It might seem like a screwy idea to use a plastic container for a water conduit but it works perfectly well, and it’s free. I like free.

Besides liking free (who doesn’t?) I also like the idea of reusing and upcycling–in a minor sort of way in this case. I considered writing a highfalutin bit about reducing the burden on landfills and recycling centers, and reverence for the earth, and all that is good and righteous, nature-wise. Even though all that is valid, it seemed like too heavy a load to put on one 32-ounce yogurt container.

I get an inexplicable thrill when I find a new use for a common thing, or when I simply reuse a common thing. When I turn a plastic bag inside-out and wash it, instead of recycling it, I have just given myself a bag that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t saved it. And every time I rewash the bag, I receive another gift. This is the abundance of the universe manifested right before my eyes.

One-gallon glass jugs are useful for holding liquids, obviously, but they’re also useful for storing beans and grains. If you buy a jug of apple juice and recycle the jug you have just given away $3.85 worth of jug. And that price doesn’t include shipping. I get a thrill from knowing that I’m the proud owner of well over $100.00 worth of gallon glass jugs, all free. I don’t know how many dollars worth of other glass containers are in my possession.

I’ve done a video showing how to use cardboard boxes and cleaners bags as planting trays and flats. I’ve salvaged picket fences from neighborhood trash. I lay down salvaged contractors silt fence on garden paths to prevent weed growth. I’ve found free bales of straw at completed construction sites. Four by eight sheets of plywood at the curb on trash day.

It’s not just about free, as great as free is. It’s also about fun, plain old child-like fun. Saving something. Making something. Doing something.

What better way to show reverence for the earth?