Recycling fabric fun

So, while other expectant mothers are perhaps crocheting booties, knitting onesies, or sewing cute little baby quilts, I am over here like "Man! I can't wait to cut this old duffle bag apart and sew it back together as a wet bag or an apron!"

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Sew Something

When I found out I was pregnant (the second time) I reinitiated the prenatal maternal research project. In other words, I started looking into the anti-vaccination vs. pro-vaccination movement, cloth diapering vs. biodegradable disposable diapers vs. regular disposables, hand washing laundry vs. laundry mats vs. personal washers (would be nice to have one), as well as farmer's markets, co-ops, home grown produce, organic vs. non-organic, community gardens, etc. etc.

As you can imagine, reading through all of this information, and then some, left me a bit reeling.  It also gave me a desire to do something.  I was seeing all of these high-priced and pretty unnecessary baby items on websites like Facebook, Amazon, What-to-expect.com, Ebay, BabysRus, and it was driving me crazy how much things cost: baby food, clothes, bibs, wet bags, cloth diapers. Furthermore, a lot of these things can be made at home.




Does it take time?

Yes.  

Does it take know-how? 

Of course.  

Is it impossible to find the 
time and learn how? 

Heck no!

Initiate brainstorming mode.... months go by with lots of ideas and studying happening.... I decide on a plan to make me feel like I am being more environmentally conscientious, somewhat involved in my community and interest groups, while also devising a plan so that I can be a Work At Home Mom (WAHM) spending time between my work and my children, ensuring that I am there for them, even if I am a single parent with $70k+ college debt.  

That being said, my decision was to use old backpacks, raincoats, duffle bags, umbrellas and other various products that are no longer fit for their original purpose and that are usually created from PUL fabric to create new products, possibly some of these unnecessarily expensive baby products.

List of possible products:

• arts & crafts aprons for children
• bibs for infants - toddlers
• various types of wet bags
• cloth diaper covers
• diaper bags
• clutches, small purses
• table place mats
• reusable grocery bags
• lunch boxes
• lap top cases
• adult aprons

Of course, I am not sure if I can make all of these things or if I will even have enough fabric. But I am positive that by trying I will be teaching myself more then just how to sew new things from old things (let alone sew in general). I will be teaching myself organization, time management, project planning, community building, networking (through social media and face-to-face contact), business savvy, financial planning, budgeting, and many other important skills that would set really good examples for my little girls.

I have already tried pooling together community members in my area to spread the word of my plans and attempted to inspire some interest in the endeavor.  I am hoping to save some space in our local landfill by collecting the following items before they can make it to the "dumps" or "transfer stations" in our area.

Discarded items to collect: 

• umbrellas
• raincoats
• backpacks
• purses
• duffle bags
• older aprons
• windbreakers
• table cloths (with shimmery coating)

Minor cry for help : 

If you know of anyone who is going to be getting rid of some of these things, or if you yourself are going to be getting rid of some, please feel free to send them my way.  They can message me here via google+ or by commenting below, on my Facebook page : Not alone, Right at home, on my Instagram : Emaerenee.  Or feel free to share the information with any groups or organizations in the state of Maine that you think may be interested in donating items to the cause.