Those 5 'r's in life

Living here at number 14 there is an earnest practice of utilizing those5 "R" in life.

Infact, what has happened to the Reduce, reuse and recycle system has gone way back to the really old  refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and definably Rot that I grew up with in the really early years of life.

The time when Grandparents and Great-grand parents had what seemed like towering vegetables and big bushy flowers. Fruit drooping down off full heavy trees and shrubs.

For years now at number 14 the back garden that most people have as grass in the past is concreate. The choice to move from one that was mostly lush lawn and a vegetable patch was made in December 2019.

Many of the plants were brought to number 14 in buckets and plastic bags. While mum handled these and cared for the newly sprouted seedlings it took much work to remove the blackberry that literally covered the concrete.

Quite by mistake the 5 "r's in life became the 6 "R's" in life.

1. Remove
2. Refuse
3. Reduce
4. Reuse
5. Recycle and
6. Rot

These are briefly explained here.

REMOVE

• Remove meant totally get rid of. In this case it was into the green waste rubbish bin.  What was found was the lawnmower was really hand as that reduced the size of the multitude of little bits going into the rubbish bin. Lots of little bits simply meant there were less gaps amongst the rubbish in the bin.
• You know that black berry that still grows in the garden.... it makes a great tea to brew.

REFUSE

• There has been a larger conscious refusal to bring in unneeded items.
• Refuse to accept that nothing that was taken from this house and the owner will not be replaced. I read that in Job. Job lost his 'everything.' Now God replaced the physical things many fold as Job did not know where they went. But Job knew where the lost children went - under Gods direct care. Inturn, Jobs first family members were replaced one for one. 

REDUCE

• Reduce the food expenses meant being able to purchase needed tools so that different jobs are able to be undertaken.
• The full use of the garden gradually coming into life has brought enjoyment, food sources, food creation, and manufacturing.
• The new carpentry tools needed were just there at a third off the normal retail price. By being creative with the reduced food costs  as well as being frugal as well as much as was humanly possible the repair and reinnervations / upgrades are being done.  One skill set at a time expanded.
• There now is a big white ceramic teapot that sits on the dining room table. The tea that pours from the spout maybe wonderfully cold ... and delicious. There is a thermos of hot water available. The reduction on the heating the kettle charges come through on the electrical bill.

REUSE

• That means until things alter drastically there is no bringing in other peoples used furniture - even if it truly looks better than what their is now.
• People past through the kitchen area looking for food. Its amazing what happens with unserved food that goes into plastic containers after the meal are served.
• Furniture that one person has left behind is used for another person who had nothing available. 
• The computer system is defiantly older than most peoples. 
• Plants are placed into upsized containers.
• There was a gift of a second hand screen door. That is now inplace. But the tools and equipment just purchased are needed to finish the job.
• There were many curtains to choose from. Linen for beds [ and bedding.] Come to think of it we even found a disused bed for one of the people who stayed here for a while.
• A family member had a new bed brought up for her. A family member had made this from reusable crates.

RECYCLE

• That is the funny thing. The neighborhood has appreciated different things being recycled.  
• Second hand things like Maccona Coffee jars are replacing many of the plastic wear items.
• Old push bikes have found new homes or uses.
• Waste for the compost and also the worm farm quickly ends up on the garden or around the plants in pots. Once so far the pots  have been upsized with inches of not quite ready compost.
• Before arriving here much of the dining room wear was given to charity.  The idea was to go one the road would mean a completely different life style. China things tend to break. - only thing is the people here were quietly being affected. So,  for weeks it was hunt down second hand sturdy things that quietly gave character to the dining room

ROT

• defiantly happening through out the garden compost, pot plants and garden beds.

That's the long and short of those 5 "R's" plus one more.