Saturday, January 17, 2009

There's a whole lot of...re-using...goin on!

Music makes my day, so when I can combine tunes with "going green" My face breaks out in a toothy smile.

Let's follow the re-using trail.

It starts a few years ago when one of the residents in the town homes I manage moved out and left behind an old style stereo. It had a record player (for those of you born in the Age of the CD, just picture really big cd's that make scratchy sounds as they played the music), a cd player and a dual tape deck. This electronics were housed in a flimsy presswood cabinet.
There's step one in my muscial re-using tale: stereo saved from the landfill gives me years of melodious enjoyment.

Recently, I wanted to replace my lost iPod, but I didn't want to buy a new one and a friend said she had a 4 gig one, so I bought it from her for $75.00 only to discover it was an 8 gig. Talk about a smile filling my face.
See step two: abandoned iPod rescued from the back of someone's dresser draw to herald music's finest to another person.

This Christmas, as I rearranged the lving room to make room for the tree, I discovered that my re-used stereo could no longer live in it's cabinet as it was falling apart. I took the cabinet apart and put the stereo in the closet. I wanted a system that would welcome my iPod to the party, and the old one was too stuck in it's ways to welcome my iPod. I bought a new, modest system with Mom's Christmas gift. Not wanting to resign my old faithful stereo to a life of collecting dust in the closet, I looked for a way for it to be re-used. It didn't take long. I found that one of my friend's wanted a stereo and was not hung up on it coming in a fancy cabinet, so I gave it to him.
Step three: old school stereo saved from obscurity to play music in the old formats for a friend.

There's just one final re-using step in this story. I want my new stereo to have it's own place to rest as it blesses me with iTunes favorites and classic cd music, so I'm building a book/cd shelf where it can sit on top on a glass tabletop and play in style. The wood for the cabinet will be culled from old closet shelves being discarded on a remodeling project and the glass table top is the former cabinet's door.

I tell you this story, not to brag on how Eco-friendly I am, but as an example of how easy being a responsible residents of planet Earth can be.

I'll post a picture when the new cabinet is finished.


No comments: