Buckets

We have had indoor cats for a long time now, and their litter has always been a pain. I used to choose the brand based on price, then on scent, and finally on the impact the chemicals have on the environment and the packaging. The litter, though, is not the biggest issue. What do you do with the packaging? If it's the paper bag or the cardboard box, it's easy- recycle them. But the buckets, hmm. We put them to multiple uses; garbage cans, weed buckets, watering buckets car-washing buckets- anything you'd use a regular bucket for. But cats live a long time and there are only so many uses for buckets as buckets. So, I've got a few more ways to use them and not send them to the landfill or just collect stacks of them around the house. Having three growing boys, we go through a lot of food. Because of that, it's not just more healthy to cook whole foods, but it's economical, and I buy many things in bulk. Large quantities of food can be challenging to store, so I paired the food storage issue with the bucket storage issue, and now have cleaned cat litter buckets for rice, oatmeal, flour, beans, popcorn, etc.

Another fantastic way to use cat litter buckets is for hikers. If you've ever been hiking in the rain, you know how important it is to keep your gear dry. I used to put a large garbage bag in the pack as a liner, but those tear, and have no structure. Our Boy Scout troop began using the cat litter buckets as liners for their packs. WOW! Awesome use! We now share our cat litter buckets with the many boys of our troop, and no longer have the stacks of them around avoiding the landfill. If you don't care about the lids, they make great Frisbee/chew toys for dogs.

I want to emphasize that the choices I make when I make purchases consider packaging. I found a use for the buckets, so I can justify that purchase more than litter in a bag.

What do YOU do with cat littler buckets?

I'm new to the blogosphere, and would appreciate any constructive commentary! My intention for this space is to share repurposing ideas for 'stuff'. It bothers me to throw things away. Some would call that being a packrat, maybe so. But more important to me than the keeping of the 'stuff', is what happens to it when it's thrown out, so I try to find other uses for 'stuff'. I recently was given an amazing book -"The Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard, and reading it only cemented my already strong conviction to REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE. I'll post things I try repurposing, with my opionion of the results. Also, I'd love contributions, so if you have any repurposing ideas for nearly anything, please post. If you have questions about what to do with 'stuff', or if I do, we'll put it out there and see what folks have tried. The repurpose can be purely practical or out there artistic. It doesn't matter, the focus is keeping 'stuff' out of the landfills, and giving 'stuff' new life.

I would also like to point out that being conscious of what we purchase, including packaging, is as important in reducing the 'stuff' in the landfills, as looking for another use for it.

Here goes.

Socks. I never know what to do with old socks. I have three boys, who are all nearly grown, and they have put holes in massive numbers of socks. When they are through with them, the socks no longer would keep other feet warm, so what to do with them? Some I cut the toes out of and put over cords to keep them together. Others can be used as stuffing for pillows or put them on your hand as a duster(instead of spending money on those commercial dusters made out of "I don't know what"). Of course, the classic if you have small children in your life, sock puppets. If you're inclined to a more tedious process, the socks can be cut up and made into rag rugs. Haven't tried that one yet- I need more lessons in patience. Wait, maybe that would provide those lessons? : ) And my final idea is the classic for all trashed fabric stuff- rags.

Given the amount of socks we've been through, these uses only touch the tip of the sock-iceburg. What else? What do YOU do with old socks?