We recycle. Doesn't everybody? We don't have regular trash pick-up (we could get it, but then we'd have to pay for it - eek!), so we stockpile our domestic recyclables until the bin is overflowing and the counter top starts to accumulate the spillover. Then my husband loads them into the back of our ailing pick-up truck and takes them to the dump. Our town dump has a bin for recyclables and we assume these items are indeed recycled.
I like to take recycling a step further though. On the advice of a friend, I investigated Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.com/). I started slowly at first, looking at our local list every few days or so. Then my friend informed me I was doing it all wrong. I had to look every day in order to take full advantage of this amazing tool. After all, looking at the list every day is the only way to find the really good stuff (defined as free, nearly free or just a helluva good deal).
The really good stuff goes fast.
So I now spend about half an hour a day sifting through the Farm and Garden For Sale Craigslist ads for every region within a 3 hour drive of us. I've been doing this for a month or so, and between all the ads for broken lawnmowers, rusty tractors and run-down trailers, I found this gem:
What is it, you ask? Its a ground-driven manure spreader. I bought it from a commercial fisherman in Cape Cod for half the price of a new one. It works just fine and, because it is powered by its own wheels, we can hook it up to a forecart for our draft horse to pull. We can also pull it with the tractor. It will be a necessity for spreading composted manure when we have our composting system up and running. A recycled spreader to spread recycled manure.
My other recycling victory of this month is the water trough for the pasture. The cycle has gone full circle for this tired old tub. Initially purchased and used for livestock watering by the previous landowner, this tub was then used for human bathing. Then it ended up in the pasture again, only to be forgotten when the farmer passed away and the animals no longer grazed the pasture. The horses won't notice that we didn't pay over $100 for a Rubbermaid livestock trough at Tractor Supply, but our checking account sure will!
I like to take recycling a step further though. On the advice of a friend, I investigated Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.com/). I started slowly at first, looking at our local list every few days or so. Then my friend informed me I was doing it all wrong. I had to look every day in order to take full advantage of this amazing tool. After all, looking at the list every day is the only way to find the really good stuff (defined as free, nearly free or just a helluva good deal).
The really good stuff goes fast.
So I now spend about half an hour a day sifting through the Farm and Garden For Sale Craigslist ads for every region within a 3 hour drive of us. I've been doing this for a month or so, and between all the ads for broken lawnmowers, rusty tractors and run-down trailers, I found this gem:
What is it, you ask? Its a ground-driven manure spreader. I bought it from a commercial fisherman in Cape Cod for half the price of a new one. It works just fine and, because it is powered by its own wheels, we can hook it up to a forecart for our draft horse to pull. We can also pull it with the tractor. It will be a necessity for spreading composted manure when we have our composting system up and running. A recycled spreader to spread recycled manure.
My other recycling victory of this month is the water trough for the pasture. The cycle has gone full circle for this tired old tub. Initially purchased and used for livestock watering by the previous landowner, this tub was then used for human bathing. Then it ended up in the pasture again, only to be forgotten when the farmer passed away and the animals no longer grazed the pasture. The horses won't notice that we didn't pay over $100 for a Rubbermaid livestock trough at Tractor Supply, but our checking account sure will! 
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