C IS FOR CARPET
I am constantly amazed about the multiple uses that things have. We recycle a lot here and if I hear of a good idea or think of one myself that involves re using, I will utilise it in the garden and even pass it on to who ever wants to know about it.
We recently did a renovation to the back of our house, it was humongous in size, cost and emotion. We were snaffling wooden beams, windows and cedar panelling as soon as the builder removed them with thoughts of remodeling them into something else that would be useful. I'm not sure that some of them even hit the ground so anxious were we to give them new life. But the carpet! We had deliberately left it to get grubby in the weeks preceding the demolition, seriously, who vacuums when they don't have to? So when the builder pulled it up and fixed us with a questioning look my first thought was BEGONE YOU VILE CREATURE, YOU MAKER OF SLAVES. But then I saw the label underneath – 100% Australian wool.
No, I wasn't going to unravel it and knit Paul and myself matching jumpers but I was going to give our poor sick citrus trees a nice blanket to keep them warm over the coming winter months. Wool is biodegradable and is perfect for a mulch blanket. I wont bore you with the incredibly difficult, laborious job of cutting 7 rounds of carpet with a stanley knife but I will say that each tree now has a woolly blanket around its base with a big pile of sugar cane mulch over the top – if they had faces they would be smiling.
love your blog, wish I could be self sufficient myself but sadly it remains a dream for now as we live in rented property - one day though.
ReplyDeletehttp://nelashley.blogspot.co.uk/
Hi Nel, thanks for stopping by. It's not impossible in a rented property you know. These days there are mini veggies and fruit trees that will grow in pots. I started that way, our mini peach has travelled more than the average peach tree and so have the worms in the pot.
DeleteI love the imagery in your writing. Although I took some liberty and tried to visualize the 100% Australian wool, former carpet, as knitted matching jumpers!
ReplyDeleteHi Justin, ha my husband ran a mile when I mentioned it. I think he takes things too literally sometimes.
ReplyDeleteA case of when life hands you used carpet... make lemonade?
ReplyDeleteJudy
Ah, we are looking at a similar remodel...though I doubt this crappy, pea-soup vomit colored rug is actual wool! What to do with it?!?!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the Challenge.
Shannon
Thanks Shannon. If the carpet isn't made from natural fibres you can still use it. I'd cut it into squares glue them together and use them as kneeling pads.
DeleteWhat a great way to re-purpose the carpet! I love to recycle / reuse / re-purpose stuff - it has saved us quite a bit but it also means I accumulate a lot of things with that very purpose in mind ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe are shockers. I gather stuff up and store it for a rainy day. I have a huge luggage bag full of screws and nails and nuts and bolts, hinges, hooks - you name it I've squirrelled it away. The arbor is an old stand used to store plants on a ute. Perfect. We got the garden bench off a council cleanup pile and the posts for the frame came off an old market stall. How good is that.
DeleteWhat a wonderful idea for re purposing that old carpet. I love folks that recycle, reuse and re purpose! We are getting ready to build an earthship out of old tires and lots of freebies folks don't want anymore. I love the blog too. We are both on the same path it looks like in so many ways :)
ReplyDeleteHi Emma. Thanks, I was pretty happy about it too. I had a look under there and there are lots of worms partying on the hessian base. I love your idea for an earthship (checked out your blog). Friends of ours built a wall out of tyres to create a privacy screen. It's about 10 meters long and 20 tyres high. They filled them with soil then planted trees in the tops. It looks just like a bushy hill. Really clever.
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