Tip of the Day - Use What You Have
Posted on March 4, 2008 by
My cat’s favorite place to sleep is in an old mixing bowl, lined with a towel, propped up on the guest room bed. Don’t ask how this came to be. It was a long process. But after years of buying her fancy cat beds that she never used, she blissfully naps in her mixing bowl every afternoon.
I spent many hours researching dog beds a few months back. I wanted something eco-friendly and durable, but every time I found something I liked, I got sticker shock (he needs an extra large bed).
Eventually, I decided to fold up an old comforter, top it off with a few other old blankets, and put it in the corner of the room. My dog loves it. I even gave him a few old, lumpy pillows that he likes to bury his head under.
It didn’t cost anything. It didn’t require energy to manufacture something new. It didn’t have to be shipped to us. I didn’t have to drive to a store to get it. His bed is made out of things that might have been discarded. And I can throw it all in the wash when it starts to smell like dog feet, unlike a lot of the expensive beds I’ve seen.
If the cost of an enormous dog bed hadn’t been so prohibitive, I might have gone out and bought something when I already had everything I needed at home.
Before you purchase something new, pause and ask yourself if you already have something that might fill your current need. Get creative. Think about how items can be used beyond their original intended purchase. You could end up saving money and energy, and keep an old item from becoming trash.
Aww. I love the idea of your kitty sleeping in an old mixing bowl. It has LOLcat written all over it.
My sister’s favorite cuddle toy is a scarf I knitted for my sister. It’s great that it’s getting that second life, but it begs the question of when my “knitted with love” present lost its first life…
Oops! I meant to say my sister’s DOG’S favorite cuddle toy.
They’re like kids. They prefer cardboard boxes to the fancy toys that came in the boxes.
And the cat or dog doesn’t know, or care, how much you spend or don’t spend on something for them.
NPW — it is really cute. She fits in it perfectly.
Noelle — I didn’t think your sister had a favorite cuddle toy, but, I mean, who am I to judge, you know?
Modern Gal — Exactly!
Mickey — I don’t think I’d like my dog as much if he were all into the material stuff like that. We’d just have different values and grow apart.
My cats have a box lid with a old towel we wash works purrrfect !!!!! Love your website.
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