One Person’s Trash, Another Man’s Treasure

I cannot stand waste. I scrape the mixing bowls till not a drop of batter is left over. I lick the platter clean. I turn bottles upside down until every bit of condiment or shampoo accumulates in the lid. I write notes on the backs of printed paper. I send every empty plastic container, aluminum and tin can, cereal box, glass bottle, newspaper, and magazine to the recycling bins. I save the fronts of greeting cards.

As a puppeteer I’ve turned everything possible into puppets: sponges, cooking utensils, cardboard tubes, Pringles cans, brooms, cereal boxes, bottles, and more. As a former Activity Supervisor, I saved every used book and magazine, clipped every reusable photo, saved every stuffed animal, and the list goes on.

Even a year and a half later, I can’t see people throwing away perfectly reusable items that could be used in an activities program. For example, as we were tearing down my niece’s wedding, I grimaced when I saw family members gather up unused paper table cloths and doilies to throw in the trash. I found myself salvaging them just in case they could be used for a special tea party or manicure event. Even the little bubble blowers had to be retrieved. Wouldn’t a group of residents have fun letting the wind turn loose a myriad of bubbles on a warm summer day?

Just recently, I was pleased to see some folks bring in bouquets of flowers left over from their daughter’s wedding to give out to the female residents at the nursing home I was filling in at. What a great win-win. And what a lot of smiles.