How to Turn Trash to Cash©
Posted: Sunday, October 02, 2011
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
Maybe this article should be called How to Start a Small Business….
Being born during the “Great Depression” allowed me to see that people recycled things even before recycling became fashionable and I remember such scenes as growing flowers and even some vegetables in old coffee cans on the fire escapes of our Brooklyn tenement apartment. Nothing was wasted; all clothes were handed down, mended and shared even among the cousins, and just about every item meant originally for something usually ended up as something else.
However, over the past twenty years or so I have found myself really trying to help our planet by not throwing away anything that could be recycled such as saving my egg shells, setting them back into the foam egg carton, bringing them out to my greenhouse and filling them with dirt and seeds as I used them for seed starters which eventually would be set right into our gardens. I even find myself looking at my Lay’s Stax’s containers and saying if one filled these empty containers with sand and duct taped or put epoxy on the caps they would make great weights for running or whatever. The mind is an amazing thing.
This year while on an outing to a craft show I discovered some things made with recycled glass and ceramics. I thought this was a great way to turn trash to cash and since I am always on the lookout for some way to make some extra money to send to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital the “Eureka” light bulb went off in my mind.
I came home and sat awhile thinking and then went and copyrighted a name called Whimsy YardArt© and started a brand new, at least for me, “How to turn Trash into Cash” business.
Whimsy YardArt© became my answer to artfully helping the planet by creating functional art that can be used as bird feeders, bird baths, small pet outdoors drinking dishes and water fountains and it could be created solely from recycled glass products discarded by other folks who no longer have a need for them or want them.
As I put them together they each take on their own life and become distinctly different and unique works of functional art to enhance a garden, yard or patio.
When one starts a new small business their budgets are usually pretty tight and many a business has been started on a “shoe string” as the saying goes.
In our case and hopefully in your case the internet will be a great help as it is a cheap way to reach a lot of people for a little outlay so we set up a gallery for them locally and globally and hope they are quixotic enough with their kitschy designs to appeal to someone to buy them thus allowing us to send all the proceeds to St. Jude.
When one decides to try their hand at a new business there are a lot of things to consider and one of them is shipping. The only down side of our product is that they are heavy and when one is selling heavy items it is wise to be offering free shipping.
Another thing one must remember when one is starting a new business is you are in the business of making money whether you give it away like we do to our favorite charity or whether you are trying to put beans on the table for yourself and your family. Part of the pre-planning is creating a business budget along with your idea. You may have to put your plan into action part-time and still keep your full time job until your new business takes off.
Keep in mind that one’s great idea may not be another’s and in the case of my Whimsy YardArt© creations may simply be interpreted as someone else’s idea of just more “trash”.
It is wise to do a lot of research and remember it is also wise to find out how NOT to do something. Research and development also includes other people’s failures.
This article could be a book when I think about it. However, I will stick with “How to Turn Trash into Cash” and hope it succeeds.
"Tread the Earth Lightly"
Arlene Wright-Correll
This Article has been viewed 507 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Magnificent. This is truly unique, yet so practical. Lovely, beautiful and uplifting.Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.. They stretch my imagination trying to figure out what might look good with what.
What fun. Yard art and fun focal points at that. You use your glass and ceramics one way and I use them another. Takes me a long time to get all those little pieces together but the important thing is that we get something really cool out of it. For me (and probably for you too) it's relaxing and eliminates some of the daily stressors. Plus the recycling. Good job describing the projects and business efforts.even trash deserves a second chance. Thanks for your comments.
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