Do you cringe at the thought of your household items being tossed in a landfill? There are several ways you can do your part to lessen the amount you contribute to the landfill, one of which is to reuse certain items for your garden. Reusing household items for the garden will also help you save money on some of the garden supplies you need. Here are a few suggestions for household items that can be recycled for use in the garden.

Empty Egg Cartons
Empty egg cartons are great trays for starting seeds. You can use either the plastic or the paper egg cartons, but if you use the paper ones, they can be planted directly into the ground when it’s time to transplant. When using Styrofoam cartons, make sure to poke holes in the bottom for drainage.

Vegetable Scraps
Instead of flushing scraps down the garbage disposal or in the trash can, use them for a compost pile. There are compost bins available a range of sizes, so even if you don’t have a lot of vegetable scraps, you can still make a small amount for your plants.

Newspapers
Old newspapers can be used in a variety of ways, such as adding them to your compost pile or shredding to use as a weed blocker. To use newspaper as a ground cover to block weeds, cut an X in the newspaper and fold it back. Place the plants in the area you cut, and fold the paper back around the plant. Top the newspaper with mulch. Newspaper can also be folded up to make small pots that can be used for starting plants, then transplanted paper and all into the ground.

These are only a few of the ways to recycle and reuse household items. Before throwing something away, simple let your creative process go to work and think about ways to recycle the item instead of throwing it away.

Spring is the time for renewing your garden and it’s also the time to think about your homeowners insurance. Residents of Coppell, TX should contact the Select Insurance Agency to review your current homeowners policy or to get information about starting a new homeowners policy.