What Can You Re-Purpose?

You know that Enchanted Key #5 is Reduced Clutter and that’s the focus of this week. Often we save things because either we hope to use them again, re-purpose them, or because we have some sort of sentimental attachment.

I saved two pairs of dressy shoes that our youngest daughter wore when she was a wee one. Our eldest daughter wore hers until they were threadbare because she wore them everyday, whether with a swimsuit, winter coat, or with shorts and her feather boa. But our youngest wore her fancy shoes on special occasions, like when she was a three-year old flower girl in a wedding, and for holidays.

When she outgrew them so quickly, I saved them. They were still in good condition and so stinkin’ cute, I couldn’t part with them. Fast forward 25 years to this week when I finally knew what I would do with them.

As you know from last week’s Baby Sprinkle, our youngest and her husband are expecting a baby in just a few weeks. We’ve all, as a family, been decorating the “big girl room” that their 2 1/2 year old has moved into so the baby can have the nursery. 

They love to read and have an extensive children’s library. They bought a new bookcase for the big girl room and that’s when it hit me. I could re-purpose those adorable little shoes. I glued a wood piece between two bookends, painted it, sprinkled it with the appropriate dusting of glitter, and hot glued the shoes to the wood. With another set of bookends, I glued a shoe to each. Then I got out my label gun and wrote: MY MAMA’S LITTLE SHOES on the bookend. Those bookends will hold the special and favorite books.

So here’s an opportunity for enchantment! Take a look around and see if there’s something that someone finds beautiful if re-purposed. If not, it will just become clutter and it’s time to clear it. Win/win.

Stay enchanted!