Re-cycle, Re-purpose and Re-invent

We're all pretty much on board with recycling these days, right? The only people I know who don't recycle are the ones who live in wealthy communities where the recycling is done for them.  Sometimes we don't see ways to reinvent what what own so that our possessions stay current with our needs. And that's another form of recycling, isn't it?  Instead we 'off load' old furniture and never stop to think that with a coat of paint the entire character of the piece would  change.  The drab old dresser you inherited from Aunt Tilly that no one in the family wants to use might just be a knock out if it were painted red and placed in the family room.  Instead of clothing it could hold board games, CD's and DVD's or maybe even stuffed animals. I chose a hot red dresser for this blog post from my Zen Organized Life board at Pinterest so you'd get the feel of what I'm talking about.  

Above is a second photo from my Zen Organized Life board  that shows a dresser repurposed in still another way.  They removed the bottom drawer and placed a basket in the newly open space.  I can see this in a large entry, in a living room or family room.  Why not take a spin around your home and pretend you have never been there before.  I call this the Fresh Eyes Experiment or Exercise and it appears in many of my books. You will see your furniture and its placement in a new way if you do this with an open mind. A friend of mine says if my furniture were on wheels every time she came over it would be in a new location.  Shake things up in your environment and you'll open yourself to new opportunities in life.

And last but not least don't forget to take a second look at some of the household tools you depend on like the humble hamper or the trendy trash can. (How could I resist?).  It might be time to move the big trash can you have in the family room to your master bathroom and place the small one you thought fit perfectly in that spot to the family room.  Families grow and shrink and our tools need to change with out needs.  See if you have some 'handy helpers' who need to be put in the 'relocation program.'  You're going to feel like you went on a shopping spree!

I invite you to visit my Pinterest boards to get more creative ideas.  A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.