Olive Crest United Methodist Church
7180 North 60th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68152

Our Pastor

Rev. Debra Tompsett-Welch

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Olive Branch Newsletter For May 2002

The Simple Life

By Gabrielle Staben

REUSE!

Several years ago when I was still in college a lady told me a story of how she and her sisters used to make themselves dresses from flour sacks. The large sacks were made up from a pretty flowered material and apparently different sacks had different flowered designs. Buying flour was exciting because she and her sister got to take turns choosing the flour bags and then making up dresses from them. They really loved those dresses. She said that she knew that times were tight then but that she and her siblings never felt like times were bad. They used their creativity and learned to waste nothing and enjoy what they had. I love to hear stories like this of how people can choose to turn necessity into a joyous experience, a blessing.

The idea of Reuse is a double blessing. It saves space in the landfills and saves time (spent shopping instead of playing) and money as well. Old containers are great for crafts and hobbies. "Throw Away" items such as zip-loc baggies and manila folders can often be reused with a minimum of trouble. Composting is a simple way to reuse vegetable scraps (plus your garden will love you) Reusing old t-shirts as cleanup rags keeps both shirts and paper towels out of the landfill. Try making a game of seeing how little trash you can keep from hauling to the curb each week. You might get hooked on it.

Here are some other ideas I found on Omaha's solid waste website - Wasteline - http://www.wasteline.org/

• Loose fill packing peanuts are taken back for reuse by most mailing and shipping stores. Look in the yellow pages under the heading Packaging Service.
• Save egg cartons, clean foam meat trays, etc. for school or church art supplies. Be sure to check with the art teacher or principal first, and ask them when it is convenient for you to bring your materials to the school. (Ask our Sunday School teachers Arlene Newell, Colleen Wickham, Brenda Jones, and Tymna Vacek about recyclables that they can use.)
• Use the Sunday comics or the sports or finance page as appropriate for wrapping paper. Then recycle it!
• Cut the top off of a soda bottle (1 or 2 liter) and use it to hold celery or carrots in the refrigerator. Use the top you cut off as a funnel.
• Plastic jugs that once held milk or bleach can be cut into scoops (keep the lid on) with a handy gripping handle for dog food, bird seed or other dry material.
• Empty yogurt containers can be used to make single serving gelatin or pudding cups for kids' lunches.
• Old plastic shower curtains can be saved and used for a durable paint drop cloth, or kept in the car for emergency repairs.
• Use old, worn out clothing for rags.
• Some hair care stores now sell products in refillable bottles.
• Reuse large manila envelopes by opening them carefully.
• Give usable but unneeded building materials and paint to neighbors, community groups, theatres, or schools. (The Omaha Habitat ReStore is a great place to take things like this. They have new and used home improvement materials at great prices plus the money earned from the sales of these materials goes to generate funds to build more Habitat for Humanity Houses in Omaha. To find out more about what they can use, to schedule a pickup, or to volunteer, call 934-1033.)
• Sell or donate usable second hand goods. To sell items, look up Consignment Service in the yellow pages. Donations may be made to businesses under the heading Thrift Stores listed in the yellow pages. Remember that thrift stores are charity organizations-they don't want your junk. Another option-you can hold a garage sale for yourself. (Lydia House here in Omaha is a shelter for women. These ladies and their children often leave their situations with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They need clothing, cooking utensils, and children's items. Their phone number is 422-1111 ext. 2 Also, the Sienna/Francis House provides food, shelter, clothing, and addiction recovery services to individuals and families. They also can also use many of these things and can be reached at 341-1821.)
• Purchase canvas or string shopping bags and use them instead of paper or plastic bags at the grocery store and other places you shop. (Or Save your plastic grocery sacks for the Pearl Food Pantry or the Omaha Public Library. Paper sacks can be used to recycle newspapers.)
• Turn file folders inside out and use them again.
• Make scratch pads from used paper.
• Use remanufactured laser printer toner cartridges (and some small photo copiers and plain paper fax machines) as well as ink jet cartridges. Look in the yellow pages under the heading Computers-Supplies & Parts. (Or ask Rev. Michael where he gets his used toner cartridges from.)
• Take a coffee mug to work with you and to meetings instead of using a disposable cup.

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