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Nov 16, 2023

Hard to break a repurposing habit

A broken toaster gets new life as a planter for herbs. I don’t know if it’s the family toast gene, or if it’s the family “turn it into something else” gene, but something made me pull a broken toaster

A broken toaster gets new life as a planter for herbs.

I don’t know if it’s the family toast gene, or if it’s the family “turn it into something else” gene, but something made me pull a broken toaster out of the trash the other day.

I had tried to fix Mom’s toaster handle with duct tape, but it didn’t take. Loathe to toss it, she sent it with her grandson to my house, but we all agreed the thrift store doesn’t want one more broken toaster.

I handed it to Kirk and asked him to do the dirty deed.

An hour later, when he left on an errand, I compulsively retrieved that little appliance from the trash.

The next day, I cut off the cord, planted parsley and chives in the toast slots, and stuffed soil around them. I was proud of myself for coming up with a novel idea – until I did an internet search for “toaster used as a planter” and found a lot of photos.

Ah well, I think Mom’s bright-red castoff toaster is cuter than the ones on the internet. Just don’t tell her, or she might want it back.

Handle the situation: Have you noticed that handles for brooms and mops are often interchangeable? Twist them off the broom or mop head and twist them into the handle of a paint roller or window squeegee to lengthen your reach.

Reuse a tissue box: Stuff plastic grocery bags in an empty tissue box and store them under the cabinet as trash can liners.

Fool that car key fob: Many cars won’t let you lock the doors when the sensor detects that the keys are inside – which is generally a good thing. However, if for some reason you need to lock a spare key fob inside a vehicle, wrap the fob in a few layers of aluminum foil. The foil prevents the electronics from “reading” the signal sent by the key and allows you to lock the vehicle doors. (Test this method with an extra key at hand.)

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