Waste Not Want Not Think About Being Green by: Chris Pelshaw i We live in a wasteful world, and although we try to make an effort to be green it is usually just a feeble attempt. Putting your plastics in a recycle can does not make you green. Green is a way of life. It is a simple Idea. Reuse everything that you have and this will do two things. 1 You will not be helping to fill the local land fill 2 You will be taking trash and turning it into treasure. Today I want to talk about reusing that desk or dresser that you are planning on throwing away. When you are trying to save things you really have to think outside the box. Your old dresser or desk could be turned into a sink vanity, or storage in a garage. You could even donate it. Give it away for free on craigslist. Just don’t throw it away. Trust me your local landfill has enough trash. If your piece of furniture is not good enough to re use you should think about its parts. Maybe the top can be a shelf, or the drawers can be used as storage somewhere else. Maybe the knobs are good or the legs, etc. The point is that everything has a use, and a place, and that place is not the land fill. As a general contractor in Denver Colorado I have seen waste first hand. Maybe as a family trip you should go to your local landfill. See for yourself. It is full of all of the crap that Americans buy all the time because they wanted it, and then they deemed it trash later. As a General ! Contractor I recycle everything. Scrap metals, Wood, Roofing Shingles, Furniture, Construction debris, etc. I have seen homes built out of recycled wood, concrete, tires, even straw. I personally reuse all of the scrap tile that I get from jobs so to make mosaics. I recycle my wood, and if it is not usable as wood then I use it in my fireplace for heat. When you think about it everything is reusable. Maybe not for what it was intended for but something else. If you have a great thing that you found a second use of be sure to email me on my contact page at www.citywideremodel.com. I would love to hear your ideas, because I always try to get me and my clients to reuse as much as possible. Who knows if you get your brain working on this you could be the leader in the next green revolution. So the next time you come across some trash think of its uses. Who knows if you get your brain working on this you could be the leader in the next green revolution. For instance look at the guy that is shredding rubber tires to be used as parts of asphalt. His "trash" tires are also highly used in playground surfacing. I'm sure you have seen the shredded rubber mats. Believe me you can make a difference.