February 26th - Upcycled Organization - Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge Day 26!

   

February 26th - Welcome to day 26 of the Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge! 

Come on in and join us!

Day 26: Upcycled Organization

Planning is easy. Buying things to help you implement a plan is also easy and it feels helpful. 

Unfortunately, while it feels helpful, it's often busywork that doesn't actually help us to do the real work. 

We buy the things to somehow compensate for not doing the things.

Well, I'm here to tell you that you can save your time, your dollars, and even help out the environment (and lower your waste levels) by upcycling when you organize.

You don't need a new set of containers, new baskets, new drawer dividers, or new bins. 

Even without being particularly crafty, you can spend your time sorting and moving along the things that no longer add value to your life. 

Spice, candy, and tea tins with magnets make lovely storage containers for the side of the fridge.

Daily Challenge: Upcycle something rather than buy something.

What is upcycling? You're familiar with recycling, and probably reduce and reuse. Upcycling is where you reuse something and often improve it in a way that makes it better.

 

Vintage dishes and french tapenade jar for lovely accessories and self-care items.

Daily Mindset Mantra: More isn't always better, sometimes it's just more.

We don't need more. Many of us actually need less. Adding more things to organize the too much we already have, is just more on top of more.

Curating, finding and creating new solutions, using what we have, and making things with our own hands is so much more important than having some cheap, plastic, store-bought solution.

Good ol' cardboard boxes. Cardboard can be magic.

My experience:

While some of my upcycled organization isn't the prettiest, and someday I'll make nicer ones, they certainly get the job done. When I see them I remember having made them. I take pride in having made my own solution, lowered my additions to the waste stream - even recycling consumes a lot of energy and resources. 

Items that you don't even buy in the first place make more of a difference than making sure to toss containers into the recycle bin. While I don't aim at zero waste, I know I can get closer to it and that my small actions add up. 

What are you doing to use the resources you already have more wisely? 

Jars, boxes, cardboard, tins, containers–what are you reusing in new ways? 

Make sure to check back here tomorrow for the next challenge, the next tips, and the next dose of the Myrrhmade  Love Where You Are Challenge.

#myrrhmade #lovewhereyouarechallenge