Change The World Wednesday

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW), our weekly green challenge.

Last week we kicked up recycling and reusing by several notches. Our friend Inge' suggested a few things ... take an item and find new uses for it, suggest items which can be recycled but which many people toss out, and/or check out our areas for recycling opportunities. Let's see what our Honor Society did with this challenge:

Our long-time friend, İlhami Uyar from Turkey, came by and offered his support. Selamla! Sen görülmeye tekrar hoş. If you have a moment, be sure to check out his blog. Written in both Turkish and English, it addresses the environment, bee keeping and all manner of interesting subjects. I've learned so much by visiting his site. It's definitely worth a visit.

Have you been thinking about sardine cans lately? No? Well, our friend AV has. Learn how he reuses them HERE. And congrats to AV for recruiting people to our challenge. In reading the comments he received this week, people talked about their "reuse" efforts and one person suggested that she'll be taking a harder look at items in her house with reuse in mind. Way to spread the word, AV!

The Accessory Lady came by. She shared a brilliant idea with us ... she takes the paper used to individually wrap rolls of recycled toilet paper and uses it in place of paper towels to clean the bathroom (sink, mirror, etc). The wrappers are very sturdy and don't shred or lint. Great idea, AL ... and nice reuse!

Jennifer took the challenge and offered a bunch of uses for newspaper ... padding, crinkly cat toys, spill blotters, mats for anything messy (paint, pumpkins, clay), compost, and emergency gift wrap ... and this unique use: simple origami pouches for kitty litter and other dry trash. By the way ... check out this POST for 13 reasons why you can't afford to shop. Thanks, Jennifer!

Here's a riddle ... what do rugs and shoes and stuffing have in common ... and how do they fit into this challenge? Nope ... I cannot tell ... but click HERE and Inge' will. She'll also share some not-so-common recyclable items (think pet hair). Thanks, Inge'.

Flash dropped in and offered us a really clever reuse. In her words: "For a failproof, plastic bag seal, cut the top part off a plastic beverage bottle (at the shoulder), feed a plain, plastic bag through the hole, fold the edges of the bag over the threads of the bottle top, and then screw on the cap. Don't forget to put the rest of the bottle into your recycling container." Isn't that clever?

Have you checked out the trash bin in your bathroom lately? Me neither! But Rewinn got up his courage and took a detailed look. In The Economics of Down Trashing, he sorts through the trash ... can you guess what happens to Q-Tips? No spoiler here ... you'll have to read the post. Stay tuned because Rewinn has graciously suggested this week's challenge.

Do you get your milk in a plastic container? And if so, what do you do with the jug when it's empty? Mrs. Green shares 6 unique ways to reuse them HERE.

Camp Full Monte joined us and sent a picture of a truly unique use for 5 liter plastic water bottles. You can see it HERE. Be sure to visit A Full Monte Life ... it's a fascinating blog about moving towards a life "off the grid".

Kris spent the week consciously looking at each item headed for the recycle bin to see if she could discover a re-use. Can you guess how she is now (re)using a cool whip container? Go HERE to find out. And be sure to read the entire post because she also shares a few other re-uses as well as how our recycling efforts can help out local schools. Thanks, Kris!

Wasn't that fun? I hope you picked up a few new ideas for reusing ... I sure did!

We had some wonderful twitter friends talking about our challenge using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're on Twitter, stop by and say "hello" ... they're great folks to follow:

@accessorygal
@waylandcook
@whopaysthepiper
@givetreegifts
@rewinn
@myzerowaste
@junkkmale

Thanks to everyone. As always, I've Stumbled, Tweeted and Facebooked (is that a word) your articles.

Ready for more? This week's challenge comes from our friend Rewinn and explores another way to reuse and reduce. Here you go:

This week, visit a local thrift/2nd hand store. Browse around to see if there are slightly used items which you could buy rather than purchasing new. After all, the environmental costs of creating the goods sold there have already been paid, so they are really light on the planet (that's the reuse part). To make this trip even more meaningful, bring something to donate (that's the reduce part).

Or ...

If you are a thrift store/2nd hand shop connoisseur, tell us about some of things which you have saved from a "landfill death" ... and any tips/ideas you might have for shopping at these venues.

So what do you think? Are you up for a little shopping this week?

If you have a challenge you'd like to submit, please do so HERE.

And finally ... our mantra:

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!