Recycle, Reduce, Reuse ... Chic and Saving all in one!

Advertisers want you to think you must buy new eco-friendly products to be considered green and, therefore, chic. I counter with the fact that you are already chic! ... and green is not a new concept! Good job for whatever 'green living' you can fit into your life! ANY recycling that you can do is valuable.

Did you know how much more you can do? Let's look at some Easy and Money Saving ways you can be Green. (This will be part 1. There is just too much fun info to share.) In that light, on the here are photos of one of my project rooms to share with you. Please excuse the people in the shots. I always forget to get before and after pics!

Recycling in our home is BIG. I'm talking about the three R's here. Recycle, Reduce and Reuse. It wasn't so apparent to me, until recently, how much we do of the 3 R's. I thought it was stuff everyone did, until a friend was teasing me about it. She writes a blog on saving and couponing, ForTheMommas.com. We joke that she saves when she buys, and I re-purpose. I realized this is good info that needs to be available. It's so easy to be green and it actually saves you money.

So, I started thinking of all the easy things that I do to be green. Most of them are second nature: using a shoebox for kids trinkets, saving a bin that used to hold nailpolish and pulling it out when the pollypockets need a home, using the styrofoam from meat(washed well) to mix paints. I've always leaned towards using what I have. I should say, "re-purposing" what I have to make what I need. This is #3 of the 3 R's, ReUse. It's a big one. If you don't use it, what will happen to it? landfill.
I truly hope this sparks your imagination and gets your creative juices flowing for what you can re-purpose!

The items re-purposed from others in this make-over include the green chair w/ottoman, dresser under t.v., and the shelves. The mirror on the wall was the project that made the room.

We bought this antique headboard at auction in an old barn w/100 yrs worth of dust and grime for $25. We cut the holesto remove warped areas so the mirror would sit flush. Murphy's oil wiped over it 2xs and it looked beautiful! The mirror was cut to size at the local hardware store $5/sq ft, approx $30. The trim to hold in mirror cost about $7. We picked up some stain to match it to the headboard, $3. Antique headboard mirror completed for under $70 and we had our room centerpiece!