Wasteless Wednesday~ WEAR it Out!

We begged you not to throw out those old t-shirts a while back, now we are offering more ways to Waste~Less stuff you wear! Anyone can be more ECOnomical with their wardrobe~here's seven tips for each day this coming week to waste less!

1. Mix it up! Try changing up that tired outfit by matching it up with something else in your wardrobe, or accessorize it in a whole new way~ now that old outfit is a new outfit!

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2. You can also redesign your clothing~ or as we like to say: Upcycle it! Shorten the length, add some length, give it some layers, create a patchwork creation, shred it or fringe it~ embellish it!

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3. Too tight? Too loose? Too long? Got a tear or a hem that came loose? Mend it or alter it! Can't do it yourself~ have a friend, family member or local shop do it for you!

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4. Hand wash your delicates and hang them to dry. It reduces wear and tear and your clothes will last longer and look better!


5.. Create a neighborhood co-op to swap clothing! Find other adults to exchange clothes with or set up a swap for kids clothing! It's a great twist on the old concept of handing it down!

6. Donate your clothes to a local thrift shop or work with a consignment shop to sell your clothes and accessories! Or have a yard sale or rent a table at a church bazaar!

7. Cut up old clothes and linens and create fabric swatches or trim pieces. We showed you how some of our Upcyclers create t-shirt yarn, you can also create quilt squares and patches or make small accessories and brooches from the material. And don't forget to cut off the buttons, embroidered designs and zippers~ they are great reusable materials too!

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Great ideas, don't you think? That's the fantastic thing about upcycling~ there's no end to the creative reuse of everyday items you might have thought were trash! Even the clothes on your back! So get out there and find ways to waste less today and everyday!

Have a great Wasteless Wednesday and WEEK!

Wasteless Wednesday~ Recycle/Upcycle!

Today's Wasteless Wednesday's tips are simple reminders of things most of us know! But these are everyday ways to save and waste less that sometimes we forget~ Here are seven tips for each day of the coming week:

1. Recycle your containers! As members of Upcyclers, we love your post consumer waste~ for us they become art and craft materials.

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But many areas offer curbside recycling and if not, centers where you can take your recyclables. You can even donate your recyclables to artists like us! We have a site called FreeUpcycle where you can list your unwanted trash so that we can turn it into treasure.

2. Instead of buying or using ice for a cooler, refill empty plastic containers with water and freeze them!

3. Wear it out! Try dressing up an old outfit with new accessories or giving that old furniture a fresh look with new paint or hardware. There is often a lot more life to your belongings if you take time to give it a second thought instead of running out to buy new.

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4. Don't let the water run while brushing your teeth or washing dishes.

5. Don't let your dishwater go down the drain! Use a dishpan and pour it on your outdoor plants instead. You can also use your coffee grounds for your plants~ Sprinkle around your plants before watering. Dilute in a five gallon bucket to use as liquid fertilizer.

6. Use energy efficient bulbs or LED's in your light fixtures. We have plenty of creative re~uses for your old energy burning bulbs!

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7. Use timers on outdoor electric lights so they don't get left on during the day. Try using solar lighting or even lamp oil torches in upcycled containers.

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We hope you have a fantastic Wasteless Wednesday and week, but remember: Don't waste a single moment or a single thing!

Countdown to Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza!

Upcyclers wants everyone to have a fantastic holiday season~ and we wish we could give all of our followers and fans upcycled gifts this year! Unfortunately, we'll have to rely on Santa for that!
But, what we can do is offer several giveaways this week during our Countdown to Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza! Each sponsor will be featured throughout this coming week before Christmas with a fantastic gift for each lucky winner~ And today will be the first!

The rush is on to wrap all those wonderful gifts before Christmas! The Wooden Bee offered some fantastic green solutions that might help: Upcycled Gift Bows & Tags & Upcycled Gift Wrap Ideas!  Our first sponsor also has the perfect solution~ Jacqueline from Paper Jam on Etsy is giving away a set of 8 Teabag fold Gift Tags or Ornaments!

Jacqueline has loved crafting since she was a child and some of her fondest memories are of spending snow days with her mother and little brother crafting. An avid recycler, she started searching for a way to step UP her efforts, which lead to her becoming an UPcycler! She created these intricate origami creations from JUNK MAIL~ What a fantastic use for something so useless! Wouldn't we all like to get rid of our junk mail!

Now she has expanded her materials to include old magazines, books and gift wrap as well, creating paper hearts and roses and even Kusudama flowers!

If you'd like a chance to win her set of 8 Upcycled Teabag Folded Origami Gift Tags now is your opportunity to enter!

First, be sure you are a follower of this blog, Love 2 Upcycle~ not a follower? Just look to the left and click. Voila! You are a follower. But you haven't entered yet.

Now, you can choose 4 of the following ways to enter, up to 4 times!

1. Check out Paper Jam on Etsy favorite her shop and add them to your circle.

2. Tell us here in a comment about your Favorite item in her shop!

3. Become a fan of Paper Jam on Facebook!

4. Tweet or share this Giveaway!
5. Pin one your favorite items from Paper Jam to Pinterest!

Remember, only 4 entries count, and each one must be left in a separate comment! If you don't have an email listed on your bio, leave it here in one of your comments. Deadline to enter is Midnight, December 20th!

Winner will be randomly drawn using Random.org's generator.
Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

Would you like to Sponsor a Giveaway on Love 2 Upcycle? You don't have to be a member of Upcyclers to be a sponsor, all Etsy sellers of upcycled or eco-friendly products are welcome! But of course, we'd love for you to join the team!

Reducing Consumer Waste

Reducing Consumer Waste…and I don’t mean just recycling.

Reducing consumer waste is an important part of sustainability. The importance of keeping waste out of our landfills is crucial to the health of our planet. It is reported that almost all landfills leak or eventually will leak as their liners decay and they leach toxins into our environment. Call it what you want, reducing, upcycling, repurposing or reusing, it is basic conservation of both raw and manmade materials, and reducing waste is crucial to our future.



Consumer Waste can be grouped into two categories:

Post Consumer Waste is generally the waste we routinely discard in our trash cans and at the dump. This is the waste that litters our highways and sidewalks. It is leftover from consumers buying products and either using them or creating waste from buying them. There are many different types of post consumer waste: paper waste like magazines and junk mail, disposable waste like batteries & tissues, broken items we no longer want, food waste, human waste, pet waste and water waste from different forms of cleaning are all considered post consumer waste.

The Wooden Bee upcycles some of our family’s post consumer waste. We reuse plastic containers for storage and organizing. We turn unwanted magazines and discarded beer cartons and cereal boxes into recycled wall art. We recycle shipping and packaging materials in our studio and in our orders. Our stain and paint rags are taken only from old tshirts & towels. Even the Sustainable Supplies section of our shop allows us to find unwanted hardware pieces a new home.




Pre Consumer Waste is a newer term to consumer waste. It is a material that was discarded before it was ready for consumer use. Pre-consumer waste is the reintroduction of manufacturing scrap (such as trimmings from paper production) back into the manufacturing process. Sometimes it is not thought of as traditional recycling, but is an important way to keep large amount of manufacturing waste out of our landfills. For example, if carpet companies can take their scraps and incorporate them back into their products, things like yarn, fiber and other natural resources will be saved from taking up landfill space.

We feel our wood, the main material we recycle, falls under both pre and post consumer waste categories. Sometimes we come across reclaimed wood that is decades old and has served another purpose like a cabinet door. It would obviously be considered post consumer waste. However, a large portion of our wood is left over from the new home construction process, and has been cut for cabinets and moldings but was never used. It comes to us raw, with no paint or stain, and often it never left the manufacturing facilities where it was cut. This wood is then the trimmings of the new home construction process and we are reintroducing it, therefore we feel it is pre consumer waste.




When I first went into business last year, we decided to call our wood “recycled wood,” since it fell into both of these categories. Since then, we decided “reclaimed wood” gave our audience a better understanding of our products as a whole, especially since many people don’t know about the term pre consumer waste. What category our wood falls into could be debated, but one thing is for sure, it is beautiful wood being saved from taking up landfill space!

Quick Tips to help Reduce Your Consumer Waste

• There are a number of online resources:
o Freecycle.Org is a great one! Just look up your local group and start recycling. Or you can check out Upcyclers' own version: Freeupcycle!
o Craigslist is another resource to help people buy, sell and trade things they no longer want or need.
o Etsy has a large selection of vintage items and using their search engines you can find amazing handmade creations made from all sorts of recycled materials.
• In your community, you can find resources like:
o Buy from and Donate to places like Good Will, the Salvation Army, and local church and charity consignment shops.
o Hold garage sales & visit estate sales.
o Donate to your local Habitat for Humanity’s Restore. They take almost ANYTHING for the home (except electronics & clothing) and will even take full gallons of unused paint, if you happened to buy too much or the wrong color.
• If you do have to buy new, try to buy durable.
o Take into consideration product packaging, product life, and the options you will have in recycling or reusing the product once it has come to the end of its shelf life.

Becoming ethical consumers is something that everyone should start looking into. Does value or values determine your purchases? Educating yourself about the products you buy & their affect on the environment is vital to our future and the future of our planet.