When I read Part 2 of @ecotrain's 'Abundance' question, which asks us about repurposing things we have too much of (like old tires or coffee cups) and giving them a new life, I admittedly wasn't sure what to write. I've been so time poor that even if I had an abundance of things to re-craft something out of (which aside from the husband's shed full of bolts and metals and bits of wood) I wouldn't be able to. But as I walked around our garden yesterday, I realised I didn't have to - I could look around and see the things I'd already repurposed, and hope that maybe you'd be inspired a little by that. This challenge asks us, really, to think about how waste can be repurposed into something new, practical or beautiful without thoughtlessly discarding it, and I'm loving it so far! Check out the challenge here and see what other people have done here.

Turn your head sideways for the second one....

First up, are the birds. They're made out of blue tin that was an old above ground swimming pool left behind by the previous owners. One is a wedgetailed eagle, the other an ibis. I have just enough left for a chicken. I cut my finger pretty badly on a piece of tin, but it was worth it, don't you think?

Then, there's the tires. Jamal, the personal trainer from up the road, came and grabbed six of our truck tires the other day for a personal fitness course in his back garden, so that got rid of some of them. When you are married to a backyard mechanic, you end up with a lot of tires. You might not be able to see them behind this retaining wall of rocks (that someone was giving away, and we took off their hands) but they are there, holding back the soil waste we put under this tree for about two years! I've always thought they'd be great for garden beds but they aren't particularly safe - I'd be worried about chemicals leaching into the soil, but maybe @eco-alex might know more about this?

I can't show you the rest of it, because omg I have weeding to do, and embarrassing..

Last month I went crazy making gates that lead my chickens in and out of the various garden beds. I was really proud of them because I made them all by myself - and they are square and actually open and shut! The wood had been taken from a roadside rubbish collection from a house being demolished in town. I love the different colours of the coloured gate.

I also made my little garden shed out of a potato crate. The chookhouse is all repurposed timber and discarded chicken wire. Pallets are also handy for fences!

Our gazebo is also mostly scavenged too - everything, apart from the upright posts! The crossbeams came from a patio we pulled apart, and the corrugated iron was also discarded. The main beam with the curly hooks actually came from a swing that was here when we bought the property (along with dog food wrappers, dirty nappies, lots of plastic toys and other crap they left behind!).

It's really not a sideways gate - Steempeak is playing funny buggers with me!

@builderofcastles response to the challenge was a little puzzled - he literally repurposes things all the time - bolts, screws, bits of metal. Screw from a cabinet might get thrown in a screw box ready for a project another day, long bits of metal from wheelbarrows, cars or other kinds of frames go in another part of the shed. Jamie's always re-purposing. Take his last project. We needed a trailer for the boat, and a trolley to take into into the water. We had half a trolley, scavenged from the dump. He found a trailer online for $50 - half rusted, missing lights and wiring - the guy confessed if he didn't sell it, he'd throw it away. I was dubious, but Jamie was excited. Most of what is seen here is rebuilt, made from bits and pieces from other projects that were being repurposed. Tires came from the rusty trailer given to us by my uncle. Most of the metal came from the scrap pile behind the shed. Screws and bolts came from other projects too. The only thing he had to buy was a can of paint and the trolley wheels. A weekend's work and we have a custom made trailer for our mirror dinghy that cost us only $100 when it could have cost thousands for someone to make it new for us.

And a few other things..... the rim of a truck tire for a fire pit, and an outdoor fire bath from discarded bricks and an old cast iron bath...

When I look at all the clever repurposing that people do all the time on Steemit, I feel inadequate - but turned out, all I had to do was remember that we do it all the time, and have done it, as a habit - it saves time, money and resources - and the earth too.

What abundance do you re-purpose?

What recycling project are you most proud of?

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