Recycling really isn’t anything new…………….when I
was young it was called ‘waste not, want not’ J We ate the leftover meat from Sunday lunch on
a Monday and if there was still some left, it was made into rissoles on a
Tuesday………now the cookery programmes/books are full of ‘leftovers recipes’ –
it’s not rocket science, guys, just eat the leftover cold beef/pork/lamb with
nice fresh veg!!
Ok, I’ll be serious now; every charity can put
recycling to good use and turn other people’s “rubbish” into food for deprived
children or whatever their cause supports.
Children in Distress has, at present, three thrift shops……………..all
stocked with other folks’ “rubbish”; now that’s recycling at its best! When I’m on duty in the shop I sit behind the
counter and marvel at just what some folk discard (although I’m thrilled that
they do discard their unwanted items at our shops!). I mean, why would someone buy a designer silk
dress then never wear it and then donate it to us? That beautiful dress,
complete with a price tag of £212.99 (yes, seriously that was the price!!)
found its way into one of our shops and of course was snapped up by one very
happy customer.
Of course, charity shops are a haven for the
‘waste not, want not’ brigade – tee shirts, tweed skirts (the sort your Gran
used to wear!), woollen cloth all make grand rag rugs, cotton skirts find a new
life as patchwork quilts, vinyl LPs warmed up make beautiful bowls, that boring
little table looks lovely sanded down and painted or decoupaged and so on; the
possibilities are endless for the hardened recycler (or is the current phrase ‘upcycler’??!). If you don’t have any
clothes/shoes/belts/handbags that are good enough to sell, our shops will still
take them off your hands and sell them on as ‘rags’ (50p per kilo; soon adds up
with a few pair of shoes in the bag!).
As a fundraiser I like to take full advantage of
other folks’ rubbish; I squirrel away used postage stamps (they raise £10 per
kilo), old mobile phones (various prices), used ink cartridges (just received
£101 for a box full), old postcards (pre-1970s ones, transport and social
history ones are the most lucrative - £65 for my last lot); in fact I can
usually find a use for most things that are donated to me for our charity. One of my supporters has recently suggested
to me that I collect (on behalf of the charity) the tops off milk cartons -
current price for 500 kgs is £30; the only problem being that a bin liner full
only weighs around 5kgs – now where would I keep 100 bin liners full of milk
carton tops??!! I’m still thinking on that one……….don’t like to miss an
opportunity but I have to put my practical head on I think in this case. J
If you would like to recycle and help us to look
after ‘Europe’s forgotten children’ please get in touch with me at janerussell@childrenindistress.org.uk
Remember; ‘waste not, want not’ should
be everyone’s mantra J
Jane x
