E's Recycled, Reused and Reduced Nursery

by molly
(bethesda, md, usa)

We don't have a lot of space so keeping things clean and green is essential. Luckily, the large windows looking out to our garden make for a lovely nursery, which doubles as a playroom for our toddler E. We have used the three R’s many times over in her room.

Recycled - The rug is handmade (by her great grandma) from recycled wool clothing. All of our recyclables get put to use in her cardboard kitchen before making their way to the recycle bin. The cardboard kitchen itself is handmade from the Forty Two Roads pattern and also recyclable.

Reused - When #2 arrived, E switched from her crib to a big bed, handed down from family. Additionally, though not visible, there are many other reused items in the room, a dresser, a nightlight (old woman in the shoe!), a crib mattress that now serves as a play/reading area, and the fish decals, which have been moved from house to house and continue to adorn her nursery walls.

Reduced - And, finally, in an attempt to reduce consumption, pillows have been handmade from materials on hand and toys in the room have been kept to the bare minimum in order to encourage creative play. We did purchase a couple of things -- bamboo sheets for the bed and the sturdy fabric book box, but made an effort to purchases less stuff.