- Insulating the water heater part 2. Holey socks were filling up my drawer because I felt bad discarding them when I knew they could be repurposed. One day it hit me to use them to further insulate my water heater. As discussed in a previous post, I’ve insulated much of the piping from the tank with foam but there remained angles that I couldn’t cover. Finally, a use for those worn out socks. I simply wrapped them around the exposed spots and incorporated shreds of insulation from an insulation bag that probably came from a food delivery. To keep everything in place, I tied the socks to themselves and used those black clip things that otherwise have sat idle in a drawer for years to hold the insulation closed. Everything is super easy to remove should any maintenance become necessary. Here are more reuses for old socks. Don’t just stop at socks: rags work, too. Dig that 2012 Sixers playoff rally towel out of the linen closet (like I just did – see photo at the end of the post) and wrap those pipes!
- Reuse kitchen sink waste/greywater. The next time you wash your vegetables, place a bowl under them and catch the water to use on houseplants. Under the sink, keep a bowl and one of those free water bottles you got long ago but never use because it’s impractical and cut down a bit on your water usage.
- Keeping away ants without chemicals. Old coffee grounds are a popular home remedy for repelling them. Place the grounds by entrances, window sills, cracks, and in your garden, as they’re a nice soil amendment. They won’t harm the critters but will cut off scent trails that they use to find their way into your home. Also, make sure you don’t have water lying on your window sills from feeding your plants, as ants are drawn to h20.
- Repurpose old CDs and DVDs. Donating them to charities or selling them on eBay and in thrift stores can help you clear out some space but you may get a second life out of them. Here are some ideas for discs:
- Drink coasters
- Turn a couple into a child’s mobile
- Use as reflectors outside your house, along tracks and sidewalks
- Use the fragments in a mosaic
- Make a letter holder
- Here are some pretty cool upcycling ideas. My favorites are the clocks, lamp and curtain and there are lots and lots of rabbit holes to go down from a simple google search
- Lastly, because last week was International Composting Awareness Week, a tip for all who compost by any method. Freeze your scraps before placing in your bucket, pile or system. This will destroy fruit fly eggs and eliminate odors. When the scraps thaw, their cell walls break down and they decompose quicker.
