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Home > Arts and Crafts Projects for Kids > Recycled Crafts Projects by Item
Below you will find many crafts to recycle materials from our your house. Find out how to make your own arts and crafts Keychains projects with the following decorations, instructions, patterns, and activities for children ... SCROLL DOWN TO GET TO THE CRAFTS BY ITEMS MENU
We need our beautiful earth in order to live so we need to take better care of it. Not only is recycling good for the environment, it is also a good way to do crafts for free. Instead of going to the arts and crafts store, just find things from around the house.
Ideas for Going Green and Recycling in Your Every Day Life
- Crafts to Upcycle (Recycle Your Old Stuff into Cooler / Useful Items)
- Make a T-Shirt Bag or Buy a Fabric Bag to Take to the Grocery Store (To Stop Wasting Paper and Plastic Bags)
- If you do use plastic grocery bags...recycle / upcycle them by using them for travel garbage bags, cleaning up cat litter, use as a lunch bag, or other things that you might need them for (such as picking up gross items).
- Bring items that you don't need to homeless shelters, Good Will, and other charities for the needy (examples would be toys, art supplies, clothing, furniture, household items)
- Re-use your printer's toner cartridges and ink cartridges by buying refill kits.
- Re-use printer paper - Just turn it over and it can be used for notes or drawing on
- Ask your school to have a recycled arts contest
- Instead of buying fertilizer, just keep the grass clippings down on the lawn after you mow it
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Try to only buy paper, paper towels, egg cartons, notebooks, packaging and envelopes, garbage bags, greeting cards, and other office supplies that have been recycled. Look for this logo.
- Always collect your cans, glass bottles, soda bottles, jars, milk jugs, magazines, six pack rings, phone books, soda can tabs, newspapers, cardboards, brown paper bags, plastic grocery bags, rechargeable batteries, plastic containers, paper, etc
- also recycle eye glasses, cell phones, computers and electronics, and Tyvek envelopes
- Try to reuse wrapping paper and envelopes as much as possible
- Recycle Your Cars by donating them to a charity
- Paint your home a light color if you live in a warm climate and a dark color if you live in a cold climate.
- Instead of using air conditioner, tint your windows to keep out the sun
What to Do with Materials & Things That You Don't Want Any More
Upcycle Your Items
- Turn your unwanted items into things that are much cooler or at least more useful by using these Crafts to Upcycle
- Here is a List of Crafts by Items and Materials
Give Your Items Away
- Bring items that you don't need to homeless shelters, Good Will, religious orgs, non profit hospitals, and other charities for the needy
- Donate your computers instead of tossing them in a waste pile
- Give useful office and art supplies to your local schools. Schools in the US are in trouble, help them out.
- Find friends, loved ones, or neighbors that will take it off your hands
- Give your old books to libraries and / or schools
- Take it down to your local recycling center
- Give Away Your Unwanted Items to Strangers by going on to FreeCycle.org
- Donate your eye glasses to Lions Clubs, Lens Crafters, Grocery Stores, or Libraries
- Drop off packing peanuts at your local packing and shipping stores.
Sell Your Items
- Have a yard sale.
- Sell it on ebay.
- Take your items to an Auction house.
Swap Your Things for Other Things
- Use sites like Swap.com to swap your items for other people's items.
- Go to a Swap Meet or Swap Shop to swap your items or Organize a Swap Meet in your area.
- Exchange things with your friends or loved ones....this is a fun thing to do with your siblings.
Being More Environmentally Friendly
- Buy a Water Filter to drink water directly from the faucet...stop buying water bottles.
- Turn off lights around the house.
- Use Energy Conserving Light Bulbs.
- Use a low-flow shower head.
- Unplug electronic items that aren't in use (plugged in electronic items still take in electricity, even when not in use).
- Bring a cup with you instead of using disposable cups.
- Don't leave the fridge door open for longer than it needs to take the food out.
- Don't let the water run.
- Borrow items from friends when you need an item temporarily...instead of buying it.
- When you need a book, instead of buying it, just borrow it from the library.
- Take shorter showers and don't fill the bathtub up too high.
- Find out how to pack a lunch without wasting
- Don't use styrofoam products any more.
- Carpool whenever possible.
- Use biodegradable products.
- Buy your groceries in bulk to reduce the waste of packaging materials ... as a rule, always buy items that have the least amount of packing involved.
- When you do buy a product that has a lot of packaging, try to get ones with recycled packaging materials.
- Ride your bike or walk places instead of using your car.
- Use dry erase boards and wipe-off boards instead of paper, whenever you can.
- Make compost.
- Learn that more isn't always better...you don't need more, more, more stuff....learn to be happy with what you have.
- Don't use brown paper bags, instead use a re-usable lunch box, bag, or tote instead.
- Try not to buy disposable items.
- Use cloth napkins and towels rather than using paper towels and napkins.
- Help clean up the environment...clean up a park, plant trees, etc.
- Instead of buying magazines and newspaper, get them from a friend or the library - or just get it online.
Go to Precycling Resource Page
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