Composting Slippers : Shoe Clean Out

Shoe Cubbies after Reducing

We had too many shoes by the door!  An understatement, considering my dh built me a shoe cubby with 5 slots for each of us.  Once again I forgot to take a before picture.

We found 4 pairs of summer shoes, that we put in a bin in the closet.  Then we found 1 pair of boots with a busted zipper, they were pretty used looking, so while they were probably repairable, but I do not have the funds to repair, and they were on the cusp of being outgrown.  If I had donated them they would throw them away.  So with some angst I did dispose of them.  I thought of offering on freecycle, however, it is unlikely that someone would be willing to put the $ into having them repaired.  I have tried selling new, unworn children's Ecco shoes for $15 and had no luck!  I would snap them up if I had a child that size, but people around here must feel that it is too much, and people willing to pay for quality just buy them new for $80 I guess. Also, I am in the process of trying to give away 2 gallons of good ceiling paint.  I have had at least 10 inquiries, but the pick up coordination is truly discouraging.

These are the shoes that left, except the Mary Janes, they were repaired

I repaired two of the pairs of shoes my older daughter outgrew so my younger can wear them.  The Wool slippers are from the wool of local sheep.  I had spun it into yarn and used Kool-Aid to dye it.  My son had worn a hole in the toe.  My daughter asked me to repair for her, but she has 3 pairs of usable slippers.  So I chose to compost these!!!

The little Ecco hiking boots will hopefully find some happy feet to take hiking.  My husband asked how I made it look so tidy!  My take-away from this is that I intend to buy no more slippers with plastic soles, I intend to make them compostable, wool slippers each year for Christmas.

Now if only I could find a place to recycle the incandescent bulbs that were here when we bought the house and are suddenly burning out all together.  It seems that locally I can only recycle the CFLs.  We are changing over to CFLs as the old ones burn out, and these can be recycled at Lowe's, Target, Home Depot, or Whole Foods, etc.

If you are trying to locate a place to recycle locally Earth911 is a great place to start.

Making Space!

I tackled another kitchen cabinet!  I went to get the cork screw this morning (to pull a rubber stopper from the cod liver oil)  and realized somehow our utensil drawer had become jam packed.  One look and I knew there were at least a few things that did not belong there.  Right on top was my husband's slider press.  Silly, yes, perhaps...he could use his hands to shape, and not this tool. BUT it makes him tremendously happy (just like the Legos my kids do not need), and he does use it frequently.  So for now it stays.  This is a process that everyone needs to be happy going through.

I figured i would just find it a new home, JUST?!  I could find no happy home.  Something had to go!  At first glance I saw nothing obvious to leave.  In fact, I thought I had done a pretty good job maintaining the kitchen stuff.  Not so.  I found this cabinet, and i set to work :)

I found a great Vitamix on vacation last year, and so the Osterizer has sat dormant ever since.  For Now--those fateful words, this will go to the camper and take the recently vacated place of the waffle maker.  We did really enjoy having smoothies while on vacation-they are simple, quick and nutritious.  Not sure if this one is up to the task, but if I am using it, and it drives me crazy I will be motivated to get rid of it.  Then I will just take our Vitamix with us, a bit of a hassle, but worth it.  I also found a new Oster lid that doesn't even fit this model!  I set it aside for a friend who has one that it might fit.

I gave the Brita Filter to my grandparents, I hope it turns out useful to them.  We have been using the more expensive fridge filter because it is there, saves space, and saves spills, also we drink a LOT more water that way.  Not sure about the waste issue with the filters....wonder if they could be recycled?  Or at least backwashed for reuse.  They do last a long time, and make a huge difference in our water taste.  At any rate I no longer needed the pitcher.

The 4 brown bowls are now in the donate box.  I do have a friend that has a similar set, but not sure if I will get them to her, which ever happens first is where they will go.  I also have a table cloth that makes me think of that same friend, and so I grabbed it out of my linen closet and threw it in with the dishes, it will either finally make it to her or not with the dishes---oh, it would make a good skirt though....

I would love to get rid of the Parafin Spa for hand wax....but the kids and their friends love it.  I recently refilled it--i know it is not a good step in waste reduction to use this product--but I bought the wax a year ago.  I will donate when this wax is all used up.  Maybe it will at least keep someone else from buying a new unit.  For the moment we will enjoy this gift from my grandparents (my grandfather's therapist thought it would help him with the pain in his hands, but he did not like it).

Well it felt like a lot more when I was doing it...but still I cleared off one whole shelf's worth of things in the process of finding a place for a 2"x4" by 2" tall slider press!!!