Functional, Stylish Recycling: 6 Ways Vintage Can Work for Your Family

If you’re not a hardcore greenie who can afford to spend money on solar roofing, organic vegetables for every meal, or high-end eco-friendly soaps and detergents, you can still find a way to completely change the way your family impacts the environment: recycling. You may already recycle newspapers, plastic bags and soda cans, but unless you’ve embraced a “vintage” lifestyle, you’re probably missing out on the best that recycling has to offer. From vintage clothes to hand-me-down patio furniture to garage sales, vintage living offers your family lots of opportunities for helping the environment and saving money.

1.Buy vintage clothing. You don’t have to shop old t-shirts at Goodwill (though you’ll find lots of great stuff there, too). Shop high-end vintage boutiques and websites for designer clothes at discount prices. You can also pass down clothes to younger siblings, cousins and neighbors to encourage others to go vintage, too.

2.Shop eBay and used bookstores, etc. Besides being good for the environment by cutting down on waste, you’ll find much better deals on items that are still in good condition when you shop on eBay and at other used stores.

3.Turn vintage treasures into practical, everyday items. Use blank postcards from your grandmother’s collection for birthday cards or polish up your uncle’s childhood tricycle for a new toy for your own child.

4.Host a garage sale. Your own hand-me-downs and leftovers may be a cool, vintage find for one of your neighbors or friends, so instead of throwing everything away, host a garage sale. 5.Everything is fair game: You might be wary of a used mattress or underwear from a stranger, but practically everything else is fair game: cameras, patio furniture, accessories, cars, bikes, toys, and even dishes can be polished up to look like new. Turning something into your own special piece is also a fun way to get your family involved, through painting, sewing or reassembling.

6.Be influenced by the past: Living a vintage lifestyle doesn’t just refer to tangible things. Start balancing your modern lifestyle with influences from the past, like buying smaller homes, taking low maintenance vacations, and cooking your own meals rather than going out all of the time.

This post was contributed by Britney Wilkins, who writes about the online bible colleges. She welcomes your feedback at BritneyWilkins81 [at] yahoo.com