It's hip to repurpose. From bookcase to pantry!

Repurposing simply means taking something and using it for another purpose rather than buying something new.  When I was little repurposing was what you did when you couldn't afford something new. Think, a patch on your jeans, or a box for a doll bed.  Some people looked down on those who had to repurpose.  Now, repurposing has a whole new meaning.  If you repurpose something, you are saving the world.  You are hip.  You are green.  I love it. 

My children repurpose plastic, cardboard or cans destined to be recycled.  They become fabulous cities, scary masks, and fancy kites.  My husband repurposes parts and wood when he builds things.  One of the goat barns was a cedar tool shed.  The floor in it is built from an old cedar fence.   My pottery studio floor is of tile that was pulled up from someone's house and given away. 

My latest repurposed item is a wooden bookcase.  I didn't have to do anything with it.  We bought it for a fraction of its original price on Craigslist from someone moving across the country.  It is solid, well built, and in great condition.  The doors are glass and they slide for easy opening.  It makes a perfect pantry for holding my canned and dehydrated goods.  We have it in the entry way.  Everyone passes by it when they come into the house and many admire the beautiful home preserves inside.  I glow with pleasure when someone compliments me on my hard work.  More than one person has asked if they could buy some since I sell eggs too.  I smile and tell them that the display case is a repurposed bookcase and the food will be eaten by next spring... by my own family. 

Repurposing means that an item isn't going to go to the landfill.  And that item won't be replaced by a brand new one, possibly made overseas.  Think of how much energy and natural resources we save by not making, transporting and purchasing a new item.  Think of how much space we save in the landfills.  And think of how much money we save by buying secondhand or even free.  It's hip to repurpose.  Do you repurpose?

This post has been linked up to Sustainable Eats: Simple Lives Thursday, Common Sense Homesteading: Live Well Blog Hop, Far Above Rubies: Homemaking Linkup and The Prairie Homestead: Homestead Barn Hop.