So here's the deal, plastic despite the many wonderful things we can do with it, is something that we need to change if we are to be able to develop a green sustainable society.   Most if not all the plastics you use in your daily life are a fossil fuel derived plastics that are incapable of being recycled in the same way that metal, glass and other common materials can be.

Plastic on the other hand is a bit trickier when it comes to recycling.  Plastic in the strictest sense cannot be recycled likes metal and glass and is instead put in a process called downcycling.  Downcycling is a lot like recycling in that it breaks down and reuses a product but it differs in that there is a marked reduction in quality of the material recycled.  For example a plastic water bottle is typically made from virgin plastic and carries a recycling label of 1. When that bottle is recycled the quality of the plastic is reduced and it bumps down in how and what it can be used for. Eventually the plastic is reused so many times that it becomes unusable and must be disposed of.

The hole in the bottom of the sock tells a person many things.  The first of which is the obvious one that you need a new pair of socks.  But it also says you and that sock have traveled many miles together and have done many things that you couldn’t have done without that sock.  That sock cushioned your heel and protected your ankles from the rough embrace of those new hiking boots you bought.  So after traveling so many miles together and now full of holes what can this humble sock do for you now.  Most people take this sock and simply discard it in favor of one not so full of holes.  I think that is a waste of a wonderful piece of fabric that has lots of life left in it when you look at it in a whole new light.


To that end I am going to tell you about a few different ways you can put a old worn out sock to use around the house.  

I am just going to come right out and say it I really like plastic shopping bags but not for their intended purpose. I like them because I will admit they can very useful items to have around the house for a variety of reasons. In the spirit of trying to live a greener life I do my best to phase out the use of plastic bags in all their forms but I will be honest enough to admit I don’t always succeed. For me most of the time I simply forget to grab my reusable cloth bags and as much as it annoys me I will take the plastic bags.

So like most people I end up with a big bundle of plastic bags usually underneath my kitchen sink that I have to do something with. I won’t just throw them away because that conflicts with my Reduce, Reuse, Recycle lifestyle so something must be done with them. Overtime I have found a few useful ways in reusing plastics bags in a way that allows multiple uses and sometimes long lifespans.

The first couple I am going to touch on are very obvious but I feel like they need mentioning anyways since people insist on buying custom made single use alternatives when a free plastic bag will work just as well.