Sew for a change - August results

This month's challenge was to make 3 improvements to the way you handle recycling!

The three things I decided to do:

1. Talking with the kids about recycling and up-cycling and helping them make stuff out of worn out clothes:

My ten year old needed shorts - a pair of unfitting jeans were cropped to make these:

Then my 7 year old wanted to make a pencil case of the left overs from the jeans and a recycled zipper.

My ten year old were then feeling creative and made this tunic by combining things from a worn out bra, a worn out top and a scarf with holes in it, this is all her own design and doing!!!

She also made a stuffed animal (a dog) out of a worn out hoodie that she really loved and wouldn't give up for recycling.



2. Making it easier to recycle in other rooms; in particular the sewing room. Before the challenge all kinds of bits and pieces went in the same bin, making recycling hard work (nearly impossible at the end of the day. Now I have 2 bins - one for pure textile bits (to be handed in for recycling) and another one with the stuff that needs to go in the trash (such as broken needles, tape, vlieseline etc).

Ok, this pic is a bit messy but the pile of white stuff on the right side of the plastic bag is what would have kept all of the fabric scraps in the bag from being recycled. Oh my, what a waste! Really glad to have made this improvement.

3. Handing in textile for recycling: Larger pieces - given to my youngest kid's daycare to be creative with. Smaller/tiny pieces - given to Hemtex and H&M.

My original plan was to start a new compost. Our current food scraps are being picked up and turned into heat, but since we have a garden it makes more sense to keep it ourselves. We have now started such a compost at our summer house, but one at home is on the todo list.

I think I deserve 10 points.

Now to the spending side.... *cough*

1 pair of cotton trousers (6p)
1 pair of viscose trousers (6p)
1 organic cotton top (3,5p)
1 swimsuit (6p)
3 wool socks (3p)

= 24,5p spent, yikes! (which is now more than I have left....)