Sunday 17 May 2015

Tired of upcycling and recycling? Let’s make ‘round-cycling’ the new trend

Whenever you turn on the TV these days, or so it seems, there is someone on there telling you how to save money on your food bills (it usually comes down simply to buying cheaper food, so let’s not go there) or how to turn your unwanted wardrobe into a darned fine kennel for a dog you haven’t got but might be buying any minute because you can afford one now, having taken to buying cheaper food. Well, upcycling and all the rest is all very well and fine but some of us just don’t have the time for making teapot stands out of broken china – how much broken china does the average household end up with in a week, anyway? So why not start a trend – let’s call it round-cycling.

How does round-cycling work?
Seeing as how it has just this minute been made up, it can work any way you fancy, but the basic principle is that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Take an example that every home has experienced. You have a shaggy rug that is still perfectly okay but you are tired of seeing it every day when you come home from work, so you buy another. But then this means you have a perfectly okay shaggy rug and nowhere to put it. One option is to put it in the bin, but that would be a shame. Charity shop? Car boot? Or hey – here’s a thought: why not use it upstairs on the landing? It would go with that bathroom rug a treat. Then, what do you do with the very good quality wool carpet runner on the landing? Well, it would go really perfectly at the end of the bed. Which means there is no room any more for the round rug which is in the bedroom. But that will go a treat in the dining room, rather than the coir fibre natural rug that is in there at the moment. That can go in the kitchen. And the kitchen rug?

Here’s where it gets clever
You go into work the next day and tell everyone about your new invention of round-cycling and someone tells you about their neighbour, whose son has just moved into a student flat. They have bought him a lovely rug for the kitchen, but fear it may be spoiled, so you give them your old one instead. But this leaves your colleague’s neighbours with a brand new washable rug which they hadn’t expected – hold on, though! Their hall runner is looking a bit the worse for wear, so they replace it. The old hall runner can go in the conservatory, to mop up dirty paw prints from the dog they can now afford because the kid has moved out; round-cycling doesn’t just have to apply to rugs, you know! Look around the house and you will find lots of things to round-cycle, from pots and pans to furniture and all without picking up so much as a nail!

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