made in 2013 everyday for storing my recycling. Looking at the queues in the supermarket last week most shoppers had brought their own bags with them. We are also seeing lots more people using our Repair Cafe on a month by month basis. We have become so popular we have outgrown our premises and I now have a team of volunteers working along side me sorting out all the Terracycle recycling we collect. So the message is getting through to more even though it doesn't always seem that way. Arilx
ReplyDeleteThats just how I feel,that we are fighting a losing battle.When I see the overflowing dustbins around where I live.Some people have 5 or 6 recycle bags,half filled as though it is a competition to see how many recycle bags they can put out!.They just dont get it!!!.The idea is too try and reuse as much as possible before recycling items.I am so glad that I am able to google all the frugal,no waste blogs that are on the internet,to know that there are loads of like minded people about...cause they dont live around where I live!!xx
ReplyDeleteThose popcorn containers are cute. I always have about 5 bags in my car for grocery shopping and the cloth ones can be washed so they last "forever."
ReplyDeleteI often stop and get things people have put out in the rubbish and take it to the charity shop.. they're just too lazy
ReplyDeleteYou're right there. Can't be bothered is their motto, just get rid of it.
DeleteGreetings from Australia Ilona where I'm just home from picking up rubbish blown on our lovely beach during a wind storm. Don't think you're alone , you have friends every where and I sometimes think of you when I'm reusing someone else's 'rubbish'
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice bag too. Allain de Botton in his book ‘Status Anxiety’ talks about the rise of post war consumerism and the disposable society, so I guess we humans have had well over half a century of ‘buy and throw’ conditioning that is now pretty much engrained in our psychic. Somehow this has to be turned around. Where I live we are being consumed by rubbish that is piling up in warehouses because China and other Asian countries don’t want it anymore. There is only Clayton’s recycling now because it is all going into landfill. We don’t have a lot of spare holes in the ground either. You would think the penny would drop, but it hasn’t. I’ve given up convincing others to change and now just focus on me. I make my own bags from old tops and smaller produce bags from worn sheets. I take them to the market and use the small cotton bags to store fruit and vegies in the fridge. I call the way I buy (not buy) disruptive consumerism. On a few occasions I’ve actually stood in line at the register next to a shopper also using cloth bags! I recycle clothes too. Still wearable clothes go to good will shops where I find all my ‘new to me’ fashion items. And, a lot of people here are doing this. These shops are the busiest in the shopping strips and getting busier each day. Lately I’ve been darning and fixing things to make them last longer. My hunter gatherer mentality has us scrounging curb-side rubbish collections for treasures that we fix and make like new for us to use. And, how did all this start for me? It started with reading this blog! With much thanks to you Ilona, Jane from Melbourne.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that apparently some countries are sending our rubbish back to us because they don't want it. It won't be long before we have massive dumps with people picking over it to make a living, like they do in India.
DeleteI also feel a little discouraged sometimes about doing my "bit" to reduce consumption and waste, but you are such an inspiration Ilona! I just think if everyone did a little bit, instead of cynically moaning that one person can't possibly make a difference, we "might" have a chance to save our planet and ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI hate the moaners. Won't get off their arse and do something.
DeleteI have tried getting through to people in a friendly sort of way....and their reaction is..including my sister...oh my daughter in law does in for us! or I know one of the family do it...while they are busy filling their own dustbin up with stuff,which could be at least recycled or reused.I will not give up!!..But I do get annoyed when something that is so simple,alot of people wont even try!.xx
DeleteI have a reusable bag that I got from a trip to Disney Springs in Florida on my last vacation that i use for my small Ipad and my Sunday School teachers guide when I go to church. It is a shame to pay upwards of $5-6 for a reusable bag and not reuse it. Mine is the perfect size for my needs. if you do the math and throw something like that away, ( most of the time they can be wiped out hand washed if they are dirty on the inside), then you have just threw away money if you are just going to use it once. Mine cost $USD 1.50x 60 uses= less than a penny each time i use it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am planning on taking it back with me on my next trip, too.
Also, I do not know if everyone has them where they live , but those big plastic ( used to be called "Texas Gallon") type ice cream containers can be ue=sed over and over.
I think many people are using their own bags for shopping nowadays. I save every plastic bag that comes my way (NOT bought my me!) as they are quite rare and still handy if for instance I want to give some veg away. You are doing a brilliant job with making and giving or selling bags and picking up rubbish and recycling stuff.....As They say......... Every Little Helps
ReplyDeleteI save my bread bags and cereal bags and find another use for them. It's a habit I can't stop.
Deleteme too! i re-use the bags for freezer storage and then after that, turn them inside out as rubbish bags for used cat pouches and lining small bathroom bin. It's a habit now, but only started after reading the idea - keep preaching the message; slow-starters like me will catch on eventually!
DeleteYou should have seen all the abandoned tents left behind at the Norfolk Showground after a music event. I was so shocked. Why would you buy a tent, use it for one or two nights then leave it behind. They certainly could be reused.
ReplyDeleteI have seen pictures like that after Glastonbury. It's shocking and very sad that people have such disregard for their possessions, and the planet.
DeleteThe annoying thing is we older people...and alot of young ones as well...are all trying to stop waste to make life and the planet a better place to live for future generations...And then you have Morons like that at the festival,that just couldnt give a toss!!xx
DeleteI've been recycling/upcycling for years, clothes etc and totally agree about fighting a losing battle. Where I live there was a popular business commenting on a community page abut using paper bags for items they sell, only cost 10p per bag but they sell a lot of items to the local town and surrounding area and they were going on about the cost so I offered to make some fabric bags for free, all I got back was I don't understand what Morsbags are! erm, they are fabric bags made from old curtains/duvet covers/ cotton fabric to stop the fabric going to landfill, just wasn't interested at all. I was really surprised at the reply back as another community who make Morsbags have made 6000 bags to date, just shows a difference you can make when communities support each other! Jo
ReplyDeleteI've got 2 of these think they were 55p from Tesco reuse them all the time.
ReplyDeleteWell done you. I bin dive after every craft group. Lots os large scraps discarded which I use for scrappy journal covers.
ReplyDeleteI picked up the same bag that had been chucked in a bin and used it loads since. It is disheartening when you see the things people just throw away - recently there was a vileda mop chucked into our communal bin - those are expensive to buy! I would have hauled it out but already have one and couldn't think of anyone who might want it. Shame.
ReplyDeleteIts my lucky day today!,Someone had put out a small baby seat on a small frame.It is like new!,So I have had it for one of my cats to snuggle into.Lily cat will love it!...I did ask first and they said it had been out 2 days now and no one seemed to want it.They were delighted for me to make use of it for a cat bed!xx
ReplyDeleteI have come down stairs this morning and Tiggy,one of my big boy cats has wedged his self into it and is fast asleep,lol,xx
DeleteHi, ran across this, and wondered what you thought, about how in the world, did she get the white spaces in between so perfectly even?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7447219/Woman-creates-beautiful-DIY-wall-deco-using-wall-paper-samples-just-ten-hours.html
it's a good idea, have to say. But, I really don't think I could come close to have such even spacing. At first I thought she used a "form", but then realised it was just to cut out the individual spaces. She claims she then "left spaces"..Golly….Any ideas? thnks
I've been reusing and creating other things from trash for about 60 years (I'm 73). I don't want to sound barmy, but I've always felt like the discarded objects themselves wanted to keep functioning in some way, and I enjoyed finding another role for them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was married and had 2 children we were on a very tight budget and I loved researching the ways women in the past had made beautiful things for their homes from scraps and discards. My adult children still laugh about the lamp I made from a large glass wine jug filled with striped layers of dried beans, with the lamp fixture neatly fixed into the top of the jar with a cork. (Lamps are quite easy to construct yourself and there are lots of instructional videos on the web.)
Anyway, I understand that the sheer stupidity of so many of our fellow humans can be discouraging but I'm very sure that you have had a hugely positive impact on the planet. Thank you for putting yourself out there for the stupid/mean ones to feebly attack you, while the rest of us looked forward every day to your life-affirming, amusing, etc. posts.