Spring 2023

A (somewhat) pictorial essay on an important element of sustainability

By Jackie Howland

This is the third in a series on sustainability. Saving the earth may seem like a no-brainer to many of us. After all, it’s our home! Yet some people still resist making any changes. Perhaps this is because they think sustainability requires deprivation and misery. Brené Brown, one of my favorite authors, writes about how prone we are to focus on scarcity and believing there’s never enough. She also points out that this is a lie we tell ourselves.

If we do some fact checking, we’ll realize our society actually has too much. I’ve already pointed out how much food we waste. The same holds true with all our other products and goods. Think of all the brick and mortar stores we have, all the virtual stores, and all the other venues that exist to sell items. It’s true that these things are unevenly distributed, and we do have people doing without essential goods. Most of us have enough, though, and many have far too much. Our homes are filled to the brim with things we don’t use. Thrift stores and flea markets and yard sales do a booming business. Our landfills are overflowing because that’s where much of this eventually winds up. And acquiring things doesn't’t even make us happy.

We need to understand what does make us happy and focus on that. And repurposing is an excellent route to happiness.

Here are some things that bring satisfaction to us as a species.

Problem Solving

          Just like other intelligent species, we’re hard wired to solve problems. If we see too much stuff as a problem, one of the ways to solve that problem is repurposing the stuff we already have or someone else has discarded or donated. My first picture is a repurposed dog enclosure. One of the couples I house sit for wanted to get rid of it, and I had been thinking of buying a new one to use as a garden area. It was serendipity! They got rid of something they didn't want, and I didn't have to go shopping.

          Here are a couple more things I’ve repurposed.

A discarded dresser drawer repurposed into a planter box.    

A discarded wash bucket repurposed into a planter.

Creativity

          Creativity and imagination are essential ingredients in problem-solving, and they can bring joy as well. I truly believe anyone can be creative – people who believe they’re not are probably imposing impossible rules on themselves. Once we free ourselves of all the lies about our abilities (or lack of abilities) and what something “should” be, we can tap into our imaginations and create things that didn't exist before. Yard art is a perfect example.

Chain and tools repurposed into a flamingo.

Frog made from repurposed garden tools.

Owl made from various repurposed metal bits and pieces.

Expressing Ourselves

Personal expression is also an essential component of happiness. We need to let our emotions out in healthy ways, and repurposing stuff can be an excellent way to do this. This goes along with creativity and imagination but adds another dimension. Here’s something I made that expresses how I sometimes feel at the end of a tough day.

A spoon rest repurposed into my version of Edvard Munch’s composition known as The Scream.

          Not everyone gets this, but I find it funny and satisfying, and that’s what self-expression is about!

Time Spent with People we Care About

          If we really want to be happy, we need to share ourselves with others. Those of us who are introverts can find this more difficult, but it’s still absolutely essential. (We just need a little less time spent with others.) Sharing activities is a great way to do this, and creating new things from used things is a time honored tradition in this area. Think about the old-fashioned quilting bees where women got together to work on quilts, traditionally made from pieces taken from worn clothing or linens. This of course became an art form in itself, and fabric art has become a valued and even coveted form of expression.

          Repurposing stuff can become a new form of the quilting bee – spend time with family and/or friends coming up with creative ways to use existing things for something else. It’s especially important for children to expand their imaginations and open their minds to new possibilities. The world needs all the creativity it can get right now as we work to solve the problems we’ve created.

          I will leave you with something to consider that I heard from a Gateway guide. She told me about a documentary she’d watched on a new way to clean up oil spills in the ocean – using human hair! Apparently, it absorbs the oil quickly and effectively. Who would ever think to use all that hair from barber shops and beauty salons for such a purpose? Someone with a great imagination and a truly open mind – that’s who!