How To Use (Almost) Everything Again

Doing Your Part: A Little R&R&R

Sounds simple, but the most effective way to reduce waste is by not making unnecessary new products in the first place. Use our abridged guide to reducing, reusing, and repurposing all kinds of things in Denver.

Let’s say you…have an impressive collection of miscellaneous arts and crafts supplies
But…you just don’t have room for the hodgepodge of canvases, glitter, buttons, and ribbons anymore
You should consider…Donating your trove to ReCreative Denver
Which…Is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting creativity, community, and environmental stewardship through creative reuse and arts education

Let’s say you…need a coffee table to match your home’s rustic-farmhouse aesthetic
But…buying from Pottery Barn seems so profligate (not to mention spendy!)
You should consider…browsing the selection of upcycled, reclaimed wood furniture at Salvage Design Center
Which…specializes in reclaimed lumber, antique doors, and vintage hardware, and does so with a mission to “preserve the past while protecting the planet for our future”

Let’s say you…have a fetish for designer jeans
But…you lost a ton of weight during the pandemic (as if!) and your fancy denim doesn’t fit anymore
You should consider…taking your gently used Hudsons, 7 For All Mankinds, and Rag & Bones to Déjà Blue
Which…is a Goodwill-owned, secondhand store in Cherry Creek North that generally stocks more designer duds than the average Goodwill location

Let’s say you…need to find a housewarming gift for your friends who just moved to the ’burbs
But…you hate buying something generic that’s probably shipped from 6,000 miles away via a fossil-fuel-burning cargo plane
You should consider…perusing the handcrafted wares—like a clock created using a vintage 45—made from repurposed materials at Revampt
Which…sources many of its nifty gifts, home decor items, and furniture from Colorado artisans skilled at making other people’s trash into shiny new treasures

Let’s say you…are tired of all the plastic tubes and bottles—of toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, olive oil—you use once and then throw away
But…you don’t really know how to avoid the waste
You should consider…shopping at Zero Market, located at the Stanley Marketplace and at the Edgewater Public Market
Which…helps you avoid disposables by letting you buy many products in bulk using only reusable, recyclable, or compostable containers