you say trash, i say treasure

may i preface that i am not a hoarder. neither is g. we simply have no room to be hoarders. and the show freaks us out.

but we do believe in recycling and finding use for things that would otherwise be thrown out. a cigar box? nope, it's our new container for receipts. old wine bottles? with a little soaking, drying and the addition of a spout, they transform beautifully into olive oil bottles. and what about empty water bottles? if you have a large planter and a small plant, fill the bottom of the planter with the bottles and then top it with soil. easy fix!

the other day when taking out our recycling, g spotted a bag full of empty jars. and they were by no means run-of-the-mill jars. they were the former vessels of organic coconut oil, raw cultured vegetables,  raw kimchi, "coconut manna," and the like. first, we were dumbfounded at the thought of one of our neighbors eating such healthy things. it was, and still is, a mystery. then we were shocked by how clean the jars were. not a single remnant of product left. scrubbed clean, lid and all. this then led us back to the mystery neighbor quest...who would go through such lengths to only throw them in the recycling bin?

well you better believe we collected them. it was like a game-show giveaway...perfectly sturdy (and probably expensive, considering the type of product originally in them), useful jars! g and i had instant thought bubbles rise above our heads: these jars could be used for our granola, seeds, nuts, dried beans, and PICKLING! with spring and summer at our fingertips, what better way to play with spring veggies than pickling?!

soaked overnight, dried, and filled with our stock of nuts and things of the sort, our new jars are the happiest addition to the studio. now if only we could figure out who this neighbor is...