Reducing landfill and upcycling.
'Your donations have helped us help people set up home whilst helping to save the environment.'
Written by Susan Cheyne and Katharina Will of Instant Neighbour.
Upcycling is a great way to save used goods from ending up in landfill. Our organisation works to inspire others to join a community of people willing to rethink the way they view used goods. Items like our vintage vinyl holder, dated 1970's, we repurposed and reinvented it by sanding and painting it to create a long-lasting statement piece. We turned ours into a drink’s cabinet – and we love it!
We are proud to hold a REVOLVE Certificate. REVOLVE is Scotland’s national reuse quality certification for Reuse. A quality certification which gives the customer confidence that all items donated to us are fit for purpose. Not only do we have processes for our donations, REVOLVE has helped us ensure our office staff, van drivers, van hands and volunteers have achieved a high standard of customer service. We hope you have all had the opportunity to experience.
Our next upcycling project was an old farmhouse foldable table which had seen better days. It gave off that sense of character you only get from an older piece, rather than completely change its character we remained faithful to its origins and simply sanded and re-stained.
In up-cycling the choice is ultimately yours and the outcomes are limitless, but one thing is clear: if we change our mindset and allow ourselves to think differently about preloved (and sometimes not preloved) items, we can start to form new ways of living, new ways of recycling our waste, making space and time for creativity with our family and community, time working on projects together and saving the environment - together!
Up-cycling tips
-Prep is key
-there are no mistakes in upcycling only opportunities to learn about your creativity. If it works for you then that’s good enough – Find Your Own Style!!!
-Use quality paintbrushes to avoid the bristles from falling off onto your work.
-Be safe and always wear protective equipment where necessary.
If you purchased from us, either online or in one of our shops, or used either of our social enterprises (Carpetinc and Joinerinc) we would be grateful if you could give us some feedback on our Google Review…we couldn’t do what we do without your support! Please continue to think of and donate to Instant Neighbour.
All our upcycled goods can be viewed in our online shop, plus you can undertake a project of your own by purchasing our carefully selected furniture ready to be repurposed.
Join the community today!
