I have recently come across quite a few stories about two of our three favourite R’s: Recycle and Reuse. These also encompass a couple more R’s: Restyle and Repurpose. I wanted to share with you somewhat of a compilation of neat things people are doing with, well, junk. To keep things simple I have narrowed it down to three, in honor of the three R’s of course.

The first are these crafts made from recycled magazines. I only wish I had seen this before Christmas! I decided to only wrap presents with recycled material, like newspapers and old gift wrap and tissue paper. They looked horrible, but I didn’t mind until my boyfriend showed up with his gifts for me looking straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine! If only I had made some colourful recycled-magazine bows to put on top of my gifts for him – that would have made a huge difference! Next year… But I have to say, my absolute favourite is the National Geographic Magazine Shelf – amazing!

Designed by Sean Miller. Image from InHabitat. May 23, 2010.

Numero dos: “Upcycling” or Project Restyle from A Beautiful Mess. It is all about reusing, repurposing, and adapting unwanted, damaged, or otherwise unusable items that you already have in your home, instead of sending them to the landfill. This project is also meant to inspire, motivate, and bring together a large online community, who have been busy posting their creations on Flickr.

Finally, and probably one of the most amazing stories about recycling to the max! is that of Don Justo Martinez. Don Justo has been quietly collecting the junk of his neighbours in Madrid, Spain for the past 50 years. What has Don Justo been doing with all of this stuff? Oh, he just built a cathedral over 130 feet high. No big deal.

Don Justo’s Cathedral. Image from The Huffington Post and InHabitat. January 17, 2011.

I hope some of these stories have inspired you like they have me! I will definitely be looking at some of the items in my home differently now! It’s amazing how a little creativity can bring so much life back into the things we’ve written off. If you have any creative and interesting Reuse or Recycle stories, please share them with us in the comments section below!

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