Recycle Vinyl Blinds into Plant Markers: Another Quickie Tutorial
Our house is chock-full of vinyl mini-blinds, and one of the things that I’d most loooooove to do is to chuck them all in favor of something natural and something less likely to strangle my dear babies. I haven’t yet, however, because they are perfectly serviceable still and I can’t stand to just throw them in the trash just because I want to upgrade.
And then I thought, “Why do I hate vinyl so much?” Because it will basically never, ever decompose back into the earth.
Where, however, could such a quality ever be an asset?
In the garden, that’s where! No matter what happens between spring and fall–rain, sun, heck, the apocolypse could strike at any second–I am always going to know exactly where my chives are.
Here’s how you can transform your crap blinds into indestructable chives markers, too:
- » See also: Crafty and Green Book Review: 52 Projects by Jeffrey Yamaguchi
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You will need: vinyl blinds to recycle; REALLY sturdy scissors; permanent markers (you bought some Sharpies to make your #6 plastic shrinky-dinks, right?)
1. Snip away the twine holding your vinyl blinds together to separate them into the nice, long planks.
2. Using your very sturdy scissors, cut each plank into a good length for your plant markers. Mine are extra-long so that my four-year-old daughter can help me and practice her BIG printing, but the bonus is that the extra room also gives me a cheat-sheet of sorts–on some, I wrote what the plant is supposed to look like, so that I don’t accidentally weed it, and on others, I wrote any special water or other care requirements, just so I don’t forget..
3. Using permanent ink pens, label your plant markers any way you’d like.
And that’s it!
Whatever do you do with your sucky old vinyl mini-blinds?
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This is a brilliant idea! I posted it over at My Inspiration Lounge and shared your feedback on the lead concern that was quickly brought up. Vinyl blinds be gone!
http://myinspirationlounge.squarespace.com/mistys-blog/2009/4/6/recycle-vinyl-blinds-into-plant-markers.html
[...] take on all things “green” craft. Take a peak for some cool ideas like recycling vinyl mini-blinds into garden markers (I am SO doing this!) or these inside/out notecards turned [...]
That was such good advise!!! Thank you! I was looking for the perfect answer and you had it! I have two old blinds and that’s enough to keep me going for a long time! One blind is from my mothers window. She is now gone but her memory is in every new seedling now! Thanks again!
What a great idea, and how appropriate for this time of year. I only wish I had known about this when I trashed my vinyl blinds early last year…
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I used the wide blind strips as molds for a recycle paper project. I used my computer to make six inch tall letters. Just set the type size to 600. I measured the sides of each letters and used the measurements to score and bend the blinds. I folded the blind into the shape, filled the mold with pulp made in my blender, then let it dry a few days in the hot Nevada Desert.
One of the things that my partner and I, thrifting and scavenging addicts with two small daughters, have invested in are sets of easy to use and instant-result lead tests. They’re swabs–you crack two vials of liquid that live inside the cardboard housing, shake them together, and then swab whatever you’re wondering about. If it has a lead component, it changes color.
I’ll tell you, they’re life-savers. I’ve swabbed everything from a neighbor’s doorjamb (had lead) to dishes at a garage sale (no lead). One lady I know actually stemmed a recall at our public library because she swabbed a toy they were giving away for their reading program and found it was one of those imports with a high lead level.
You can get lead swabs online, but we actually got ours free in our town through some non-profit organization or other.
[...] your garden’s all planted, and your rows are marked. Maybe you’ve got some upside-down tomatoes going, and your compost bin is chugging right [...]
[...] your garden’s all planted, and your rows are marked. Maybe you’ve got some upside-down tomatoes going, and your compost bin is chugging right [...]
[...] your garden’s all planted, and your rows are marked. Maybe you’ve got some upside-down tomatoes going, and your compost bin is chugging right [...]