The ultimate in recycling

As we continue to fill our landfills more quickly than new ones can be created, it's worth looking at how green it is to market antiques and collectibles. What could be more wise than to reuse an object, rather than to discard something to a garbage bin and purchase a new one to replace it?

This is more than clever marketing - this is about reducing our production of refuse in our world. If we encourage people to buy gently used glassware, linens, clothing, dishes, and decorative objects, we are preventing those very objects from becoming fodder for the overburdened landfills. It makes huge sense.

I often speak of the treasures that we find at garage sales, estate sales, and auctions. We also have things just outright given to us to resell - and these things would not otherwise be used. We aid in finding these items their new lives in peoples' homes. Buying used items means that you're not contributing to the mindless cycle of always buying new, and discarding your old, things. You're breaking that cycle - interrupting it - and also extending the life of an object by enjoying it for many years, before in turn, sending it on to another home yourself. And likewise, when you're done with enjoying something in your home, think about donating it to a charity shop, gifting it to someone else in your family if it's a precious heirloom, or have a sale of your own, instead of putting it in the garbage. Just because you're done using it doesn't mean someone else won't get years of enjoyment from it - if anything, it's kind of wonderful to think of the extension of life it will get by being passed on to another household.

It's another way, however small, to green your small corner of the world.

What we pack our treasures in

Here's a secret to share from the antique dealers' world. We wrap our treasures not in newsprint, getting our fingers dirty and necessitating multiple uses of baby wipes, or, if we're lucky, soap and water; we have a secret weapon.

They're reusable, waterproof, absorbent, soft, and inexpensive. You'll never guess what they are...

Puppy training pads.

They allow us to pack up a show in the rain without having to worry about drying everything off first, because they're absorbent. They've got a waterproof underside so you don't have to worry about everything getting soggy and falling apart. The absorbent material is very soft and cushioning so it's perfect for fragile porcelain and glass objects. You can buy an enormous package of 200 12" x 24" inch pads for about $20 and they'll last for years. They don't shred or disintegrate - bad for landfills, but great for durability.

And that's the Tip Of The Day.