Reusing with Love

So I'm all about the whole Reduce Reuse Recycle thing.

I don't believe in buying disposable when I can buy reusable, I believe in finding ways to cut back on the amout of disposable goods I use when there isn't a readily available reusable option, and I'll recycle if I can't find a way to repurpose and reuse.

But when it comes to everyday items, things we touch and interact with each and every day of our lives, I love that once in a while we have a chance to reuse with love.

When Spouse and I got married, we didn't register for fine china because I have my grandmother's china, and we are reusing it. I love that some couples (without kids) use their china the same way everyone else uses their stonewear. I love that they don't have to double buy dishes. Similarly, my mom passed her stonewear on to me and reverted to using her sandwich glass fine china equivalent. I think it's technically called Tiara, because it's the gold color, but instead of everyone rushing out and buying duplicate dishes, we're reusing. I heart that.

My favorite chair. The zebra print one? It was my father's grandmother's chair. It's been passed down over and over again, recovered in some of the strangest fabrics (I am thinking of a particularly loud red Hawaiian print my mother used) and ics currently dressed in my favorite zebra print skirt that I hated not being able to wear anymore.

Moreover, there's this afgan. My mother's aunt made it decades ago for my grandmother, who passed it to my mother, who just this last week gave it to me. I love that every loop of her crochet hook as she made the granny squares was made with love. I love that it was made of the scrap yarn from the other crocheted goods she made to sell. I love that she was reusing to begin with. I love that each and every block of it reminds me of my childhood and growing up.

I love that I love it for its age and all the memories instead of looking at it and saying "this old thing?"

Most of my favorite things are like that.

Reused with Love.